 McCay had a taste for the ornate . The architecture he drew was inspired by that of carnivals and the 1893 World 's Columbian Exposition in Chicago . The detailed illustrations in British illustrated newspapers The Illustrated London News and The Graphic . The Maison Quantin of Paris published a series of illustrated books called Images Enphantines , whose pages bear a striking resemblance to McCay 's early Little Nemo strips , both in their graphic sense and their imaginative layouts . 
