Ornaments Novelty Pt. 2

San Francisco Music Box made a small variety of musical ornaments. In addition to the Oz cast and ruby slippers ornaments, San Francisco Music Box made a set of brightly colored ornaments in tins. Dorothy is shown below.

Sterling's unusual version of the Oz characters.



Silvestri gave collectors many ornaments to choose from in the mid-90s. In addition to those shown below were tole ornaments, spun glass ornaments, plastic light covers, and poppy garland.



I don't know the manufacturer of these ornaments but I thought they were kind of neat. Dorothy is also available wearing a blue dress.



And last for the novelty ornaments are these curious light covers. This set also includes Toto.

Novelty Ornaments Pt. 1

There's so many ornaments to choose from! It was difficult to decide which to highlight. I picked out a few that I thought were rare, unusual or especially pretty.

G. G. Santiago designed a set of 24 charming Wonderful Wizard of Oz figural ornaments of children impersonating Oz characters for Ashton Drake. The first set of 3 is shown. Other characters include The Wicked Witch of the West, the Cowardly Lion, The Good Witch of the North, the Wizard, flying monkey, Queen of the Field Mice, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em to name just a few.



Boyds popular bears and figurines have been made into Christmas ornaments. The plush were introduced for fall of 2006. The Shoebox figural ornaments will be released spring of 2007.





In 1977, Bradford Novelty was probably among the first to produce Wizard of Oz ornaments based on the MGM film. Boxed sets of plastic bulbs and bells displaying images of the film scenes and characters.



Dept. 56, manufacturer of fine collectibles, has no shortage of Oz collectibles including these amusing interpretations of Wonderful Wizard of Oz characters.

Marfield Christmas Decor made early Wonderful Wizard of Oz ornaments.

Ornaments Kurt Adler Pt. 1

Kurt Adler has been in the business of creating holiday cheer for 60 years. Adler's Santa's World division has produced varied Wizard of Oz ornaments since the late 1970s. The ornaments are based on both the book and the MGM film and are manufactured from various mediums including fabric mache', plastic, wood, glass, resin, metal, cloth, and porcelain.

Shown below is a small sampling of the wide assortment of Wizard of Oz ornaments Adler has brought us through the years.

1970s or 1980s   4" - 6" dough ornaments


1980s Stained glass ornaments based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  Note Dorothy's silver slippers and yellow cap from the Wicked Witch of the West

1987   This year Kurt Adler offered a variety of Oz holiday items including Christmas caroller ornaments and figurines, 24" animated figures, cloth figural ornaments, felt tote bag ornaments, a tree skirt, paper garland, and porcelain doll ornaments.


1993 Gorgeous resin ornaments styled after W. W. Denslow's Wonderful Wizard of Oz illustrations.


1995 Cloth and button primitive styled ornaments

Ornaments Kurt Adler Pt. 2

Circa 2000 Dorothy stocking. Never mass manufactured but a few were sold on Ebay.


2000 Light Sets Oz busts with ruby slippers & Ruby Slippers
2005 Light Set Oz Stars



2002 Miniature toby jugs

New for 2006
Ruby Slipper & yellow brick road 6 ft. garland
6" porcelain doll ornaments

Starting in 1997 the Oz Polonaise were based on the MGM film rather then the book

2003 Dorothy and Glinda
To Oz




2005 Oz Tree

There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

Many people do not realize how closely The Wizard of Oz is associated with Christmas. True, the story itself has nothing to do with the holiday, but Oz has become a Christmas tradition in countless households. What follows are just a few examples.

L. Frank Baum met his wife, Maud, at a holiday party. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a best seller during the 1900 holiday season and generations after were overjoyed to find an Oz book under the tree Christmas morn. In 1902, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus was published and in a later Oz book, The Road to Oz, Santa Claus was an honored guest at Ozma's birthday party. The telefilm The Dreamer of Oz based on Baum's life first aired during the 1990 holiday season. (More on the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus )

Eventually the MGM film became something of a Christmas staple. W.L. Stensgaard's window and department store displays dotted cities across the country in late 1939. Oz Christmas displays based on both the book and the movie continue to be popular attractions. The Spring 1996 issue of the Baum Bugle features a fantastic example of awe inspiring animated vignettes from Dayton's Department Store.

The MGM film was a holiday favorite on television creating many fond childhood memories. On Christmas Day in 1950, Judy Garland re-created her role as Dorothy for the Lux Radio Broadcast of The Wizard of Oz. Stage adaptations of the film are frequently mounted during the holiday season.

Christmas ornaments made by companies such as Kurt Adler, Hallmark, Christopher Radko, and Sterling, to name a few, are perennial best sellers.


Earlier this week I went to Zoolights at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon for the first time. If anyone should find themselves in the area during the holiday season it's well worth the trip. The lights are just beautiful. The Zoolights also features train rides, costumed characters, performances from school choirs and fun activities on the weekends. You might even get a glimpse of some of the zoo animals who don't mind the cold weather.


While browsing Ebay I came across these darling Snowman Wizard of Oz figures and ornaments.   You can find more information about Debbie's Snow Folk at the following link.
http://mysite.verizon.net/debroy55/id32.html



Possible Dreams makes Clothtique Santa Claus figurines with remarkable detail in a variety of themes. This year a Life and Adventures of Santa Claus figurine was introduced in an edition of 1500.



More Christmas coming soon! Stay tuned!!

Ozu no Mahôtsukai

The story of the Midwestern farm girl resonates no matter what language or culture. The universal ideals of longing for qualities we think we lack cross all boundaries. We all want to be smart, be brave, to love and be loved. Mostly we want to find where in the world we truly belong. The place where we feel smart, brave, loved; the place which we call home. The Wizard of Oz is embraced the world over and has been translated into at least 40 different languages.

The Japanese in particular have a yen for the whimsical and the fantastic. Both the Wonderful Wizard of Oz children’s novel and the 1939 MGM film fit the bill perfectly. Though L. Frank Baum himself stated his book had been translated into Japanese, the earliest known Oz book from Japan was published in 1951 over 30 years after his passing. The MGM film debuted in December of 1954 and ever since the Land of the Rising Sun has been enthralled with The Land of Oz.

Numerous dramatizations have originated in Japan including animated features and live action musicals. In addition, many United States productions have found their way to Japan. The Kenneth Feld production of The Wizard of Oz on Ice was a hit with Japanese audiences. A Smithsonian exhibit in Japan featured the ruby slippers. Disney’s Return to Oz made more of an impression in Japan than in the U.S. resulting in a variety of exclusive merchandise.

Wizard of Oz memorabilia in Japan runs the gamut from books, dolls, toys, figurines, kites, to clothing, lunch kits, pins, music boxes, and everything in between. An Oz store, much like our Disney stores, based on Willard Carroll’s Oz Kids was open for a short time. Merchandise from this store is featured in the book 100 Years of Oz and is on display at the Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas.

In July 2006, the Universal Studios Japan theme park opened a Land of Oz section.  The Land of Oz contains a variety of attractions including the Toto & Friends animal show and a 20 minute version of the Broadway hit Wicked to whet the appetites for the full length production slated for next year. Best of all there’s the Munchkin Market souvenir shop with a variety of Wicked and Oz merchandise.

I have no doubt that Wicked will skyrocket the popularity of Oz abroad even further. I can’t wait to see Japanese reaction and who knows what exciting things will follow?

UPDATE

The Wicked show closed January 11,2011.  The remainder of the Land of Oz section followed about a month later.

Pictured below is a small assortment of Japanese Oz memorabilia and more Land of Oz Universal Japan


Books

Oz  American audiences are familiar with


Land of Oz Universal Studios Japan


More pics continue in the post below

Ozu no Mahôtsukai Pt. 2

Sanrio's Hello Kitty has taken a few trips down the yellow brick road with a variety of merchandise including stickers, note paper, and plush. A slightly altered version of the plush was also available in the United States.



Finally, no blog of mine would be complete without a couple of dolls.

Introduced June of 2006 this is Petite Rainbow Wish Blythe. Measuring in at a tiny 4 1/2 inches this adorable Dorothy inspired doll features sleep eyes. "One day, I wondered in to a magic world, I made many friends from countless adventures, But the time has come to return home, Before the rainbow disappears, I will go home with my red shoes"



This is Over the Rainbow Jenny from the 1987 Movie Musical Heroines Series by Takara. She is Japan's version of Barbie standing a little smaller at 10 inches. She used to be Barbie until Takara lost the rights in 1985 to use the name Barbie. The popular doll was newly christened Jenny and the doll line continued.


For more in depth information on Japanese books and collectibles please see:

The Baum Bugle Spring 1979 'Oz in Japan' by Douglas G. Greene

The Baum Bugle Spring 1984 'Oz in Japan Update' by Seraphim Sigrist

The Baum Bugle Spring 1995 'Oz in Japan' by Sean P. Duffley

The Wizard of Oz Collectors Treasury by Jay Scarfone and William Stillman

100 Years of Oz: A Century of Classic Images from the Wizard of Oz Collection of Willard Carroll by John Fricke

Harmony Creations Dolls

Harmony Creations has created three porcelain beauties from Oz. Dorothy stands at 16 inches and both witches are 20 inches. The hair style on Dorothy is unique as I've only seen it on one other doll before by Robin Woods. It's a nice change from the regular pigtails and it's reminiscent of a style modeled by Judy Garland. Photo courtesy The Judy Room.

The witches are priced at $24.99 each and Dorothy's retail is $19.99. Very reasonable prices for porcelain dolls of this size. These will make wonderful gifts for the holidays for the holidays for the Oz or Wicked lover on your list. They are available from Karen Owens who can be contacted at storylandmi@aol.com
The December issue of Dolls Magazine has a 3 page article about the Oz museum in Wamego, Kansas. It pictures the Tim Wolak's life size figures and the Franklin Mint dolls. The article mentions many of the dolls on display. There's a couple of very minor errors, but overall it's very informative for those not familiar with the museum.

New Tonner Exclusive Cyclone Cantata!!!

The Robert Tonner Doll Company has kept Oz collectors very busy this year. The Munchkin introduced at the convention earlier this year, the introduction of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion at the same convention..... Every few months there was a new doll! Really exciting for doll lovers. Now for the final intro of the year......a new Wicked Witch doll available exclusively at FAO Schwarz.   http://www.tonnerdoll.com/faoexcl.htm

We should have a couple of months to relax until the 2007 introductions in January. Who knows what amazing things we'll see next year?? Can't wait!!!

New From Breygent

Officially announced!

http://www.breygent.com/wizardofoz2.htm

Curiozity Updates

The Hallmark tablepiece has proven to be a very popular item even among non-Oz collectors. Many stars around the country sold out their stock within the first hour of opening on October 7th. ‘I’ll Get You My Pretty’ is a lovely, animated recreation of the Wicked Witch’s confrontation in Munchkinland. Be sure to check your piece carefully. I’ve heard of faulty paint jobs and pieces not working. Good policy when buying any collectible. If Hallmark Gold Crown retail stores are unable to reorder they are more than happy to attempt to track down a piece for you or you can order direct from Hallmark.com.  Please see the video to view the piece in action.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vxsV18xgVg

The Wizard of Oz trading card boxes from Breygent sold out very quickly, but rest assured, no one need miss out entirely. Breygent recently made two new introductions. The first is a nifty wooden box containing 10 packs of cards. Oversized sketch and prop cards are randomly inserted. Only 2000 boxes have been produced so don’t wait too long if you are considering buying this. The box will be useful storage for your trading cards or any other small Oz treasures. Prepackaged sets of cards in an edition of 500 are also now available. In addition to the 72 base cards, the set includes 5 promo cards and one sketch card. There is a second series of cards in the works, but approval is still pending from Warner Brothers.
  

I found a white long sleeved a t-shirt by Quail Hollow. It reads “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?” with an illustration of ruby slippers and striped witch socks. This was hanging with the Halloween shirts at my local Fred Meyer.

There’s been a recent surge of Oz paper products. The Current Catalog offers exclusive 12 x 12 scrapbooking papers in various designs, 2 sets of stickers, and a set of note cards. Thanks Karen O. for this info!  Anthony Grandio, who has produced Oz personal checks for years now has address labels. Perfect for paying all those Oz related bills or happier Oz mailings.  And in case you missed them, Colorful Images carries address labels and other assorted paper goods.

The highly anticipated Wizard of Oz Celebriducks should be available for purchase any day now. Wizard of Oz festival attendees last month were treated to a sneak preview and the precious few sets were snapped up quickly. These are limited in number and will undoubtedly be sell outs. http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_4481233

Virginia Turner has introduced Glinda to her dazzling Oz line in her recent newsletter. Glinda is a real beauty.

And lastly, a couple of pieces of jewelry to report. Ashton Drake carries a flip flop shoe pendant encrusted with ruby like Swarovski crystals. The familiar phrase ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ is engraved on the reverse of the shoe. The pendant measures 1 inch and comes with an 18” gold plated sterling silver chain. The ‘There’s No Place Like Home Swarovski Crystal Pendant’ is priced around $40 plus shipping and the item no. is 03-00789-001-B Thanks Jim W. for the info.
CANCELLED


Finally, we have the GORGEOUS ‘Wizard of Oz Over the Rainbow Charm Bracelet’ from the Bradford Exchange. There are 9 charms of Oz icons with quotes from the film on the reverse of each charm. The bracelet is 24K gold plated with swarovski crystals accenting the charms. The price is around $119.00 plus shipping. Item no. for the bracelet is 01-02813-002-IVL. This stunning bracelet should be finding its way into a lot of Christmas stockings this year! Both the Ashton Drake pendant and Bradex charm bracelet can be ordered by calling Collectibles Today at 1-877-268-6638. Thanks Robyn B!!   http://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/102813002_wizard-of-oz-bracelet.html



Hard as I try, it’s impossible to keep up on Oz collectibles by myself. Thank you again to Karen O., Jim W., and Robyn B for the heads up on all of the wonderful Oz items.