Price guide to The Wizard, Wizard of Oz dolls. The Wizard is one of the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Unseen for most of the novel, he is the ruler of the Land of Oz and highly venerated by his subjects. Believing he is the only man capable of solving their problems, Dorothy and her friends travel to the Emerald City, the capital of Oz, to meet him. Oz is very reluctant to meet them, but eventually each is granted an audience, one by one. In each of these occasions, the Wizard appears in a different form, once as a giant head, once as a beautiful fairy, once as a ball of fire, and once as a horrible monster. When, at last, he grants an audience to all of them at once, he seems to be a disembodied voice.
Eventually, it is revealed that Oz is actually none of these things, but rather an ordinary conman from Omaha, Nebraska, who has been using a lot of elaborate magic tricks and props to make himself seem “great and powerful.” Working as a magician for a circus, he wrote OZ (the initials of his first two forenames, Oscar being his first, and Zoroaster being the first of his seven middle names) on the side of his hot air balloon for promotional purposes. One day his balloon sailed into the Land of Oz, and he found himself worshipped as a great sorcerer. As Oz had no leadership at the time, he became Supreme Ruler of the kingdom, and did his best to sustain the myth.
He leaves Oz at the end of the novel, again in a hot air balloon. After the Wizard’s departure, the Scarecrow is briefly enthroned, until Princess Ozma (the rightful hereditary ruler of Oz) is freed from the witch Mombi at the end of The Marvelous Land of Oz. Reference: Wikipedia
The Wizard of Oz Wizard Doll New in box. 50th Anniversary by Multi Toys Corp, Cresskill, NJ. Style no. 8875.
Sold for $15 at Main Street Mining Co. in 2015
Wizard of Oz Mego Limited Edition Wizard Doll 1974 – Mego Toy Company was famous in the 1970’s for their “Star Trek” series of dolls, as well as their Marvel & DC Superheroes. One of the top sellers was a series of “Wizard of Oz” dolls. Most were available in stores, but a few Limited Edition characters could only be bought through a special mail order promotion in 1974. This is one of those special rare mail-in dolls. It is of the “Wizard” himself, dressed in pin-stripped pants, tux-long coat jacket, Emerald Green Vest, tie, and separate top-hat. In Mint condition the Wizard is sold by itself without original box. (Approx 9″ high).
Sold for $50 at Premiere Props in 2015
VINTAGE WIZARD OF OZ WIZARD DOLL W/ ORIGINAL TAG Approx. 14″ tall
Sold for $20 at Pioneer Auction Gallery in 2014
