Description
Very Good- dust jacket, a mylar dust jacket has been added, edge-wear, small section is missing from the back lower corner, writing on the rear flap at the top, price of $1.19 is present. The Very Good binding is green cloth over boards, front shows an image of the characters, black lettering, gilt lettering on the spine, light edge-wear, light corner bumping. End papers illustrated with all the Oz characters from the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie. The binding is tight and pages are clean. Eight color plus many Black-and-white illustrations by W.W. Denslow. The title page with text “The New Wizard of Oz”. The Dust Jacket States “The only edition containing the complete original text on which the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie is based.” Book Measures 7.5″ wide x 9.7″ tall.
From the Dust Jacket:
The first Oz book. The best Oz book. The most famous of all L. Frank Baum’s books. The Wizard of Oz is the one to read first and then to reread again and again. It would be impossible to count the well-beloved copies that have been worn out by young and old alike in the forty years since it was first published. It is a truly American classic.
The cyclone started it all. It took the house in Kansas where Dorothy lived and whirled it off. It settled it gently, hours later, in the strange and beautiful country of Oz. Dorothy was lonely and homesick until she met the Scarecrow who had no brains, the Tin Woodman who had no heart and the Cowardly Lion who had no courage. These four and Dorothy’s dog, Toto, went adventuring until they came to the Emerald City where each found what he wanted and Dorothy found the Wizard, who couldn’t tell her how to get back to Kansas.
W. W. Denslow, the illustrator, was the perfect collaborator for L. Frank Baum. His pictures could no more be separated from the text than Gilbert’s words could be taken from Sullivan’s music. The same spirit of laughter, surprise and mystery caught and held them both in a rare and happy partnership.
THE WIZARD OF OZ on the stage and screen
In 1902 the characters of The Wizard of Oz came to life on the stage in a musical extravaganza. The production made musical history especially for two players, Fred Stone and David Montgomery. Years after, Fred Stone wrote:
“I am living again in memory of the time when I was a scarecrow. I used to be so happy when the little folk shook my limp fingers and
patted the straw filling on my chest. When the good Wizard gave me brains I was very happy indeed. I loved the Tin Woodman, who was the kindest person in the world, though he had no heart. The good Wizard fixed that, too. He gave the Tin Woodman a beautiful, soft velvet heart. And he gave the Cowardly Lion courage. Dorothy from Kansas was my good friend too and her little dog Toto. When a baby girl came to my house one day I named her Dorothy after my little playmate in Oz.”
A silent motion picture was next, in 1925. Larry Semon played the Scarecrow. Ellen Van Volkenburg produced a puppet version of the famous story. And, in December, 1938, the characters were made into a radio program.
Now, happily, The Wizard of Oz is reaching an even wider audience by means of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor picture based on the book. Mervyn Leroy produced it, Victor Fleming directed, and many film favorites are in it: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Frank Morgan, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke and many others. Following the story closely, it has captured the rare mood of delight and enchantment that makes The Wizard of Oz so well beloved.
About the Author:
Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children’s fantasy books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, part of a series. In addition to the 14 Oz books, Baum penned 41 other novels (not including four lost, unpublished novels), 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts. He made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen; the 1939 adaptation of the first Oz book became a landmark of 20th-century cinema. (Wikipedia)
