Collecting the Oz books: gorgeous art and great stories
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L. Frank Baum's original fourteen Oz novels create an imaginary world filled with fantastical creatures and pragmatic little girls.
While W.W. Denslow brought an Arts-and-Crafts sensibility to the original Wizard of Oz, the more graceful art of John R. Neill created the "look of Oz" for more than half of century. Long after Baum's death, Neill continued to be the illustrator of Oz, eventually illustrating thirty-five novels in the series.
Today, the most prized Oz novels for collectors are those early editions containing multiple illustrations. Published by Chicago publisher Reilly & Britton (until 1919, after which the company was known as Reilly & Lee), most early Oz novels had 16 color plates as well as numerous black-and-white line drawings. These early editions often command prices of $200 or more.
The Oz Series
Oz titles by L. Frank Baum, 1900 - 1920
Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900 Hill, 24 color plates and other illustrations by W. W. Denslow, later reprinted by Bobbs-Merrill and Donohue, among others.
Marvelous Land of Oz, 1904 Reilly & Britton, 16 color plates and text illustrations by John R. Neill
Ozma of Oz, 1907 Reilly & Britton, color throughout text illustrations, no inserted color plates, illustration by Neill: $300.00
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, 1908 Reilly & Britton, 16 color plate illustrations by Neill
Road to Oz, text printed on tinted stock in solid colors (easily faded}, line drawings throughout but no color plates, illustrations by Neill.
Emerald City of Oz, 1910 Reilly & Britton, 16 color plate Neill illustrations embellished with metallic green ink
Patchwork Girl of Oz, 1913 Reilly & Britton, colored text illustrations throughout book by Neill, no color plates
Tik-Tok of Oz, 1914 Reilly & Britton, colored endpapers are maps of Oz, 12 color plates by Neill
Scarecrow of Oz, 1915 Reilly & Britton, 12 color plate illustrations by Neill
Rinkitink in Oz, 1916 Reilly & Britton, 12 color plate illustrations by Neill
Lost Princess of Oz, 1917 Reilly & Britton, 12 color plate illustrations by Neill
Tin Woodman of Oz, 1918 Reilly & Britton, 12 color plates by Neill
Magic of Oz, 1919 Reilly & Lee, 12 color plates by Neill
Glinda of Oz, 1920 Reilly & Lee, 12 color plates by Neill
More on the Oz series can be found in the Encyclopedia of Collectible Children's Books.
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Michael Lipsey says:
Original Oz books
I loved those books. My parents got me used (they didn't have much money) copies of the 1920's editions, scribbled with crayons, torn pages, etc. This was in the 1940's. We read them to pieces.
You couldn't get them from the library -- librarians did not like fantasy children's books in those days. We lived on the west side of Chicago, not far from where (am I right?) L. Frank Baum wrote most of the books, in Oak Park.
I didn't think the Ruth Thompsons and others who continued the series were nearly as good. He wasn't much on plot, but the writing was direct and the characters and the scenery were vivid. He created a country (it even had maps) and a landscape of Oz that seemed real to me.
Michael Lipsey