“This is a great comfort,” says the Tin Woodsman after Dorothy oiled the joints in his arms, allowing him to put down his axe. An illustration from TheWizard of Oz, the 1903 edition of the iconic children’s story written by L. Frank Baum, with illustrations by W. W. Denslow.
In January 1900, Baum and Denslow, both based in Chicago, applied for joint copyright of a story that was originally called The Land of Oz. By May of that year, it had been renamed The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and was prepared for publication, with the agreement that Baum and Denslow would share royalties equally. A book fair at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago in July provided the public with its first opportunity to see the book, which was offered for sale in September. By September 1901, Baum had worked the story into a five-act musical, The Wizard of Oz, which opened at Chicago’s Grand Opera House in June 1902. Frances Glessner took her daughter, Frances Glessner Lee, and her daughter-in-law, Alice Glessner, to see the musical on January 2, 1903.
In July 1903, Bobbs-Merrill reprinted the book as The Wizard of Oz, eliminating the word “wonderful” from the title, due to the success of the musical that was known by the shorter name. This is the edition of the book found in the Glessner House library.