LiveAuctionTalk.com Meets the Wizard of Oz

SANTA FE, NM, January 11, 2011 (Press-News.org) L. Frank Baum wanted to write modern fairy tales that didn't frighten children. His fairy tales, he said, wouldn't upset them like the Brothers Grimm did.

Baum's first book, "Mother Goose in Prose" was published in 1897. It was based on stories he made up and told his own sons.

In the last chapter of his first book a farm-girl named Dorothy makes her entrance. Three years later the timeless tale, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" appeared.

Over the next 19 years Baum wrote 62 books. Most of those books were children's books.

Baum wrote a total of 14 Oz books. The books ended up being so popular that after his death in 1919 the publishers continued the series with other writers. Forty more Oz books were created.

Ultimately what immortalized "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was the first silent screen version in 1925 and then the 1939 MGM classic, starring Judy Garland.

"The Wizard of Oz Waddle Book" (1934) with its six pop-out characters from the story and a yellow brick road ramp for them to walk down is one of the most desirable Oz items.

The six die-cut, cardboard characters Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and the Wizard can be detached and assembled into three dimensional dolls. They were designed to walk, or waddle, down a slanted surface--the Yellow Brick Road.

On Aug 5, PBA Galleries, San Francisco, featured a copy of the 211 page "The Wizard of Oz Waddle Book" in its Fine Literature Illustrated & Children's Books auction. Published by Blue Ribbon Books the first edition, first state copy sold for $8,400.

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Photo courtesy of PBA Galleries.

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Rosemary has provided auction coverage and analysis on thousands-and-thousands of antiques and collectibles sold since the column started 16-years ago. She includes auction sale results to give readers a feel for what their treasures are worth because the power of auctions is simple.

When the bidding stops and the hammer falls, the value of an item is set. The buyer, not the seller, sets the price, and this simple distinction cuts through all the chitchat about what art, antiques and collectibles are really worth. The emphasis is on today's values, not yesterday's wishful thinking.

Each week another new article is posted featuring a particular area of collecting.

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Rosemary is the co-author of The Official Price Guide to Fine Art published by Random House and received her training in the trenches working as a professional appraiser and weekly columnist.

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Rosemary McKittrick
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