FOR THOSE WHO FANCY COLORING BOOKS -- AS MANY OZ FANS DO…!

 

[Above: The Saalfield Publishing Company – of New York City and Akron, Ohio! – was responsible for this evocative coloring book, which they issued in 1957. The cover illustration was also briefly, separately available as a jigsaw puzzle.]

 

 

The most recent generations of Oz fans have embraced their personal collecting manias with a fervor and preoccupation unimaginable in the 1950s and 1960s. This isn’t necessarily because they’re more passionate than those of us who began “back then” as children and teens; it’s just that there were (by comparison, anyway) far fewer new commercial products to amass!

 

I was reminded of this last month, when I revisited boxes of some earlier collectibles here – and happened upon a cache of coloring books that I’d amassed mostly in the first decades of my own obsession. As so many of today’s social media Oz denizens seem to embrace this semi-vintage type of material, I thought it might be fun to share several of these very “disposable” and then-inexpensive items, as (even all these years later) one never knows when such might turn up at a garage or estate sale, in a second-hand store, or during an upscale auction.

 

A bit of background as to the trickle-that-became-a-flood of Oz merchandising across the last sixty years: The copyright expired on L. Frank Baum’s book, THE WIZARD OF OZ, in 1956. This meant, simply stated, that anyone could publish a version of his story: reprint it, adapt it, reproduce it as a puppet show, or as line of fabric, or in comic book form…ad infinitum. (Then as now, however, care had to be taken that the illustrations that accompanied such use did NOT resemble the Baum/Oz characters as depicted in the MGM WIZARD OF OZ movie. Those concepts remain under copyright to this day.)

 

One of the first organizations to take advantage of this WIZARD OF OZ public domain freedom was the Saalfield Publishing Company, which issued the coloring book shown at the top of this blog. It was a surprisingly complete retelling in charming (if undetailed) drawings and touched on most aspects of the original story. Dorothy, Toto, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry are shown in Kansas. A “cyclone” then carries away the girl, dog, and house to Oz, where she acquires Silver Shoes, meets a few Munchkins, plus a little-old-lady Good Witch of the North, whose magic slate dictates “Let Dorothy Go to the City of Emeralds.” En route, Dorothy discovers not only the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, but Boq the hospitable Munchkin, whose party includes five little fiddlers, and where Toto is the center of attention. There is a stork who rescues the Scarecrow from a river, and a company of Field Mice who rescue the Lion from the Poppy Field. At the Emerald City, we see the Guardian of the Gate, a Little Green Girl who bids welcome to the palace, the ladies and gentlemen of the court – and all four incarnations of the Wizard: a great head, a beautiful lady, a monster, and a ball of fire. In the Winkie Country, the Wicked Witch uses her silver whistle to summon her pack of wolves; she cages the Lion and puts Dorothy to work, and the girl melts the Witch when the latter commandeers one of the Silver Shoes. The rejoicing Winkies present Dorothy with a bracelet, the Scarecrow with a gold-headed walking stick, the Lion and Toto with golden collars, and the Tin Man with a silver oil can, after which the Witch’s Golden Cap is used to summon the Winged Monkeys (their only appearance herein). They carry the party back to the Emerald City, where the real Oz is revealed. He sheepishly explains his tricks but gives Dot’s companions their gifts as in Baum’s text; she, in turn, sows strips of silk to make a balloon, and Oz coats them with glue to make them airtight. When he accidentally leaves without her, Dorothy is told by the Soldier with the Green Whiskers to seek Glinda, and two drawings each are devoted to the next journey through the Dainty China Country and the forest where the Lion is acknowledged King of the Beasts. At Glinda’s directive, Dorothy uses the Silver Shoes to return home, and though the footwear is lost in the trip, she is thrilled to reunite with her aunt and uncle.

 

It’s a fairly amazing encapsulated retelling of Baum, omitting only the scarier aspects of his book (the Kalidahs, the giant spider) and including even such a telling illustration as that of Dorothy, asleep under the leaves with which she’s been covered by the Scarecrow.

 

Above, left, you’ll see THE WIZARD OF OZ COLOR BY NUMBER, first issued by Twinkle Books, Inc., of Atlanta, GA, in 1962. Each drawing inside is number-coded to a specific color to guide youngsters in their efforts. Meanwhile, the inside front cover features a summary of the basic story, although many Baum touches are omitted -- and several MGM “edits” are discreetly employed. A couple of the latter creep into the pictures as well: Dorothy is shown as the cyclone’s winds break a window in her farmhouse bedroom; inexplicably, her head is bandaged when she returns to Kansas. No mention is made of a dream, and at the conclusion of her Ozian excursion, it’s the Wizard – remaining in Oz – who tells her of the power of her silver shoes and enables her to return home. (In a contemporary departure, the Kansas girl boasts a pair of coveralls throughout.)

 

Above right, there’s another 1962 edition from the Samuel Lowe Company of Kenosha, WI. It presents a uniquely designed Tin Woodman and includes the fact that green glasses have to be worn in the Emerald City. Again, all four of the Wizard’s disguise appearance are depicted, but Dorothy’s saga is hurriedly told in just thirty-two images; the coloring book then segues – without warning -- to recapitulations of PETER PAN, PINOCCHIO, SLEEPING BEAUTY, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, and SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS.

 

Five years later, Dorothy and Snow White aligned in an even more direct – if fictionally unfathomable -- fashion. At left above, you see the cover of SNOW WHITE’S ADVENTURES COLOR BY NUMBER. It’s another Twinkle Books creation, with this one issued by Ottenheimer, printed in Israel, and routed through Clover Publishers, Limited, out of New York City. An inside page explains the art that follows: it’s a wildly-plotted tale in which Snow – living with the Seven Dwarfs – is given a poisoned apple by the disguised Evil Queen. She falls into a deep sleep and awakens in Wonderland, where she subsequently encounters a white rabbit, an unpleasant duchess, a pig dressed in baby clothes, the Cheshire Cat, a caterpillar who explains Snow White’s enchantment from the Evil Queen’s apple, talking flowers, and (eventually) Alice herself. The latter wants Snow to remain in Wonderland, but our title character proceeds on her way, hoping to get home. Instead, she meets Dorothy (again in overalls) & Company, who are returning to Emerald City after melting the Witch of the West. The six join forces, stopping on their way to enjoy apples from an orchard. (One of the trees has a suspiciously MGM demeanor). On their arrival in the Emerald City – the latter is shown under the arch of a rainbow -- they meet the Wizard, who grants the requests of Dorothy’s friends. In fine Culver City fashion, however, the Scarecrow receives a diploma and the Lion a medal. The Wizard then stipulates that Dot and Snow each don one silver slipper (Dorothy retrieved them from the Witch of the West), and this will enable them to return to their homes. He whispers unknown words into Snow’s ear, and when she flies off, she awakens in the arms of her Prince Charming, who carries her off to his castle.

 

(Not a moment too soon!)

 

Finally, a briefer, 1976 “color book” (at right above) came from the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, WI. The story is much truncated: the Wizard is unmasked in the first throne room scene, and Dorothy and her friends thereafter move directly to “Glenda” for her help; there’s no Wicked Witch. And even though the Good Witch of the North has presented the Kansas girl with “magic slippers” at the top of the story, they’re not put to use in the ensuing adventures.

 

Of course, this is just a small representation of similar WIZARD OF OZ publications; a United States “Paint Book” and a British “Colouring Book” date back to 1939-40 and the first release of the MGM film. There have been a number of others over the years.

 

So, all you collectors out there: Even in this limited arena of activity, there’s plenty of fascinating material to seek out. Just remember: Finding them with NO crayon markings is preferable (and more difficult), but most of them are bound to be less expensive than first edition Oz books…or real MGM ruby slippers!

 

 
 

Article by John Fricke

 

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