Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 65, no. 1 (Winter 2021), pgs. 38–39
Citations
Chicago 17th ed.:
Crotzer, Sarah K. Review of The Wonderful Wizards of Art, edited by Daniel Kinske, Baum Bugle 65, no. 1 (2021): 38–39.
MLA 9th ed.:
Crotzer, Sarah K. Review of The Wonderful Wizards of Art, edited by Daniel Kinske, The Baum Bugle, vol. 65, no. 1, 2021, pp. 38–39.
(Note: typographical errors have been left in place to accurately reflect the printed version.)
THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF ART: AN ILLUSTRATED ODYSSEY THROUGH THE LAND OF OZ by Daniel “Munch” Kinske. Introduction by Caren Marsh-Doll. Different Color Press, 2021. 145 pages. Hardcover, $90.00. ISBN: 9780999471104.
When I was a kid, I used to check out The Annotated Wizard of Oz from the public library and turn immediately to the introductory section at the front of the book. I would carefully read the reproduced advertising materials, squint at images from silent films, and marvel that photographs from Baum’s stageplays even existed. From almost the very beginning of my Oz fandom, I was aware that Oz was more than just books and movies: it was a cultural lens on American creativity in the twentieth century, and it was full of extraordinary, hidden surprises.
Daniel Kinske’s new book is a magical mystery tour through the first half-century of Ozian wonder: colorful, rapturous, and occasionally a little disorienting. Divided into four chapters, with a loose chronological progression, the book encapsulates nearly every visual aspect of Oz from 1899 to 1939, focusing primarily on the work of W. W. Denslow, the production and publicity of the 1902 Wizard of Oz musical, and the marketing of and tributes to MGM’s film The Wizard of Oz (1939)—with extra attention to the work of caricaturist Al Hirshfeld, who seems to be Kinske’s specialization. There are also brief side trips to explore the art of John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum’s California home Ozcot, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and the 1925 Wizard of Oz silent comedy. It is a feast for any Oz fan who enjoys being transported to another time.
It has surprises to share, too, just like those books from decades past. While much of the art will be familiar to long-time researchers and collectors, few will have seen everything. Even some of the recognizable images feel brand new when presented full-page. (The book includes a variety of reproduction sizes that provide anywhere from one to nine images per page, recalling the layout of a real-life picture gallery.) Among the more delightful choices are the original illustration for and finished version of a 1902 “poppy girl” lithograph; eight 1902 costume sketches by designer Caroline Siedle; an original pen-and-ink illustration of the Shaggy Man from 1909’s The Road to Oz; a pair of ticket stubs for the premiere of MGM’s Wizard at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Aug. 15, 1939; photos of Orson Welles attending the same event; a two-page photo of MGM’s original cornfield set under director Richard Thorpe; and four recently discovered pieces of color MGM concept art by Jack Martin Smith.
There are also several fun comparisons and thematic groupings: more than a half-dozen of Denslow’s Scarecrow and Tin-Man comic pages presented alongside original pen-and-ink elements from the same strips, for instance, and two pages of MGM “nitrate clippings” provide before-and-after matte shots of the approach to Emerald City. Posters based on, and accompanying, the same source photo from the 1902 musical show the influence of each artist’s unique imagination. A close study of Al Hirschfeld’s line art for MGM publicity materials allows us to see significant differences in the poster, trade ad, and studio letterhead that might never be noticed in a casual presentation.
Kinske has spared no expense in making this a premium collector’s item befitting its limited press run of 515 (with each copy’s individual number displayed on the back). Standing at eleven by seventeen inches, the pages are printed on a heavy weight of paper that gives the book substance, with the edges gilded in gold, and the cover is stamped in silver foil. The book opens with an eight-page introduction by Judy Garland’s stand-in, Caren Marsh-Doll, who signed the front endpaper of each and every copy when she was but 99 years old. (She is now 103!) Kinske himself has signed a special “coroner’s death certificate” illustration inside, acknowledging his co-authorship of the late Meinhardt Raabe’s memoir, Memories of a Munchkin.
The book’s one downside is that it is not comprehensive. Researchers will be disappointed at the relative lack of commentary or captions for the images, especially in the first three chapters; while contributors are acknowledged in the back of the volume, including several prominent members of the Oz Club, readers are left to guess at the identity and provenance of most specific pieces. Years of origin, at least, would have been helpful. There are also a number of typos in the small amount of text, such as the repeated assertion of L. Frank Baum’s wife as “Maude Gauge Baum.” While these details do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book’s imagery, they leave it sometimes feeling a little bit incomplete, especially at this price point.
If you have ever, like me, seen a rare piece of Oz art or advertising in a book and wished you could see it full-size, in color, The Wonderful Wizards of Art will leave you an overwhelmed child on Christmas morning. Its contents are so rich and assorted that it will take you four or five revisits to even take them all in. You can go back again—and again—and again. The pleasure will always be yours, no library card required.
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