The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
and
Arts & Crafts of Publishing in Chicago, 1900.
April 25—June 27, 2011
L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published almost sixty books between 1897 and his death in 1919. More than a century later, these books continue to astonish for their variety as well as the elaborateness of their production and design.
Baum was born in upstate New York in 1856. He tried a number of careers (playwright, newspaper publisher and editor, manager of a luxury goods emporium, traveling salesman) before his talent as a creator of stories for children became manifest.
His relocation to Chicago in 1891 exposed him to a vibrant arts community. Following the devastating fire of 1872, Chicago positioned itself as the second most populous city in the United States and supported the arts vigorously. The 1893 opening of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago showcased the architectural, graphic, and printing arts that were flourishing in the great metropolis of the prairies.
Out of this ferment came Baum’s first book for children, Mother Goose in Prose, in 1897. It was published by Way & Williams, one of two major Chicago publishers promoting the arts and crafts designs first introduced by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, and contained original illustrations commissioned from poster artist Maxfield Parrish. The publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Chicago three years later showcased the printing arts of Chicago in a way that transformed America’s juvenile literature.
L. Frank Baum rather reluctantly acknowledged that Oz was his greatest success with children, eventually establishing a series of Oz books. But he continually explored new realms of fantasy, including adventure tales for boys and girls as well as romance novels for adults, almost always adopting pseudonyms for these works.
This exhibition, drawn from the personal collection of Peter E. Hanff, shows the rich variety of Baum’s output from 1897 to 1910, the heyday of innovative design for Baum and his publishers.
For more information, call The Book Club of California, (415) 781-7532 or contact info@bccbooks.org. |
