The Wonderful World of Oz

 

QUESTION: Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve enjoyed the story of the Wizard of Oz I looked forward every Spring to the televising of the award winning 1939 film. As an adult, I ran across a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at a book sale. I had no idea that the author, L. Frank Baum, wrote so many books about the Land of Oz. So I began to collect Wizard of Oz memorabilia, including copies of Baum’s books. Can you tell me where Baum got his idea for the Wizard of Oz? And how collectible is Oz memorabilia?

ANSWER: Most people associate the Wizard of Oz with the 1939 movie of the same name. But the character goes back even further in the works of L. Frank Baum. 

Children looked forward to birthdays and Christmases when they could unwrap their favorite gift—a L. Frank Baum book recounting magical places, especially the Land of Oz. Children couldn’t get enough of them. 

Lyman Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856, in Chittenango, New York. A prolific writer who wrote under six different pen names as well as his own, his first published book was a guide to raising fancy Hamburg chickens. When Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1898, no publisher would accept it. He insisted on color illustrations and publishers didn’t want to take a chance on the expense of that. In 1900, Baum finally paid the firm of George M. Hill in Chicago to publish it.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz filled the fairytale niche in American children's literature. Baum worked with the book's illustrator, W.W. Denslow, composer Paul Tietjens and Julian Mitchell to create a traveling musical stage play based on the book. Debuting in 1902, it brought its two leading men instant stardom. People flocked to see Fred Stone as the Scarecrow and David Montgomery as the Tin Man, in this production that featured chorus girls and songs about football. Imogene the Cow replaced Dorothy’s dog Toto.

After The Wonderful Wizard of Oz succeeded, children begged for more Oz books. Baum wrote at least one Oz book a year from 1904 on, at the same time completing other juvenile series. In 1910, he tried to end the Oz series with its sixth book, The Emerald City of Oz, by ceasing communication between Oz and the 20th-century world. Fortunately, the silence didn’t last. Baum published a new Oz book in 1913 and every year after until his final book appeared posthumously in 1920.

Despite success during his lifetime, Baum was unable to keep money in his pocket. He made a few bad business choices, including backing several Broadway flops, running a failed newspaper, and going bankrupt while working as a shopkeeper at his own Baum Bazaar in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He understood people having a hard time and gave everyone credit.

Following Baum's death in 1919, his publisher commissioned Ruth Plumly Thompson to continue the story of Oz from 1921 to 1939. The illustrator for the series, John R. Neill, wrote three Oz books, and more appeared off and on until the 40th book in 1963. 

The 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, was a huge success and generated enough collectibles from 1939 to the present to keep the most ardent Oz collectors happy. The variety of Oz collectibles included such items as a metal lunch box with original Munchkin signatures, sets of playing cards, Tarot cards, movie posters, cookie cutters, bookmarks, character glasses, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, Oz T-shirts, dolls, nesting figurines, books, buttons, paper ephemera, records, games, Japanese Hallmark Christmas ornaments, collector plates, jewelry, and handmade tiles. 

There’s even edible Oz----a can of funnel cake mix bearing the Tin Man's face and a bag of rainbow-colored marshmallows.

Wizard of Oz so ingrained itself in popular culture, memorabilia can be found everywhere, almost every day. It appears in live and online auctions, on eBay, in antique shops and flea markets, or in one of several Oz-themed shops. 

Some Oz collectors with unlimited budgets vie to own a piece of the historic movie. The dress worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film, auctioned at Bonhams in London in 2005,  sold for the equivalent of $267,000 to a British collector. 

In August 2005, a thief stole one of four pairs of ruby slippers used in the 1939 film from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The slippers, on loan from a private collection in California, had an insured value of $1 million. 

One of the hottest collectibles is a little jewel box given out at the 100th showing of the movie that features a picture of the Cowardly Lion.

Learn more about the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz by reading "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in #TheAntiquesAlmanac.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "Pottery Through the Ages" in the 2022 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Frame It!

 

QUESTION: I love collecting older works of art—not the type found in galleries and museums, but those found in flea markets, antique shops and shows. While some come with frames, many don’t. And those that do have frames often don’t look right in them. How can I tell what type of frame should go with a particular work of art? How have frames changed over the centuries? How does the age of a frame relate to the art work?

ANSWER: Most people who purchase older art works don’t bother to change the frames that come with them, even if they aren’t the best for the art works they surround. 

Most two-dimensional antique and vintage art works----paintings, posters, and prints---had frames, but it’s not unusual for them to be sold without them. Often the existing frame is an inappropriate replacement, or isn’t in perfect condition. While restoring a frame is often a simple procedure, finding the right one can be as time-consuming and challenging as discovering the work of art, itself.

An overwhelming frame on a delicate painting robs it completely of the experience of the delicacy, and conversely, a painting that’s strong and powerful, for example, will be  short-changed by a thin, delicate, fancy frame.

Quilts, tapestries, murals, wood and paper panels seldom need a frame. A frame is, however, an essential for any other art form which existed since the Middle Ages when the frame was integral to the art. Cabinetmakers, architects, gilders, and wood carvers made the first frames in 15th-century Italy. From Italy the craft of frame making spread throughout Europe. 

Some early settlers to America brought with them framed works of art, introducing the craft and frame designs of 16th- and 17th-century France, England, Holland, Spain and Portugal to the Colonies. The earliest frames were not only decorative, but also reflected the tastes and fashions of the time and often the artist's concept of what was right for his work.

During the American Federal Period from the late 18th- and early 19th-century, wealth increased for many who then sought the better things in life. The larger pictures that people hung singly and the groupings of smaller works were frequently completed with simply ornamented gilt frames that mirrored the understated furniture of the period.

Few homes were without pictures through the classically dominated Empire period from 1810 to 1830. Despite frequently being hung high above eye level, the paintings boasted elegant frames of gilt moldings, later in the period, when Empire furniture had become more elaborate and less graceful, frames, too, became extravagant featuring ornately carved plaster and lots of gilding. The exceptions were the narrow black frames used for prints. As the Victorian period embraced the American scene and became ever more ornate, frames followed suit.

By the middle of the 19th century, frame making had become a well-established industry in America. Most were mass-produced and lacked the fine quality and individual creativity of handcrafted ones.

For those seeking to collect works of two-dimensional art, a knowledge of frames— their history, styles, makers, design and material details—is very important. This can be accomplished by learning from dealers in fine frames, frames restorers, and museum curators, as well as doing a lot of reading and studying the art works in museums to see how and which frames have been used.

While choosing the wrong frame doesn’t physically damage a work of art, it damages it aesthetically. To ensure that a particular art work has the right frame, the date of the painting should match the date of the frame. During the late Victorian era, the preferred frames were wide and heavily embellished. During the years of the late 19th-century Aesthetic Movement, decorative frames continued to be used but were flatter. Another consideration should be the color of the frame appropriate to the date of the art work. 

The frame’s width depends on whether a work of art has a busy or a simple composition. Fancier frames complement busy art works while simple ones do the same for simple works of art. 

The frame should always complement or enhance the work of art it surrounds. It should never go with the style of the room that it’s in.. If the art work doesn’t fit in that room, it doesn’t belong there. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "Pottery Through the Ages" in the 2022 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Hurray for Liberty Bonds

QUESTION: I grew up with Liberty Bonds. Back then, we called them just savings bonds. I received one for each of my younger birthdays and paid for some of my college education with them. They were a favorite gift to kids at birthdays and other major events. Recently, I saw a collection of items related to Liberty Bonds at a local antiques show. I never realized that there were so many things associated with savings bonds. Do these things have any value? And what sort of items can I collect?

ANSWER: Your experience with savings bonds is a common one. Although people rarely discuss them, there are probably thousands sitting in safe deposit boxes right now. In fact, these bonds have been around for over 100 years. A Liberty bond was a war bond that the U.S. Government sold to support the allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financial securities to many citizens for the first time.

These bonds were a direct and unconditional promise of the U.S. Government to pay upon a certain date a specified sum of money in gold, together with interest at a specific rate, payable at specific dates until the bond matured Only by holding a bond to maturity could people collect the amount they paid plus interest.

“The Great War,” as World War I was known at the time, was an emotional issue. Not everyone was for it. The federal government knew that to wage a massive offensive against the Germans would cost a great deal of money. One third of the cost came from the revival of the personal income tax and an excess profits tax for businesses. The balance was to be raised by the sale of treasury bonds. The government would be asking people to dig deep into their pockets and purchase billions of dollars worth of Liberty Savings Bonds, as they came to be called.

But to get all Americans to buy these bonds took a Herculian advertising and promotional campaign which began in May of 1917. The various Federal Reserve Banks formed committees, on a state-by-state basis, which in turn organized vast numbers of volunteers. Entertainers, politicians, clergymen and persons from all walks of life took part in selling Liberty Bonds.

People couldn’t avoid the bond salesmen. They stood on street corners. The Boy and Girl Scouts went door-.to-door. Volunteers sold bonds in every movie house, theater and concert hall, and during lunch breaks at thousands of factories. They came to be called "four-minute men" because of the length of time they spoke, appealed, pleaded and lectured on the necessity of buying bonds. From the war front came wounded heroes, especially fliers, to tour the nation and to attend mass public rallies. Banks even offered to lend money for bond purchases. Celebrities conducted frequent public rallies, usually in theaters. Movie stars came out solidly to lead many of them.

It all began on April 25, 1917 when Congress approved the Liberty Loan Act which gave authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to issue $2 billion of 31/2-percent convertible bonds for sale by public subscription. Interest rates were raised to 4 1/4 and 4½  percent in later offerings. In all there were five subscription drives, the first four being numbered consecutively.

The First Liberty Bond Drive commenced May 14, 1917, the day the United States declared war on Germany. Others followed in October of that year, and in April and October 1918. A Victory Liberty Loan subscription bond drive, the funds of which went to aid our exhausted Allies, took place in April 1919 and it, too, was a success. People could purchase bonds in denominations from $50 to $100,000. The five drives of from 1917to 1919 resulted in 22 million bonds sold.

The sale of all these bonds also produced a lot of memorabilia, mostly ephemera. Collectors became interested in the late 1970s.

Posters were the first items to become popular, followed by pinback buttons and postcards. Soon all ephemera, including handbills, magazine covers and advertisements, postal slogan cancels and promotional literature was being collected.

A federal agency headed by Charles Dana Gibson organized the nation's illustrators and painters to churn out patriotic posters, including many for the Liberty Bonds program. James Montgomery Flagg,  J.C. Leyendecker and Haskell Coffin were just a few of the hundreds lending their talents and donating their time.

War Savings Stamps booklets, used to hold 10, 25, or 50-cent stamps, that when filled were turned in for a bond, delight many collectors as do the various booklets the government furnished to its army of volunteer salesmen and speakers.

The U.S Postal Service issued postcards to dramatize the appeal. Various artists contributed their skills toward creating many fascinating poster art cards. A special effort was a seven-card sepia set that was used to bombard the mailboxes of most every American. Each card began "Liberty Bonds Guarantee.. "with a different listing of objectives, such as "Liberty Bonds Guarantee Unlimited Aeroplanes. ..our Flyers must control the air." This card showed a dozen military biplanes in flight.

The U.S. Army printed another sepia set, taken from photographs in the field, which they gave to doughboys to mail back home. Inscribed "U.S. Army Post Card" on the address side, the pictorials pictured the various implements of war that Liberty Bonds were buying, such as howitzers, tanks and food. Captions emphasized the need to buy bonds: "Liberty Bonds will keep these howitzers thundering at the Huns," etc.

Volunteers handed out small pictorial stickers to bond subscribers who proudly displayed them on their front door or living-room windows. Buying a bond also earned purchasers a special pinback button to wear. Several different varieties issued; some for specific drives, others for general use. Different companies manufactured theirs for the government, including Animated Toy Company of  New York, American Art Works  of Coshocton, Ohio, Ehrman Manufacturing Company of Boston, and Manee Company of Malden, Massachusetts.

Volunteers also distributed small poster stamps so people could paste or glue them on to stationery, envelopes and postcards. These usually had patriotic motifs, especially flags, shields and the American eagle. There were also 10-cent savings stamps that could be purchased and glued into booklets.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about Colonial America in the Spring 2018 Edition, "EArly Americana," online now.  

Ladeez and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth

QUESTION: When I was a kid, I loved going to the circus with my parents each Spring. There was something exciting and foreign about it—the unusual animals and the performers who seemed to come from all over the world. A while back, I purchased an old circus poster from the Barnum and Bailey Circus and have it hanging on the wall in my den. But I know nothing about it. A friend told me the U.S. Post Office recently issued a new set of stamps featuring circus posters. My interest has been rekindled all over again. What can you tell me about them?

ANSWER: Circus promoters referred to circus posters as "bills" from the early use of handbills, paper, or later, "lithos", whether printers produced them using lithography or not.

Circus owners recognized the notion that "a picture is worth a thousand words." So they incorporated illustrations, which early on took the form of wood engravings, or in some cases cruder woodcuts. Engravings from mahogany blocks, however, were difficult to make and expensive, so printers used them sparingly and repeatedly. The same images would be used over and over again, often for different shows, thus originating the concept of "stock" posters. Circuses produced early show posters in mass, using a single design, often with only a printed title. Other information, such as dates and locations would be handwritten or stamped with ink by circus advance men.

By the 1860's more circus owners embraced the poster as their main means of promotion. And by 1880, the Golden Age of the circus poster had begun.
   
The actual production of circus posters from idea to finished product was a team effort. Some of the most talented artists of the day designed circus posters, but most didn't sign their work. In fact, most printing companies created circus posters as production art--much like the "original oil paintings" available at Airport Hotel Sales. Any number of artists might work on the overall design of a poster. Often, specific artists specialized in certain subjects. For example, a single artist might specialize in lettering while another specialized in horses, and yet another in performer portraits.

Circus posters can be divided into two categories—stock or specialty. Stock posters, generic designs that could be used by any circus, included images of clowns, wild animals, performers, etc.. Show printers would print large runs of stock designs and store them, making them the most inexpensive. Circus owners could pick these out of catalogs and have their show's  title printed on them. It wasn't uncommon for more than one circus to use the same poster designs in the same season. Printed stock posters might remain in storage for years until a printer sold them to a circus to be used. Often posters used during a specific year had actually been printed decades before.

The dimensions of circus posters are important in dating them. Originally, printers based the sizes of posters on the size of their printing press beds, which varied widely. Eventually, printers standardized a unit of measure called a "sheet"at 28" by 42", basing these dimensions on the dimensions of a lithographic stone a single man could handle or carry.

The most common were "one-sheets," followed by "half-sheets" measuring 28"x  21".  "Flats" had a horizontal format, while "uprights" had a vertical orientation. Printers also produced various multiple sheets, with corresponding multiple dimensions. They produced larger multiples in rare instances, including 100-sheet posters and larger. Printers determined the kind of bill by the combinations of sheets.

Even though printers produced circus posters cheaply by the thousands, they used high quality medium weight woven paper, usually bleached to a bright white color, even though posters were printed in volume and used briefly. Also, printers used oil-based inks for printing circus posters because they were often hung outside.

In the mid-1970's, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey adopted a policy of using only a single poster design for each edition of their circus, often incorporating a variety of featured acts or attractions in the design. By the late 1970's, few circuses even used posters, and many shows opted to use window cards only, which could be placed indoors or simply be stapled to telephone poles outside.

Probably the greatest image ever produced for a circus poster design was that of a leaping tiger, designed by the noted illustrator Charles Livingston Bull in 1914. This particular image may well be the most recognizable circus image in history, and it’s still in use today, often appearing in set and costume designs in current productions of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Bull's original poster image, however, doesn’t bear his signature.

Generally speaking, circus posters can sell anywhere from $30 to $375.  With such a broad range, collectors must take the specific circus, date, and condition into consideration. At the low end might be a mint Famous Cole 3 Ring Circus poster with black type on yellow stock for $30. At the high end might be a rare Cole Bros. Circus from the Erie Litho. & Ptg Co., of Erie, Pennsylvania, bearing the title, “Cole Bros. Circus Presents Quarter- Million Pound Act of Performing Elephants–The Most Colossal Train Animals Display Ever Presented” for $375.

Although circuses continue to thrill youngsters, much of the promotion is now done using T.V. and radio ads and discount coupons handed out in supermarkets. The days of posters plastered on the sides of buildings are long gone.

Smokey the Bear is Still Smokin’

QUESTION: As I was cleaning out my attic recently, I came across my old Smokey the Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit. Do you know if this is collectible today?

ANSWER: Your "Smokey the Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit," was popular with kids since its introduction in 1957. Today, it’s also a popular collectible. It came complete with a bookmark, letter from Smokey, membership car blotter, four poster stamps and a Junior Forest Ranger Certificate, all profusely illustrated, inside of a beautiful envelope. The Forest Service even included a brass-relief badge from time to time. .

Created by a Madison Avenue advertising campaign in 1944, Smokey the Bear quickly became a beloved national symbol. His plea, "Only you can prevent forest fires," first coined in 1947, is familiar to all.

While Walt Disney’s Bambi had been previously used as a symbol for forest fire prevention, the ad men for the Forest Service decided a bear would be better and gave the job of designing him to illustrator Albert Staehle.

The mid-20th century artist is best remembered for his Saturday Evening Post and American Weekly magazine covers featuring a black and white cocker spaniel. Staehle created the Smokey character with the ranger hat and carrying a water bucket. He did four original posters of Smokey for the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

After Staehle created Smokey the Bear, Rudy Wendelin took on the job his artist. For 30 years, until
his retirement from the Forest Service in 1975. Wendelin endlessly drew Smokey. Later, he even designed the commemorative postage stamp released in 1984 in honor of Smokey’s 40th anniversary.

The cartoon bear was supposedly named after Smokey Joe Martin, New York City's assistant firechief in the 1920's. He began appearing on fire prevention posters and billboards and in countless television public service advertisements pleading with viewers to be fire-safe in the forests.

In 1950, a badly burned cub was rescued in the aftermath of a fire in New Mexico's Lincoln National Forest. He was chosen to be the living symbol of forest fire prevention by the national government. For the next 25 years the bear, now named Smokey after the department's famous cartoon character, was used as a living reminder to Americans of the need to be careful with matches and fire in the forests. In May of 1975 he was retired to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and there he died in November of 1976. His remains were transported back to New Mexico and today, Smokey is buried in his original forest. Another orphan cub was chosen to succeed him.

The Smokey the Bear campaign produced an enormous amount of collectibles. This treasure trove includes everything from stuffed bears and banks to bumper stickers and books of every size and type.

Early recognizing the growing popularity of its fire fighting bear, the United States government trademarked him in 1952. This was done to insure that he would not be used in any way detrimental to his goal. It also brought in royalties, which fluctuated between $40,000 and $200,000 or more each year—money used to supplement the fire prevention budget.

Smokey the Bear can be found in cloth, metal, plastic, and porcelain. Most popular are the stuffed bears. Ideal Toy Company manufactured the first one in 1952. Knickerbocker and Dakin soon followed. Teddy bears of Smokey, wearing jeans and a ranger hat, have been made in all sizes. Some were often talking toys, games, records, and drinking cups and mugs flooded the marketplace in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's.

The first appearance of Smokey the Bear in a comic book came in a 1950 release, entitled Forest Fire, by the American Forestry Association. Rudy Wendelin did the artwork. The Dell Publishing Company produced a series of eight comic books from October 1955 to August 1961. Then came Smokey the Bear in 1962 by K.K. Publications for a 13-year run as part of their "March of Comics" series. And from February 1970 to March 1973, Gold Key issued 13 comic books.

In 1959, the United State Forest Service had Western Printing Company create a comic book, “The True Story of Smokey the Bear,” for use as an educational giveaway to youngsters. It became a popular premium for the next 10 years.

The Forest Service also handed out other premiums since the 1950's that today are quite collectible. These include the Junior Forest Ranger' badges. The agency also gave away pinback buttons with Smokey's face and the slogan, "I'm Helping Smokey Prevent Forest Fires," as well as a free coloring book, "The Blazing Forest," also printed by Western Publishing Company, as part of its "Prevent Forest Fires" campaign.