TIK-TOK OF OZ; By L. Frank Baum / Illustrated by John R. Neill

Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co, 1914. Later Printing of 1914 First Edition. Decorated & gilt-stamped cloth. Good Plus/None. John R. Neill. Quarto (9 1/4" x 7" x 1 3/8"), publisher's green cloth with black lettering on spine & full-color pictorial pastedown of Betsy Bobbin astride a mule while hugging Tik-Tok around the neck; illustrated by John R. Neill with many B&W line-drawings: pictorial preliminaries & half title, full-page frontispiece, chapter headings & tailpieces; several full-page B&W plates (often 1 or 2 for each of the 24 chapters & double-spread pp.56-7), vignettes; [i-xii], 13-271, [272] pages. Weight: 1 lb. 6.5 oz. Tik-Tok of Oz is the eighth Land of Oz book by L. Frank Baum, first published on June 19, 1914. The book has little to do with Tik-Tok--sometimes described as a "proto-type robot"--but is primarily about the Shaggy Man's efforts to rescue his brother and his conflict with the Nome King.<br /> <br /> L. Frank Baum (1856 - 1919) was a bestselling American author famous for his children's books, particularly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. He wrote a total of 14 novels in the Oz series, plus 41 other novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts.<br /> <br /> GOOD PLUS CONDITION. Cloth is firm though covers have light-to-moderate rubbing with one tiny puncture above the word "OZ." Spine is faded to tan. Pages are uniformly and lightly age-toned and quite clean without marks or scribbles though with about half a dozen little finger-like smudges in margins. Black-&-white images remain bright without foxing. No dust jacket. Both hinges secure: rear hinge area has thin split but web beneath is holding well. No publisher's ads.<br /> <br /> Printing is after the first edition in 1914 by Reilly & Britton. Hanff, Greene, et al, Bibliographia OZiana, revised & expanded, pp.66-68; where it is noted that "around 1935, the color plates were discontinued." Previous owner's name on free front endpaper with date of 1942; ergo, we estimate this copy's date of publication as being after 1935 through 1942.