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Fred M. Meyer Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 22 Mar 2010



Biographical History

Fred M. Meyer (1926-2004) was a founding member (1957) of The International Wizard of Oz Club (IWOC) and served as secretary of the organization from 1961 to 1995. Meyer, a teacher, also edited The Baum Bugle and was a noted collector of books and artifacts related to L. Frank Baum and Oz.

Meyer was born in Kinderhook, Illinois in 1926. At the age of seven he received L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz as a birthday gift and fell in love with the book. Meyer became a collector of all things Baum and Wizard of Oz, including first printings of the books. In the mid-1950s author Jack Snow, who wrote some Oz stories in the 1940s, provided Meyer with a list of other Oz fans. Meyer reached out to those fans, and in 1957 Meyer co-founded The Wizard of Oz Club with 13-year-old Justin Schiller. There were 16 original members, and Meyer was appointed secretary of the club. In 1958, with the growth of the organization, the club was renamed the International Wizard of Oz Club (IWOC).

Meyer took his role as secretary of the club seriously. He regularly corresponded with members, even when the club grew to more than two thousand, assisted with publishing the club's magazine, The Baum Bugle, collected dues, and organized conventions. Conventions featured costume contests, film showings, quiz competitions, lectures, and Oz collectible auctions.

Meyer was a social studies teacher in Escanaba, Michigan, but spent his summers at a family farm in his hometown of Kinderhook, Illinois. He was considered an expert of all things Oz, and fans and journalists consulted Meyer with any questions relating to the books.

After Meyer retired from teaching in the late 1980s he continued to serve as secretary of IWOC until health issues forced him to step down in 1995. Meyer's devotion to the club did not diminish, though, and he continued to attend events and correspond with members until his death in 2004.


Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Fred M. Meyer Papers consists of correspondence, fan material, International Wizard of Oz Club records, memorabilia, and printed material. His papers provide insight into the International Wizard of Oz Club (IWOC) and Wizard of Oz fandom.

Correspondence consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Incoming correspondence mainly relates to Meyer's role as secretary of IWOC. Notable correspondents include Baum family members, author Ray Bradbury, actor (and club member) Bronson Pinchot, club cofounder Justin Schiller, and long-term club members Martin Gardner, Ruth Berman, Douglas and David Greene, Russell MacFall, and Robert Pattrick. The correspondence also includes letters between author Ruth Plumly Thompson and John R. Neill, an illustrator for her books. Outgoing correspondence is club correspondence sent by Meyer to IWOC members. Meyer dutifully wrote each member individualized letters while he served as secretary of the club, which often resulted in thousands of unique letters each year, especially as club membership grew over the years.

Fan material comprises material created by Wizard of Oz fans. This includes articles and essays, both academic and amateur, artwork, fan fiction, and fanzines. Articles, essays, and fan fiction were submitted to Meyer for consideration for publication in the club's magazine, The Baum Bugle. Note that the majority of fan fiction are print, but one story by Deborah Holden is on floppy disk and another story by George Van Buren is on three audio tapes. Some of the fanzines are Oz-specific, but many relate to fantasy in general.

The International Wizard of Oz Club series contains the records of the club. These include financial statements, legal documents, ideas for new issues of club publications, lists, memos, minutes, official correspondence, and reports. Also included in the records are Meyer's personal handwritten notes about the club, committee work, and materials regarding club conventions.

Memorabilia contains a wide range of Oz-related material. This includes arts and crafts (such as coloring books), artwork, games, theater programs, and Oz-related promotional material (books, tv shows, and movies). Also included are photographs of Meyer and club events. Also worth noting are items from Meyer's military service, including his "chow pass."

Printed material comprises calendars, comic books, magazine and newspaper clippings, a miniature book, newsletters, and trade catalogs. All printed items are Oz-related including some newspaper clippings about IWOC and Meyer.


Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is arranged alphabetically, except for outgoing correspondence, which is arranged chronologically. Articles and fan fiction are arranged by author.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Access to recordings requires advance notice to produce a use copy.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Subject Headings

Persons

Baum, Harry Neal.
Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank), 1856-1919.
Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank), 1856-1919. -- Wizard of Oz.
Berman, Ruth, 1942-
Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012.
Eubank, Bill.
Fowler, Virginia C., 1948-
Fricke, John.
Gardner, Martin, 1914-2010.
Greene, David L., 1944-
Greene, Douglas G.
Hanff, Peter E.
Hearn, Michael Patrick.
Hollister, C. Warren (Charles Warren), 1930-1997.
Hutchins, Scott.
Indick, Ben P. (Ben Philip), 1923-2009.
MacFall, Russell P.
Mannix, Daniel P. (Daniel Pratt), 1911-1997.
Meyer, Fred M., 1926-2004.
Neill, John R. (John Rea)
Pinchot, Bronson.
Schiller, Justin G.
Shanower, Eric.
Thompson, Ruth Plumly, 1893-1976.
Wizard of Oz (Fictitious character)

Associated Titles

The Baum bugle.
Wizard of Oz (Baum, L. Frank)
Wizard of Oz (Motion picture : 1939)

Subjects

Fan fiction.
Fans (Persons)
Fantasy fiction -- Societies.
Fantasy fiction.
Hobbyists.
Popular culture -- 20th century.
Wizard of Oz films.

Places

Oz (Imaginary place)

Genres and Forms

Audiotapes.
Calendars.
Catalogs.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Comic books.
Correspondence.
Drawings.
Floppy disks.
Manuscripts for publication.
Military records.
Minutes (administrative records)
Negatives (photographs)
Newsletters.
Photographs.
Sketches.
Sound recordings.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Fred M. Meyer Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Fred Meyer, 2003.

Portions gift of Nancy Petrasko, 2006.


Table of Contents

Correspondence

Fan material

International Wizard of Oz Club

Memorabilia

Printed material


Inventory