Description
Here is a quite rare Oz-related title: Pictures from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz by W W Denslow, who also illustrated the 1900 1st edition of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The George M Hill 1st edition plate sheets were purchased by Geo. W. Ogilvie, a Chicago publishing house, following Hill’s bankruptcy. This book contains plates from that version of the Wizard, backed with a strange and abridged version of the story by Thos. H Russell which only refers to Dorothy as “The Little Girl”. Possibly this was to avoid Denslow having to credit L. Frank Baum as the author, as the two had a falling out over royalties and creative differences by this time. This book undated, but thought to be from about 1903. Small 6 1/2 by 8 3/8″ format, in cardstock wrappers featuring Montgomery and Stone as the Scarecrow and Tin-man from the ca. 1903 Wizard of Oz screenplay.
There are 22 color plates from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz visible, with the 23rd plate (the title-page) and the 24th plate pasted inside the front and rear wrappers, respectively. This weird set-up is as issued; see Bienvenue’s Book Collector’s Guide to L Frank Baum for more information. Condition of this fragile book is better than usual, especially the cover, which usually has some loss of the fragile cardstock covers. This one is complete with some creasing and wear and the original cloth spine. Inside, all the pages and plates are present, and the center leaf of four pages/plates, often lost, is present but separated from the other stapled pages. The main issue is childish writing inside the cover, which is in pencil, so possibly could be erased. There is also a scribble in pencil on the title page. The other pages and plates are generally in good condition, with some wear, except for one leaf which is missing a corner. Not perfect, but a must for the serious collector, and where ya gonna find another? Nice because it includes Denslow plates that were omitted from later editions of the Wizard, and one of the scarcest of Denslow titles!!
