The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926) is the twentieth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the sixth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R. Neill.
Summary
Thompson begins with a usurping tyrant, Irasha the Rough, the Pasha of Rash, a tiny kingdom in the southwest of Ev. The Pasha has a problem: his prison is too full to cram any more Rashers in. His Vizier’s solution is to obtain a ferocious animal from nearby Oz to devour the luckless prisoners. Travelling to the Emerald City by his magical “hurry cane”, the Vizier lures the Hungry Tiger (first seen in Ozma of Oz) to Rash. As might be expected from his history, however, the Hungry Tiger is too tenderhearted to eat prisoners.
Meanwhile, through an unfortunate series of events involving a winding road and a pair of Quick Sandals, Betsy Bobbin (introduced in Tik-Tok of Oz) and her new acquaintance, Carter Green, the Vegetable Man, end up in Rash, and no sooner do they arrive than they’re thrown into the crowded prison. There they meet the Scarlet Prince Evered (known as Reddy), the rightful ruler of Rash. Together with the Tiger, they escape, and have varied adventures with Big Wigs and Gnomes in their search for three magic rubies.
Back in Oz, Princess Ozma has troubles of her own: she is confronted by Atmos Fere, a balloon-like being who lives in the upper stratosphere. His plan is to kidnap her up to his own kingdom, to prove to his skeptical fellows that living beings can exist on the surface of the Earth. Ozma, however, has a secret weapon (a pin).
In time, the adventurers recover the magic rubies, and Reddy is restored to the Rashian throne. The Pasha and his evil Vizier end up stranded on a desert island in the Nonestic Ocean.
The Hungry Tiger of Oz First Edition Book Identification Points
Please refer to the gallery for detailed images of binding(s) and dust jackets.
| Year | Title | Publisher | First edition/printing identification points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | The Hungry Tiger of Oz | Reilly & Lee Co., [1926] | First edition. Illustrated by John R. Neill, 261 pages. Textual points: The two pages (each with a blank verso) of advertisements at the end of the book were included without charge in all printings for many years. Pictorial self-endpapers in black and white.* Color plates: 12 full-color inserts, tipped in facing the title page and pages 32, 64, 72, 128, 136, 152, 200, 216, 224, 240, 256. Plate stock is coated only on the printed side. Binding: dark drab-green cloth with pictorial paper label in colors. Spine imprint: “Reilly | & Lee”. Size of leaf: 9 by 6 5/8 inches. Thickness of volume: About 1 3/8 inches. An issue with the imprint of the Copp, Clark Co., Limited, of Toronto on the title page and spine is known. It is otherwise identical with the American first state.
Later states have color plates coated on both sides. Such copies have been seen in dark emerald-green, medium-green, and medium brick-red cloth. Around 1935, the color plates were discontinued. |
The Hungry Tiger of Oz First Edition Dust Jacket Identification Points
First edition binding(s) and various dust jacket printings identification.
References:
- Wikipedia
- Bibliographia Oziana – Haff, Greeme, Martin. 2002
