Copyright status of The Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States
"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was published in 1900, and was the first to enter the public domain in "1956". This allowed Reilly & Lee, the publisher of all the other Oz books (as well as Baum's other books) to issue their own edition of "The Wizard of Oz", which had previously been published by George M. Hill Company and later by the Bobbs Merill Company after Hill went bankrupt..
Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea
In the years around the turn of the twentieth century (1897–1905), Baum had succeeded in establishing himself as a popular author of children's books, most notably with "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900). By the middle of the twentieth century's first decade, he was working diligently to branch out into other markets. In 1905 he released his first adult novel, "The Fate of a Crown" (as the work of "Schuyler Staunton"); in 1906 he issued his first books for adolescent girls, "Annabel" (as by "Suzanne Metcalf") and "Aunt Jane's Nieces" (by "Edith Van Dyne"), as well as his first book for boys. The 1906 "Sam Steele" title was the first book in a projected series; "Capt. Fitzgerald" followed up with "Sam Steele's Adventures in Panama" in 1907.