1899 THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ SIGNED L. FRANK BAUM 1ST EDITION 24 COLOR W.W. DENSLOW ILLUSTRATIONS by L. Frank Baum - 1899

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

Copyright 1899, Title 1900; Inscribed by L. Frank Baum; First Edition, 2nd State Text; Chicago, New York, George M. Hill Co.; Illustrated by W.W. Denslow; 259 Pages, Blanks; w6.8"xh8.8"; Re-backed with original cloth spine laid down; Extremely Rare!

2nd State of Text Points, binding "C", 1st State of plate facing pg. 34 with two dots on moon, 2nd state of plate facing pg. 92; Very Rare to find one Inscribed by the Author that he actually held; "To Mabel and John Burrows from L. Frank Baum October? 17, 1901"!

ATTRIBUTES:

A Beautiful original off white cloth cover design with pretty red/green labeling/pictorials to both sides and binding, pictorial inner boards, as issued with no end page design, inscribed on first blank, with a great color pictorial title page and 23 other required brilliant color plates, with numerous color heading/in text illustrations throughout and one of the Most Famous Children's Classics of All Time!

SUMMARY:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of both the popular 1902 Broadway musical and the well-known 1939 film adaptation.

The story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz, after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a cyclone.The novel is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Its initial success, and the success of the 1902 Broadway musical which Baum adapted from his original story, led to Baum's writing thirteen additional Oz books.

BACKGROUND:

Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919), better known by his pen name L. Frank Baum, was an American author chiefly known for his children's books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He wrote thirteen novel sequels, nine other fantasy novels, and a host of other works (55 novels in total, plus four "lost" novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, an unknown number of scripts, and many miscellaneous writings), and made numerous attempts to bring his works to the stage and screen. His works anticipated such century-later commonplaces as television, augmented reality, laptop computers (The Master Key), wireless telephones (Tik-Tok of Oz), women in high risk, action-heavy occupations (Mary Louise in the Country), and the ubiquity of advertising on clothing (Aunt Jane's Nieces at Work).

William Wallace "W. W." Denslow (May 25, 1856 – May 27, 1915) was an American illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Denslow was an editorial cartoonist with a strong interest in politics, which has fueled political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

CONDITION:

Condition is Fair/Good. Some wear to edges, soiling/wear to boards, little glue added to corners to prevent further threading, re-backed/some wear to hinge cloth, bumped lower front corner, front board bows up a tiny bit, some tattered edges to first/last few pages and a few plates, inscription page had back strengthened/removed/left side trimmed and laid down on another piece of paper, repaired slice near gutter of last two pages, some small slices near edges here and there, hinges are very good, text block is good, could be tighter, tighter pages in beginning/end, some pages are getting delicate/taut when opened, but still all together, would handle with care, some light blemishing here and there/age toning, missing small corner to a few pages, but most pages are good, majority of plates are very clean. Overall, for over 115 years old its in Fair/Good Condition!