Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (1929) is the twenty-third of the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and continued by other writers; it is the ninth Oz book written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was Illustrated by John R. Neill.
Summary
A rainy day in Philadelphia means no baseball; Peter Brown, the child protagonist introduced by Thompson in The Gnome King of Oz, mopes in his attic. He finds the sacks that were full of gold when he brought them back from his previous Oz adventure; and one of those sacks contains an odd gold coin. Toying with the coin and thinking of Oz, he wishes himself back in the magic land — and suddenly finds himself there, in the front yard of Jack Pumpkinhead.
The sensible thing for Peter to do is to head for the Emerald City; and Jack is ready to act as his guide. They lose their way in the Quadling Country, where they blunder into Chimneyville and Scare City. By chance, Peter finds that his empty sack will fly from his hand and consume objects and creatures that are scooped into its open mouth, protecting him from danger. The two also find the magic dinner bell of Jinnicky the Red Jinn, which supplies Peter with needed provisions.
The travelers adopt a third member for their party when they meet the doggerel-spouting Snif the Iffin (he’s a griffin who has lost his “gr-” and is no longer able to growl). The three then encounter the unfortunate Baron Belfaygor of Bourne. He has been accidentally cursed with a rapidly growing beard that he must constantly cut away. Even worse, his fiancée, the princess Shirley Sunshine, has been kidnapped by the local villain, Mogodore the Mighty, the Baron of Baffleburg. Belfaygor had wanted a beard to have for his wedding to Shirley.
Peter, Belfaygor, Snif, and Jack set out to rescue her, and are quickly taken prisoner in Baffleburg. While escaping, they acquire a Forbidden Flagon and a talkative and abusive Sauce Box. When Mogodore sets out to conquer Oz and actually succeeds in seizing the Emerald City, the travelers have to mount a desperate rescue effort. Eventually Jack, with help from the Red Jinn (here introduced for the first time; his name, Jinnicky, is not revealed until later books), manages to save the day: using the Forbidden Flagon, he reduces Mogodore and his thousand warriors to little beings “no bigger than brownies.”
The miniaturized aggressors are confined to their homeland, also miniaturized. Snif the Iffin recovers his lost “gr-.” The rapid-growing beard enchantment on Belfaygor is removed by the Wizard of Oz as he finally marries Shirley Sunshine. Order in Oz is restored, with a great celebratory banquet before Peter is sent home, with thanks, once again.
Jack Pumpkinhead 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz | Reilly & Lee Co., [1929] | First edition. Illustrated by John R. Neill, 252 pages. Textual points: 16-page gatherings except the penultimate, which has 24 pages. The two pages (each with blank verso) of advertisements at the end of the book were included without change in all printings for many years. Pictorial self-endpapers in black and white. Color plates: 12 full-color inserts, some tipped in and some bound in: the plate facing the title page is tipped in; bound-in plates face pages 64, 81, 96, 113, 160, 177, 192, 209, 228 , 245, with another plate tipped in facing page 237. Plate stock is coated on both sides. (One copy has been reported with 3 of the plates coated only on the printed side.) Binding: greenish-gray or very light-gray cloth, with pictorial paper label in colors. Spine imprint: "Reilly | & Lee”. Size of leaf: 9 by 6 5/8 inches. Thickness of volume: 1 1/4 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 first American state. One copy has been seen with the Copp, Clark imprint on the title page but with the Reilly & Lee spine imprint.
Although there were probably several printings of this book with color plates, no variants have been identified. Around 1935, the color plates were discontinued. |
Jack Pumpkinhead 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
