TIK-TOK OF OZ; By L. Frank Baum / Illustrated by John R. Neill
Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co., 1914. John R. Neill. Later Printing of 1914 First Edition. Decorated & gilt-stamped cloth. Quarto (9 1/4" x 7" x 1 3/8"), publisher's green cloth with black lettering on spine & full-color pictorial pastedown of Betsy Bobbin astride a mule while hugging Tik-Tok around the neck; illustrated by John R. Neill with many B&W line-drawings: pictorial preliminaries & half title, full-page frontispiece, chapter headings & tailpieces; several full-page B&W plates (often 1 or 2 for each of the 24 chapters & double-spread pp.56-7), vignettes; [i-xii], 13-271, [272] pages. Weight: 1 lb. 6.5 oz. Good Plus / None. Item #8396
Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book by L. Frank Baum, first published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok--sometimes described as a "proto-type robot"--but is primarily about the Shaggy Man's efforts to rescue his brother and his conflict with the Nome King.
L. Frank Baum (1856 – 1919) was a bestselling American author famous for his children's books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. He wrote a total of 14 novels in the Oz series, plus 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts.
GOOD PLUS CONDITION. Cloth is firm though covers have light-to-moderate rubbing with one tiny puncture above the word "OZ." Spine is faded to tan. Pages are uniformly and lightly age-toned and quite clean without marks or scribbles though with about half a dozen little finger-like smudges in margins. Black-&-white images remain bright without foxing. No dust jacket. Both hinges secure: rear hinge area has thin split but web beneath is holding well. No publisher's ads.
Printing is after the first edition in 1914 by Reilly & Britton. Hanff, Greene, et al, Bibliographia OZiana, revised & expanded, pp.66-68; where it is noted that "around 1935, the color plates were discontinued." Previous owner's name on free front endpaper with date of 1942; ergo, we estimate this copy's date of publication as being after 1935 through 1942.
Price: $65.00