About this Item
Originally, Baum did not intend for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) to have any sequels, but it achieved a greater popularity than any of the other fairylands he created. Due to Oz's worldwide success, Baum decided to return to it four years in this sequel, The Land of Oz, the second in the series. L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) is one of the most celebrated children's authors of all time. He was also a playwright and journalist. Best remembered for the American classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, thirteen subsequent volumes in the original series, as well as a spin off-series of six early readers. A musical stage version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz opened in Chicago in 1902 (the first to use the shortened title "The Wizard of Oz"), then ran on Broadway, and toured the USA afterward. The stage version starred Anna Laughlin as Dorothy Gale, alongside David C. Montgomery and Fred Stone as the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow respectively, which shot the pair to instant fame. The end-pages of this copy has photos of Montgomery and Stone in costume as the Tin Woodman & Scarecrow among the illustrations of characters from this story. John Rea Neill (1877?1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series. He did a great deal of magazine and newspaper illustration work which is not as well known today. Neill was first commissioned to illustrate The Marvelous Land of Oz, the second Oz book L. Frank Baum wrote, published in 1904; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had been illustrated by W. W. Denslow, with whom Baum argued and lost contact afterward. The 1939 MGM adaptation of the first Oz book would become a landmark of 20th-century cinema. This copy was retired from a public library. Hardcover has been modified with thick tape replacing original spine as well using cloth-backed tape to attach covers to text. Originally with burgundy cloth boards and a full color illustration pasted on front, this copy has no DJ. Cloth on cover-edges worn through to cardboard. End-papers are scarred from removal of library pastings, ffep torn out. Interior is tight and unmarked, although pages are brittle, creased, and stained with handling & age. Appears complete. Copyright 1904. Reverse of title page says published July, 1904, but I don't believe this copy was printed then. This is because the title page lists Baum as author of titles published after 1904 and only the frontis is a full color illustration. Cover proclaims this is a "Popular Edition," which usually implies a less expensively produced version of the original - perhaps in the same format as others in a series to be collected as a set. No ISBN, LCCN nor MSR. Seller Inventory # 007660
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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Land of Oz (Popular Edition)
Publisher: The Reilly & Lee Company, Chicago, IL U.S.A.
Publication Date: 1904
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Condition: Poor
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: Reprint
