By the Candelabra's Glare
Encyclopedia
By the Candelabra's Glare is a 1898
collection of poems written by L. Frank Baum
. One of his earliest works, the book was significant in Baum's evolution from amateur to professional author.
, had been published in 1897
by the Chicago firm Way and Williams. The book was attractively produced, with illustrations by a young Maxfield Parrish
; but its relatively high price for a children's book limited its commercial success. Publisher Way and Williams went bankrupt in 1898. For his second book, Baum reverted to his earlier amateur mode. He had had his own printing press as a youth, and had created a family newspaper; in 1898 he obtained another small printing press and some cases of type, and personally printed and bound 99 copies of a collection of his verse. (His sons took over the press when their father was done with it.)
Baum dedicated the book to friend (and future creditor) Harrison H. Rountree, a businessman and brother-in-law of Chauncey L. Williams (the Williams in Way and Williams, Baum's first book publisher). Rountree would control the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Baum books for two decades (1911–32), after Baum went bankrupt.
Another poem, "Two Women," provides a more serious view of the same subject, in a contrast between "woman Old" and "woman New." A poem from the South Dakota years, "Nance Adkins," has a farm wife as its heroine.
Copies of the original edition of By the Candelabra's Glare are "now extremely rare and much sought by collectors." The book was published again in facsimile in 1981, with an introduction by Baum scholar Peter Hanff.
1898 in literature
The year 1898 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Elizabeth von Arnim - Elizabeth and Her German Garden*F. W. Bain - A Digit of the Moon*L...
collection of poems written by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. One of his earliest works, the book was significant in Baum's evolution from amateur to professional author.
The book
Baum's first book, Mother Goose in ProseMother Goose in Prose
Mother Goose in Prose is a collection of twenty-two children's stories based on Mother Goose nursery rhymes. It was the first children's book written by L. Frank Baum, and the first book illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. It was originally published in 1897 by Way and Williams of Chicago, and...
, had been published in 1897
1897 in literature
The year 1897 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* January 2 - Newspapers in London, England erroneously report the death of Mark Twain. It is believed that the rumors began when Twain's cousin had become ill...
by the Chicago firm Way and Williams. The book was attractively produced, with illustrations by a young Maxfield Parrish
Maxfield Parrish
Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.-Life:...
; but its relatively high price for a children's book limited its commercial success. Publisher Way and Williams went bankrupt in 1898. For his second book, Baum reverted to his earlier amateur mode. He had had his own printing press as a youth, and had created a family newspaper; in 1898 he obtained another small printing press and some cases of type, and personally printed and bound 99 copies of a collection of his verse. (His sons took over the press when their father was done with it.)
Help from friends
Baum had lived in Chicago since 1891, and was intimate with a circle of the city's journalists and newspaper artists. Through his trade journal The Show Window, he knew publishers too. He solicited a coterie of friends to help him with his vanity project: he "relied on friends in the publishing trade to provide the paper, zinc etchings, inks, all other materials, including the illustrations." Eight local artists supplied pictures for the book. The eight were:- Ralph Fletcher SeymourRalph Fletcher SeymourRalph Fletcher Seymour was an American artist, author, and publisher of the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries...
, who would hand-letter Baum's Father Goose: His BookFather Goose: His BookFather Goose: His Book is a collection of nonsense poetry for children, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, and first published in 1899. Though generally neglected a century later, the book was a groundbreaking sensation in its own era; "once America's best-selling children's...
the following year; - Charles Jerome Costello, who would help Seymour with the Father Goose lettering, and who would hand-letter Baum's The Army Alphabet and The Navy Alphabet in 1900;
- Thomas Mitchell Pierce, a son-in-law of Baum's sister Harriet Alvena Baum Neal who would illustrate Baum's Daughters of DestinyDaughters of Destiny (novel)Daughters of Destiny is a 1906 adventure novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the author of the Oz books. Baum published the novel under the pen name "Schuyler Staunton," one of his several pseudonyms...
in 1906; - N. Guy Chilberg;
- Frank Hazenplug;
- Charles M. Tuttle;
- Gwynne C. Price, the only woman among the eight;
- and most significantly, W. W. DenslowWilliam Wallace DenslowWilliam Wallace Denslow – usually credited as W. W. Denslow – was an illustrator and caricaturist remembered for his work in collaboration with author L. Frank Baum, especially his illustrations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, who would illustrate three more Baum books in three years — Father Goose (1899), The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
(1900), and Dot and Tot of MerrylandDot and Tot of MerrylandDot and Tot of Merryland is a 1901 novel by L. Frank Baum. After Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he wrote this story about the adventures of a little girl named Dot and a little boy named Tot in a land reached by floating on a river that flowed through a tunnel. The land was called Merryland...
(1901).
Baum dedicated the book to friend (and future creditor) Harrison H. Rountree, a businessman and brother-in-law of Chauncey L. Williams (the Williams in Way and Williams, Baum's first book publisher). Rountree would control the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Baum books for two decades (1911–32), after Baum went bankrupt.
The verse
The 41 poems in the Candelabra collection include sentimental and humorous verses that Baum had composed over the preceding years, some of which had been printed in newspapers, including Baum's own South Dakota paper, The Aberdeen Pioneer. One of the poems is "La Reine est Mort – Vive La Reine," a humorous look at early feminists.-
- And shout hurrah for the woman new!
- With her necktie, shirt and toothpick shoe,
- With tailor-made suit and mien severe
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- She's here!
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Another poem, "Two Women," provides a more serious view of the same subject, in a contrast between "woman Old" and "woman New." A poem from the South Dakota years, "Nance Adkins," has a farm wife as its heroine.
Aftermath
Though By the Candelabra's Glare was a privately-printed vanity project, it led to Baum's first literary and commercial breakthrough. The final section of the book featured nine Baum poems for children; Baum decided to expand this into a new collection. The result was his and Denslow's Father Goose, a major and pathbreaking success of 1899 that launched Baum's literary career. (Two poems appear in both books.)Copies of the original edition of By the Candelabra's Glare are "now extremely rare and much sought by collectors." The book was published again in facsimile in 1981, with an introduction by Baum scholar Peter Hanff.