100 Years of Oz: A Century of Classic Images (Hardcover)

by John Fricke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Wizard of Oz bears the remarkable distinction of being a perennial favorite in both book and movie form, the former for a solid century. Since the first Wizard of Oz book appeared just as the American merchandising machine was swinging into full gear, the characters of Oz have also been immortalized in a century's worth of memorabilia. In 100 Years of Oz, John Fricke takes the reader through the remarkable history of L. Frank Baum's creation, lavishly illustrating the progression with pieces from Willard Carroll's Oz collection. This collection is in itself a stunning monument to one man's obsession, albeit a charming one. Once you get past the sheer enormity of the accumulation, though, the individual pieces themselves are well worth a look. They range from the expected, such as dolls and comic books, to themed peanut butter and "hangers from the Merrie Land of Oz." Posters, ads, and jacket covers from the many stage, film, and book versions of the Oz series from all over the world are also included and make for more lovely eye candy. 100 Years of Oz is the perfect gift for hardcore Wizard aficionados, but it also gives the casual fan plenty to ogle, as well as a new appreciation of just how enduring this classic series has been. --Ali Davis

Product Description
Since its publication in 1900, The Wizard of Oz has remained in print, spawning 39 sequels, five silent movies, innumerable stage productions, a radio series, countless animated cartoons, and arguably the greatest MGM musical of all time. Conventions of Oz fans, held thrice yearly, draw upwards of 75,000 visitors.

For these fans-and anyone who ever dreamed of visiting Oz-Willard Carroll draws from his private collection of more than 10,000 museum quality pieces to offer a rare glimpse of Baum's beloved creations and their influence on popular culture.

Divided by decade, this book traces a century of Oz lithography, photography, sheet music, book jackets, stationery, manuscripts, costumes, film props, animation cells, newspaper rotogravure, greeting cards, Halloween masks, theater programs, contracts, maps advertising fliers, gams, toys, puzzles, dolls, and other memorabilia gathered from every corner of the world. With brilliant new photography, original artwork, drawings, sketches, blueprints, and stage and movie stills, 100 Years of Oz is a joyous and unique passport over the rainbow.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556709404
• ISBN-13: 978-1556709401
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #926,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #52 in

  Books > Home & Garden > Antiques & Collectibles > Performing Arts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have book for Oz fanatics, September 27, 1999

By A Customer

I'll say at the outset that I'm not an Oz fanatic, but I was fascinated by the book. It contains hundreds of high grade photographs of rare and interesting posters, kids' wallpaper, toys, peanut butter jars (who knew?), programs of plays and lots of other Oz-themed art and commercial items. The text is well-written and interesting and explains the history of the books, the plays, the movies and most other exploitation of L. Frank Baum's universe, and will provide lots of little-known trivia. Oz collectors and fans will find the book indispensible, and others (like me) will find it interesting.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best pictorial of "Oz" past and present, October 16, 2000

By	Donna Stewart-Hardway "deejway" (Elkview, WV United States) - See all my reviews

With Willard Carroll's Oz collection as a backdrop, John Fricke has cataloged the fabric of Frank Baum's stories of Oz. I am certain that Frank Baum could not have been aware this fabric would become a great tapestry upon which the world could identify what it meant to be human. Oz has permeated our society with its influence. It is found in our languages, our politics, human behavior, and is probably used more often as a simile than any other imagery in our language.

From the opening pages of this book to the last, the book is a compelling journey through Oz. The collection of Mr. Carroll's Oz memorabilia is so large that it is like trying to comprehend the distance between stars or that a few people actually have a billion dollars. This colligation of Oz collectibles somehow unites every civilization, geographic location, and human condition. It is one of the few things that have true universality.

After reading John Fricke's take on Oz, of course, based on Willard Carroll's collection, I am left wondering how history would be different were it not for Frank Baum's Oz?

The pictures are glorious, the layout intelligent and thoughtful-I will never see Oz in quite the same way again. John Fricke's writing is stellar. Willard Carroll's collection ---what can I say, WOW! 100 years of Oz is entertaining, educative and provides a new look at Frank Baum's Oz through the other end of the spyglass. This is a visit to a museum with a very knowledgeable guide through an unforgettable exhibit. Thanks for the tour. I'll be back again.

This book is a must for all collectors.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now THIS has EVERYTHING to do with 'Oz'!, May 26, 2005

By	Sam A. Milazzo (Sydney, N.S.W Australia) - See all my reviews

When I first saw this book years ago on "the Inernational Wizard of Oz Club", I wasn't really keen to get it (I guess the front cover looked a little too dull for me), but after seeing it in a bookstore and actually looking through it, I then knew I had to get this book, because (unlike the small "All Things Oz" collection), this book includes things OTHER than Baum's Book and MGM's Wizard, such as an unknown song from the 1904 Musical (not mentioned in "Oz: Before the Rainbow"), the Silent Films, 'Journey Back to Oz', 'The Wiz', both the Rankin Bass & Disney versions of 'Return to Oz', the 4 1987 CANADIAN-Animated Cinar Films (YES!! The mystery of their animation origin is written here!!), "the Wizard of Oz - Animated Series", "Oz Kids", the Asian "Space Adventures of Oz" TV series, "On Ice" Productions . . . it not only has all of this but also INCLUDES the most important and best of all, "The Dreamer of Oz"!! other language editions of the Oz books, and we also get a few 'Baum's Non-Oz' stuff, like his "Last Egyptian" Film and "Queen Zixi of Ix" book (plus a "Denslow's Picture Books for Children",) games/items/figurines, a few design sketches for MGM's Oz props/Emerald City and lots of other things that have to do with 'Oz' too - even though we don't get like 1-full page on info on every particular item, we still get some good information and lots of pictures too. Just like "All Things Oz", this book has lots of written information, pictures in the background/inserts and quotes from "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (and I'm glad to say that it doesn't have so many mistakes as "All Things Oz" does). But we also get a glimpse at some not-so pleasant Oz stuff, like the "Oz Comics for Adults" and a horrific Winged Monkey Creature Features model.
The Chapters of this book go by 10 Years (e.g. 1900's, 1910's, 1930's, 1940's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, etc.).
This was a pleasant surprise to find on a bookshelf (along with many other Oz books) and it was an absolute pleasure for me to buy it.
Also, what you see is a slip-on cover. The actual front cover is (an Italian poster of MGM's) Dorothy looking at the Crystal Ball and seeing the Wicked Witch of the West flying on her broomstick.
Trust me, get this book, and you'll love it - maybe even more than "All Things Oz"!