An Introduction

The Oz series by L. Frank Baum is one of the classics of childhood. The books were so well loved in their time, that the series continued after its author's death, through 6 other authors, and spanned a period of 63 years. This created what is known as the Famous Forty, the 40 books written between 1900 and 1963. Many Oz books are still being written today by devoted fans, as well as mass-market authors.

The Wizard of Oz was the first “big book” I read as a kid, and I was hooked. Eventually I ran across The Land of Oz and liked that just as well. That was as far as I got until Michael Hearn’s The Annotated Wizard of Oz was published in the early 1970’s. At that point I began to seek out the rest of the series, ending up with a set of Rand McNally paperbacks - and always searching for the two Baum titles RM didn’t publish, Rinkitink and Lost Princess. The titles written by Baum's successors were no longer available.


I joined the International Wizard of Oz Club in the late ‘70’s, but then went off to college and dropped out of the club for a couple years. In college I started to try seriously collecting the Oz series, and am still working on it nearly 30 years later. My interests lie mainly in first editions of the original books and artwork from the series - but that’s one of the best things about Oz, there are so many facets to fascinate people and collectors! As an Oz enthusiast and collector, this is a place for me to jot some thoughts on pieces in my collection.