Pagination/Collation/Rubrication

Oz Book Collector

Michael O. Riley is a collector, binder and book restorer who has analyzed and worked on a large number of copies of the Hill editions of the Oz books. In his book, A Bookbinder’s Analysis of the first Edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2011),  he observes the Wizard of Oz (1904) printed book, and raises the question whether there could be some pattern to the manufacture of “mixed”  copies, and what is the legitimate representation of the book at the point of production. There is no original “first edition” copy, so it is hard to compare additional copies to the real thing. How can a book collector determine whether his/her copy of the Oz book is closest to the original edition?
 

Since the Wizard of Oz was published before Land of Oz, it can be useful to understand the methods of binding, that may have been used to manufacture the rest of the series of Oz books. In assuming that the same book binding methods were used for the first edition of The Wizard of Oz book as for the sequel, published four years later, binding, pagination, collation, and rubrication are the same. The research that has been done by Reilly helps identify how both Wizard of Oz and Land of Oz  books were produced in the early 1900s.

According to Riley, it has been hard to find an Oz book in mint condition, which is strange because it played a huge part in American history. There are no known copies to exist that are in perfect condition.The first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is extremely important to the history of the American children’s books. Nothing like it had been seen before: its innovative design literally changed the look of books for children. It is known as having an influence on children’s book design. The sequel continues the tradition of adding color to illustration, but there appears to be problems with binding due to this artistic idea, as discussed below.

The Wizard book was considered a “trade book”, and was bound largely by the usual methods used for trade books of the time. All Oz books were hardcover books.

The text block consisted of seventeen gatherings with numerous text illustrations in color, plus twenty-four (16 for Land of Oz) tipped-in, full-color illustrations printed on art paper somewhat thinner that that used for the text.

The gatherings were machine-sewn together (Smyth sewn).The Smyth sewn technique is where the signatures of the book are folded and stiched through the fold. The signatures are then sewen or glued together at the spine to form a text block. The problem with this technique is that the pages are not secure, and will become loose over time (Parisi, p. 8).

The spine was lined with mull (a heavily starched, cheese cloth-like material) with a paper strip over this; and cloth head and tail bands were glued onto the ends of the spine. The completed text block was then glued by the mull, and (unlike the usual trade method) by the first and last sheets of the text paper, into a pre-made cloth cover (Riley p. 9).

W.W. Denslow’s innovative design in Wizard of Oz , caused some slight deviations in the text block from the trade book norm. The physical books of the period were non-standard size—being shorter and squarer than was common—and their lack of separate inserted endpapers.  (Riley, p.9)

 

The height of the text pages (8 3/8 after trimming) meant that the Smyth sewing matching was unable to be set to sew as many stitches as it would on a standard sized volume. Wizard fell just short of the book height that could be sewed on five locked stitches. In other words, the fifth stitch could not be completed, and this left the bottom inch-and –a-half of the spine unsupported by sewing.

One of the most common ways to hold a book open for reading aloud is to hold it at that point of the spine. However, the bindings of the Oz books appear to be weaker, so they would be less sturdy with wear.

The usual trade book contained separate endpapers made of a heavier weight paper than that used for the text; and although this fold of paper was glued to the text block only along its fold, its presence did help relive stress on the weaker text paper. The Hill edition instead used the first and last text pages as the endpapers, again slightly weakening the binding. Riley believes this may have been Denslow’s decision because it allowed him to begin his design for the book on the front paste-down and to carry that design through to the last visible page, the rear paste down. When readers open the book they see the grey and black picture of the Cowardly Lion on the left and a blank page on the right, the. (Riley p.10)

The Wizard book was printed on heavy paper—too heavy for the standard method of case binding—and so, over time gravity has cause the text block in most copies to sag and loosen from the case (10). The text sheets were printed in an arrangement that caused the gatherings to be folded against the grain. The grain in Wizard runs from the  gutter to the force edge rather than from the top to bottom. Because the pages do not bend as easily as they might, every turn of a page puts extra strain on the spine glue and the sewing.

WizardMost trade books of the time had gatherings folded against the grain (Riley, 10).

The book's unusual dimensions (large format) caused a problem for the standard sewing machines and made the spine connection weaker at the bottom. In order to keep the colored illustrations from showing through the paper, a heavier text paper was needed. The illustrations were in great detail, so the color plates had to be printed on coated paper and were used as inserts. This is why many Oz books need repair work or restoration.

Pagination/Collation for Land of Oz

Inserted Title Page: Hand-lettered  within a double rule border

Collation: I-I6/8, 17/4, 264 pages printed in black and white. Leaf measures 8 3/8 by 6 3/8 inches, all edges trimmed and stained yellow.

Pagination: Board lining paper printed with an illustration of the tin man and scarecrow. Publishers advertisement, introduction, copyright notice, list of chapters, dedication, subtitle for board lining paper.

Illustrations: Multiple text illustrations.

Binding: Light orange cloth, stamped in the red and green on the front, back, and spine. Cloth head and tail bands are attached to the spine ends. The spine reads from top down: The/ Marvelous/Land/Of  Oz, Baum, and illustration of General JinJar and publisher Reilly and Lee.

Publication Date: July 1904