Since 1900, when L. Frank Baum introduced to the children of America THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ and all the other exciting characters who inhabit the land of Oz, these delightful fairy tales have stimulated the imagination of millions of young readers. These are stories which are genuine fantasy—creative, funny, tender, exciting and surprising. Filled with the rarest and most absurd creatures, each of the 40 volumes which now comprise the series, has been eagerly sought out by generation after generation until today they are known to all except the very young or those who were never young at all. When, in a recent survey, The New York Times polled a group of teen agers on the books they liked best when they were young, the Oz books topped the list. THE FAMOUS OZ BOOKS
Chicago THE REILLY & LEE CO. Publishers This Book Belongs To The Magic of Oz Dorothy and the Wizard THE MAGIC OF OZA Faithful Record of the Remarkable Adventures of Dorothy and Trot and the Wizard of Oz, together with the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger and Cap’n Bill, in their successful search for a Magical and Beautiful Birthday Present for Princess Ozma of Oz BY ILLUSTRATED BY The Reilly & Lee Co. Copyright 1919 By I Dedicate this Book to the Children of our Soldiers, the Americans and their Allies, with unmeasured Pride and Affection. L. F. B. THE HUNGRY TIGER AND THE COWARDLY LION TO MY READERSCuriously enough, in the events which have taken place in the last few years in our “great outside world,” we may find incidents so marvelous and inspiring that I cannot hope to equal them with stories of The Land of Oz. However, “The Magic of Oz” is really more strange and unusual than anything I have read or heard about on our side of The Great Sandy Desert which shuts us off from The Land of Oz, even during the past exciting years, so I hope it will appeal to your love of novelty. A long and confining illness has prevented my answering all the good letters sent me—unless stamps were enclosed—but from now on I hope to be able to give prompt attention to each and every letter with which my readers favor me. Assuring you that my love for you has never faltered and hoping the Oz Books will continue to give you pleasure as long as I am able to write them, I am Yours affectionately, L. FRANK BAUM, “Royal Historian of Oz.” “OZCOT” at HOLLYWOOD in CALIFORNIA 1919 |