Publisher(s)

George M. Hill Company 1900

George M. Hill was one of the pioneers of the bookbinding industry in Chicago. Hill started to learn the bookbinding trade as an apprentice for A.J. Cox the founder of the firm of A.J. Cox & Co, then worked in various other binderies, rising from foreman to superintendent, then to manager (George). In 1893, he started in business for himself, under the firm name of George M. Hill Company, changing to the Hill Binding Company in 1902. It is interesting to note that an obituary page on Hill provided detailed information on his life as a publisher, which helped to identify how publishing companies were approached by writers, and what publishing companies offer writers.  The Hill publishing company published children's books, but also published a reprint of the 1847 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which was out of copywrght (Wiki). In 1902, the Hill company purchased the right from G&C Merriam Company, which now is called Merriam-Webster. 

When Baum and Denslow developed Father Goose, a collection of rhymes and illustrations, together they agreed to share royalties. In 1899, they looked for a publisher to produce their work. Denslow sent a copy with his name in big letters and Baum's in small letters. Later, he was persuaded to decrease the size of his name on the cover to give Baum equal credit (Rogers, p. 67). Together, they approached George M. Hill; "he specialized in cheap reprints of standard novels, and was not enthusiastic about their project, but agreed to print and bind the book if Baum and Denslow would pay the entire cost of publication (Rogers, p. 68). Denslow and Baum were to pay for the lavish illustrations, supplying "all the plates for the pages, cover, and even advertising posters" (Rogers p. 68). On the other hand, Hill handled other expenses, including binding, paper, and distribution. The Father Goose books were successful, which led the team to work on another book together--"by the end of the year, it had sold 75, 500 copies (Rogers, p. 68). The Hill company published Baum's first book in the Oz series entitled The Wizard of Oz. (1900). Another work entitled American Fairy Tales  (1901) the G.M. Hill company produced. The work was a collection of twelve fantasy stories by Baum, and it was published in 1901. The designer for the collection was Ralph Fletcher Seymour (American). (See Illumination post).

Bobbs-Merril Company 1902

The George M. Hill Company went bankrupt and out of business, so Baum had to look for another publishing house to publish his work. A few other publishing houses including: Bobbs-Merrill and the Century Company were options. Bobbs-Merrill, the firm that bought the rights to Baum's books when George M. Hill, went out of business in February 1902 (Rogers p. 103). Baum signed with Bobbs-Merill but was unhappy with the company because he was one of many authors on the list. Baum did not want a publisher with a long list of established authors, instead he needed a publisher with which he could make long-term plans rather then dealing manuscript by manuscript (Rogers p. 117). The fact that the other publishing houses had more author's on their list, would prevent Baum's work from being considered. Since Baum wanted to create a series he needed a publisher who would consider the entire range of books. The idea that an entire book written as series might have been a new idea. In the 19th century, Charles Dickens wrote chapters in increments, but he never wrote an entire book as a series.

Reilly and Britton Company 1904

Two men who were employees at the Hill Company, head salesman Sumner Charles Britton and production manager Frank K. Reilly, decided to begin a new publishing firm on their own, named Reilly and Britton. They were personal friends of Baum, and encouraged Baum to write the second book in the Oz series. The second book would be the first title to be published by their new publishing company. The Reilly & Britton Company fit Baum's needs. Because the firm was a new company, there were few author's on the list, they could afford to spend time planning and entire series of books with Baum. Why be one among many on a list? This decision to go with an unestablished publishing house might have diminished Baum's books in the eyes of critics, but it did not effect his readership (Rogers, p. 122). Baum signed a new contract with Reilly & Britton agreeing to create the publisher’s juvenile list, committing to write 5 juveniles and one adult novel "he was assuring himself of the position of premiere juvenile author with the company" (Reilly p. 117).
Reilly & Britton agreed not to publish any juveniles in 1906 except those by Baum. It was the beginning of the golden age of juveniles serials, and Reilly and Britton was known as the publisher of series books for children and teenagers (Reilly, p. 117).

This contract between publisher and writer is different from the process of children's books today. Freelance writer can submit their work, and illustrators will be chosen to accompany the writing. Sometimes writer and artist never meet, today. For Baum and the publishing company, it appears as though he has control of his work, but he is also instructed to write an adult novel. This is interesting, because Baum is known to be a children's author. However, forcing Baum to write for an older audience is great because it can show his range as a writer. Researching for his adult novels, I discovered that many were for young adult audience, under a pseudonym, with a female name Edith Van Dyne. Under Edith, Baum wrote a ten novel series called Aunt Jane's Nieces (1906). According to Edith is one of many pseudonyms that Baum used for his non-Oz books. The use of a pseudonym is a clever way to keep the books separate. Using Baum's name for new books for an older audience could have been distracting for Oz fans, who, it appears ,were mostly children. The idea of using a female for his pseudonym is another comment on the 20th century's changing society--women's rights, and equality.  

 

The Marvelous Land of Oz prompted the following publications published by Reilly and Britton:

1.) Series of 26 short stories entitled "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz," which ran in several newspapers from August 28, 1904 to February 26, 1905 ( Riley, p.108.)

2.) Short book The Woggle-Bug Book (1905)

3.) Play based on the book The Woggle-Bug Book

4.) Adult novel The Fate of a Crown by Baum under a pseudonym "Schuler Staunton" (Riley, p. 117)

5.) Reilly and Britton promoted the new Oz book by publishing an Oz newspaper for children. The Ozmapolitan. The Ozmapolitan was a real newspaper that included a Sunday comic page about events from the world of Oz.

Reilly & Britton remained Baum's publisher for the remainder of his career, starting with The Marvelous Land of Oz. The firm did not become a popular publishing company from the Oz series. The most promenient author's were Baum and a poet named Edgar Guest.

Other Books Published by Reilly & Britton:

1.) Classics like Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm

2.) Popular and topical series books The Airship Boys and The Boy Scouts of the Air.

3.) Sports materials: baseball books

4.) Popular authors: poet Edgar Guest (best known for "The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat").

Reilly & Lee Company 1919

In 1919, the Reilly & Britton firm became Reilly & Lee. In 1965,   a publisher named Dick Martin prepared a new issue of The Ozmapolitan, the imaginary newspaper of the Emerald City. You can download a PDF of the entire issue by clicking here.

Publishing Houses of 1900s

Other publishing houses in early 1900s were: Harper Brothers, Scribner's, Appletons, Lothrops, and the Century (Rogers, p. 71).