Fairy Tale Spotlight: The OZ Symbol

My first exposure to the Oz franchise was the 1939 movie. My second exposure to it was "Return to Oz" in 1985. This was the first movie where I saw the iconic OZ symbol there the Z is seated in the middle of the O. I remember really liking this design. They even positioned it on the circlet that Ozma wore at the end of the movie.

I did not know it at the time, but the OZ symbol has been in the Oz illustrations since almost the beginning. I cannot say exactly when I began seeing it, but it was certainly there in many of those old books. Some of the book titles which traditionally ended with the word Oz, sometimes used the OZ symbol in place of the lone word.

In many of the illustrations, the symbol was used in various places. I always enjoyed looking for them. It was like a little easter egg that I could hunt for as I read the books.

Even though the OZ symbol was visible all over the place in the illustrations, it was never described in the text. I don't think it was ever described until right up near the end of the series and then only once. At the very least, the symbol was finally canonized in text to give relevance to all of those pictures.

Personally, I think the OZ symbol is one of the best and perfect designs of all time. The way the Z crosses over and sometimes through the O is very pleasing to look at. It can be done a number of different ways too. As long as the Z is linked with the O, the symbol exists as it should.

What do you think of the OZ symbol? Was it something you found pleasing to the eye? Also, where did you first see it? Let me know!

This blog was written on February 28, 2023.

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