Come one, come all!
Time to dig into those closets and cedar chests. Search your Oz collections, and find those pieces of Oz and L. Frank Baum ephemera that we’ve never seen published in the collectible guides or mentioned anywhere on the Internet. Oz has yielded an empire of collectibles, starting when Baum’s Oz books were first published in the early 1900s all the way to the present-day production of collectibles based on the famous 1939 classic film and other Oz incarnations. So it’s reasonable to assume, with so many years of Oz and all those collectibles being made and produced, some must have slipped through the cracks, unseen by the majority of us collectors. This blog will serve as a new show-and-tell for objects from the Land of Oz, giving aficionados a chance to really showcase those items in their possession that have made them wonder, “What in Oz is this?!”
With the knowledge I’ve developed as an Oz collector and Baum enthusiast for the past 25 years, I will tackle questions about collectibles to the best of my abilities. If you have an unusual item that you’d like to know more about, contact me via email by clicking here. All you need to do is send in a few photos and some identifying features of the collectible in question, and we might feature it right here on the blog! Oz fans and collectors will have a chance to see new and rare objects, and those sharing their collectibles could learn new information from knowledgeable people in the Oz community.
The next installments of Unknown Oz will feature newly discovered, exciting Oz antiques! You’ll get a rare look at such items as a 1940 cut-out book from Great Britain featuring the MGM characters, a revolving heat lamp depicting a 1960s-style Dorothy and friends that was sold as a souvenir to Grand Canyon vacationers, and a unique musical makeup vanity case from the 1940s that plays “The Merry Old Land of Oz” when opened. We’ve even found never-before-seen men’s handkerchiefs that feature Al Hirschfeld’s character drawings from 1939! These are just some of the wonderful vintage finds waiting to be shared and discovered. None of them have been published before in any Oz guide or online Oz fan site.
We invite International Wizard of Oz Club members and readers of this blog to come share previously unseen objects from Oz. Let’s start our new Unknown Oz journey together!
Warmest wishes,
Walter Krueger