Beware the Oz books advertised as first editions on Ebay! Many of these books are not actually the original printings of these books. Usually this is an innocent mistake on the part of the seller, stemming from the fact that copyright dates are the only dates given on most Oz books published right up to recent times.  As a result, sellers assume that the book is a first edition because only one date is given.  I made this mistake myself with my childhood collection.

The most surefire way to determine the printing history of your book is to use Bibliographia Oziana, an excellent reference published by the International Wizard of Oz Club that is usually available in my Ebay store. I have attempted to describe some general rules of thumb below for a brief online reference. Cautionary Note: In this review I use the term 'first edition' to mean the earliest version of a book--i.e., the first printing of that particular book by the original publisher. These are generally less common than later printings and are the ones most sought after by collectors. (See Bibliographia Oziana p. 12 for more information--it can be confusing!). Another good reference, that uses the more limited first edition terminology, is Robin Olderman's 'Helpful Hints for Beginning Collectors' in the Spring 1979 Baum Bugle magazine.

It is easier to determine what is NOT a first edition rather than what is. (Unfortunately, true first editions/first printings of most Oz books, especially the earliest ones, are quite rare.) For example:

1) Most early Oz books were published by Reilly & Britton, which became Reilly & Lee in 1919. Check the publisher's imprint on the spine. Books published by Reilly & Lee with copyright dates before 1919 are later printings. The next photo shows typical spine imprints for Reilly & Britton and Reilly & Lee. See the list below for the original publishers of the first forty Oz books, by L. Frank Baum and subsequent authors. (Note: Canadian & British first editions not included.)

  
2) Unlike the other Oz books, the first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published by Geo. M. Hill. There are probably hundreds of subsequent printings of this book. Despite early copyright dates, books with this title (or "The New Wizard of Oz", "The Wizard of Oz", or "The Original Oz Book") are not first editions if they don't have the Hill imprint at the base of the spine. The cover of the Hill first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is shown below.


3) Most early Oz books were printed with color plates or illustrations up until 1935. So, if your Oz book has a pre-1936 copyright date and has no color plates or illustrations, it is also a later printing. (The exception to this is The Road to Oz, which was printed on different colored pages and never had actual color illustrations. If your Road to Oz is printed on all-white paperstock, it is also a later printing). Most books with color plates should have 12 plates, except for the "Popular Editions" which may have just a color frontispiece. Also, early printings of the Wizard of Oz had 24 or 16 color plates and early printings of The Land of Oz, Dorothy & The Wizard of Oz, and the Emerald City of Oz had 16 plates. Early printings of The Patchwork Girl of Oz and Ozma of Oz never had inserted color plates, but contain numerous full color illustrations.  

4) The so-called "white cover" Oz books, with bright white background cloth, were published mostly in the 1960's and are not first editions! The photo below shows the different between an early version and 60's white cover edition of The Magic of Oz.


5) For additional information, check the back of one of the front endpapers or the dust jacket flap (if present) to see if there's a list of Oz books there. If so, check the last book listed. If that book was first published AFTER the publishing date of your book, sorry! Your book has to be a later printing. Think about it

6) Baum also wrote many non-Oz books, which are also quite collectible. For more information, see my related Guide: L. Frank Baum Books and Pseudonyms

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L. FRANK BAUM
The Wizard of Oz--originally published as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900): Geo. M. Hill
The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904): Reilly & Britton
Ozma of Oz (1907): Reilly & Britton
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908): Reilly & Britton
The Road to Oz (1909): Reilly & Britton
The Emerald City of Oz (1910): Reilly & Britton
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913): Reilly & Britton
Tik-Tok of Oz (1914): Reilly & Britton
The Scarecrow of Oz (1915): Reilly & Britton
Rinkitink in Oz (1916): Reilly & Britton
The Lost Princess of Oz (1917): Reilly & Britton
The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918): Reilly & Britton
The Magic of Oz (1919): Reilly & Lee
Glinda of Oz (1920): Reilly & Lee

RUTH PLUMLY THOMPSON:
The Royal Book of Oz--originally attributed to L. Frank Baum (1921): Reilly & Lee
Kabumpo in Oz (1922): Reilly & Lee
The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923): Reilly & Lee
Grampa in Oz (1924): Reilly & Lee
The Lost King of Oz (1925): Reilly & Lee
The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926): Reilly & Lee
The Gnome King of Oz (1927): Reilly & Lee
The Giant Horse of Oz (1928): Reilly & Lee
Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (1929): Reilly & Lee
The Yellow Knight of Oz (1930): Reilly & Lee
Pirates in Oz (1931): Reilly & Lee
The Purple Prince of Oz (1932): Reilly & Lee
Ojo in Oz (1933): Reilly & Lee
Speedy in Oz (1934): Reilly & Lee
The Wishing Horse of Oz (1935) Reilly & Lee
Captain Salt in Oz (1936): Reilly & Lee
Handy Mandy in Oz (1937): Reilly & Lee
The Silver Princess in Oz (1938): Reilly & Lee
Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz (1939): Reilly & Lee

JOHN R. NEILL:
The Wonder City of Oz (1940): Reilly & Lee
The Scalawagons of Oz (1941): Reilly & Lee
Lucky Bucky in Oz (1942): Reilly & Lee

JACK SNOW:
The Magical Mimics in Oz (1946): Reilly & Lee
The Shaggy Man of Oz (1949): Reilly & Lee

RACHEL COSGROVE:
The Hidden Valley of Oz (1951): Reilly & Lee

ELOISE JARVIS MCGRAW and LAUREN MCGRAW WAGNER:
Merry Go Round in Oz (1963): Reilly & Lee

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Sellers: If, like most people, your book doesn't turn out to be a first edition, that doesn't mean it's not of value. Early printings in good condition, and even the white cover editions, still sell fairly well on Ebay. Just don't advertise it as a first edition if you're not sure!

Buyers: Don't believe all books listed as first editions truly are. Sellers who specialize in vintage books and who provide detailed listing information, including printing points, are more likely to accurately describe their item.

Collecting runs in my genes. My grandfather collected "Horseless Carriages".  My Dad collected and dealt in vintage aviation and automotive magazines. My brother still sells automotive magazines and catalogs in his Ebay store.

Find almost two hundred collectible Oz Books (first editions and otherwise!) in my Ebay Shop: Avant Garde Books OZ Books

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