Who published these OZ books – Reilly & Britton ?
Reilly & Britton Company, which changed its name to Reilly and Lee in 1919 published 39 of FF(first forty) books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was first published by the George M. Hill Company. Bobbs-Merrill became the primary publisher after the Hill Company went bankrupt, and remained the main publisher until 1956. Before chaging its name, Reilly & Britton company publsihed 11 first editions Oz titles. Under its new name, Reilly and Lee continued to publish new Oz books and reprint older titles in the series. Reilly and Lee finally published its own edition of The Wizard of Oz in 1956, when it entered the public domain. In the late 1950s, Reilly and Lee was bought by the Henry Regnery Company, and the Reilly and Lee imprint was used solely on the Oz and other children’s books. It’s a little unclear what happened next, but either Regnery changed its name to Contemporary Books (then another Regnery publishing company), or Contemporary Books procured the rights to the Oz books. At any rat
