American Fairy Tales

"American Fairy Tales" is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" the previous year. The cover, title page, and page borders were designed by Ralph Fletcher Seymour; each story was furnished with two full-page black-and-white illustrations, by either Harry Kennedy, [Kennedy had illustrated two of Baum's earlier books, "The Army Alphabet" and "The Navy Alphabet" (both published in 1900).] Ike Morgan, [Morgan would illustrate Baum's "The Woggle-Bug Book" (1905).] or N. P. Hall.

Background

L. Frank Baum was doing well in 1901, better than ever before in his life. He had written two popular books, "Father Goose" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," and was determined to capitalize on this success. In addition to "American Fairy Tales," Baum's "Dot and Tot of Merryland" and "The Master Key" would appear in 1901.

Publisher George M. Hill sold the serialization rights to the twelve stories in "AFT" to five major newspapers, the Pittsburgh Dispatch, the Boston Post, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the St. Louis Republic, and The Chicago Chronicle. The stories appeared between March 3 and May 19, 1901; the book followed in October. The first three papers used or adapted the book's illustrations for their publications of the stories, while the Chronicle and the Republic had their own staff artists do separate pictures.

Book Design

The first edition of "AFT" had an unusual and striking design: each page was furnished with a broad illustrated border done in pen-and-ink by Seymour, which took up more than half the surface of the page, like a medieval illuminated manuscript. This probably reflected the influence of the medieval-revival book designs produced in the late nineteenth century by William Morris at his Kelmscott Press.

The Stories

The twelve stories were published in this order in the first edition.
#"The Box of Robbers." Illustrated by Ike Morgan.
#"The Glass Dog." Illustrated by Harry Kennedy.
#"The Queen of Quok." Morgan.
#"The Girl Who Owned a Bear." Kennedy.
#"The Enchanted Types." Morgan.
#"The Laughing Hippopotamus." Morgan.
#"The Magic Bon Bons." Morgan.
#"The Capture of Father Time." Kennedy.
#"The Wonderful Pump." The single story illustrated by N. P. Hall.
#"The Dummy That Lived." Morgan.
#"The King of the Polar Bears." Morgan.
#"The Mandarin and the Butterfly." Morgan.

The stories, as critics have noted, lack the high-fantasy aspect of the best of Baum's work, in Oz or out. With ironic or nonsensical morals attached to their ends, their tone is more satirical, glib, and tongue-in-cheek than is usual in children's stories; the serialization in newspapers for adult readers was appropriate for the materials. "The Magic Bon Bons" was the most popular of the tales, judging by number of reprints.

Two of the stories, "The Enchanted Types" and "The Dummy That Lived," employ "knooks" and "ryls," the fairies that Baum would use in "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" the next year, 1902. "The Dummy That Lived" depends upon the idea of a department-store mannequin brought to life, an early expression of an idea that would re-used by many later writers in television and films.

Later Editions

Bobbs-Merrill, the firm that bought the rights to Baum's books when George M. Hill went out of business in February 1902, published a second edition of "AFT" in 1908, with a new cover and sixteen two-color illustrations by George Kerr to replace the originals by Seymour, Morgan, Kennedy, and Hall. This second edition also added an Author's Note by Baum and three more stories—"The Strange Adventures of an Egg," "The Ryl," and "The Witchcraft of Mary-Marie." A third edition appeared ca. 1923-4, with dropped half the color illustrations; this edition kept the book in print as late as 1942.

Notes

References

*Baum, L. Frank. "American Fairy Tales." Introduction by Martin Gardner. Reprinted, New York, Dover Publications, 1978.
*Rogers, Katharine M. "L. Frank Baum: Creator of Oz." New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002.