News Article

Currie Corbin will discuss his “The Wizard of Oz” collection of books and related titles currently on display at Gonzaga University’s Foley Center library in a lecture that begins at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 27 in the Teleconference Room at the Foley Center.

In the lecture, which is free and open to the public, Corbin will discuss his experiences collecting what’s known as “Oziana.” The lecture and the exhibition mark the 150th birthday of L. Frank Baum (born May 15, 1856), author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Following the lecture, attendees will be invited to view Corbin’s collection on display in the Rare Book Reading Room, located on the third floor of the Foley Center.

The exhibition opened April 10 and runs through June 30. Normal exhibition hours are Monday through Friday: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturday noon-4 p.m. The exhibit will be closed May 20 and May 27-29.

All of the materials in the exhibition are on loan from Corbin, a Spokane resident who began collecting Baum’s work as a child growing up in Eastern Montana. In 20 years of collecting, Corbin amassed a wonderful array of Oz books and other rare Baum titles. He even has titles published under Baum’s various pseudonyms, which included women’s names.

Highlights from the exhibit include the only known copy of a 1913 lithograph poster from Baum’s 1913 stage production “The Tik Tok Man of Oz.” Other rarities include first editions of most Oz series titles, including some signed and in original dust jackets. The exhibition is


Courtesy Currie Corbin

sponsored by Spokane Teachers Credit Union, which is paying for the exhibition catalogs that will be provided at no charge to attendees.


 For more information on the Oz exhibit and lecture, contact Stephanie Plowman, special collections librarian at the Foley Center, at (509) 323-3847.