The International Wizard of Oz Club has a small research collection of books, manuscript documents, and original artwork. Our collection complements our purposes:
-Educating and encouraging the interest of our members and the general public in the writings of L. Frank Baum and other authors about the Land of Oz
-Promoting research about authors, illustrators, critics, and other matters related to Oz
-Encouraging original writing and other forms of expression about Oz.
The collection began with the bequest of longtime member and pioneer collector Dick Martin, who left to the Club his unparalleled collection of Baum and Oz material. Dick expressed the hope that the Club would benefit from the sale of items from his collection, and indeed the Club’s core funding derives from that sale. However, selected items of great, ongoing research value that would facilitate the research and publication of the Club’s magazine, The Baum Bugle, were retained.
Inspired by Dick Martin’s generosity, collectors Bruce and Gail Crockett subsequently donated the papers and library of Ruth Plumly Thompson, the second author of the Oz books and the creator of 19 titles in the original series as well as two additional Oz books published by the International Wizard of Oz Club. Other generous donors in recent years have added back numbers of The Baum Bugle as well as selected book titles.
The International Wizard of Oz Club is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization. Many donations can, therefore, offer tax benefits to donors.
The Nature of the Collection
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Access to the Archives
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