Item 4B
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
1900
First Edition
First Issue
Presentation Copy
This copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is inscribed by the author L. Frank Baum and also includes a related letter that has been attached to the book. Baum gifted this book to W. C. Foster, a children’s book reviewer, thanking her for the “delightfully entertaining style” of her review. Baum’s story about a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy and her pet dog Toto—who are carried away from their home by a cyclone and set down in Oz, where she meets the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and a couple of witches—received good reviews then, and has received good reviews ever since. The 10,000 copies of the first edition quickly sold out, and by 1956 three million copies had been sold.
What will you discover next?
Another distinctly 20th century novel?
Go To Item 13B
Another great work of children’s literature?
Go To Item 12D