John Dough was a common name for a

gingerbread man A gingerbread man is a biscuit or cookie made from gingerbread, usually in the shape of a stylized human being. However, other shapes, especially seasonal themes (Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.), and characters are also common. History Gin ...

at the turn of the 20th century, though the best-remembered John Dough is the character created by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

in his 1906 novel, ''

John Dough and the Cherub ''John Dough and the Cherub'' is a children's fantasy novel, written by American author L. Frank Baum, about a living gingerbread man and his adventures. It was illustrated by John R. Neill and published in 1906 by the Reilly & Britton Compa ...

''; the character also makes a cameo appearance in Baum's ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz'' is the fifth book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents the adventures of Dorothy Gale's fourth visit to the Land of Oz. It was followed by ''The Emerald City of Oz'' (1910) ...

''. Jack Snow, ''Who's Who in Oz'', Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1988; pp. 111-12. If the fragment known as "An Oz Book" is genuine, Baum may have intended to include John Dough in his fifteenth Oz book had he lived to write it.

Baum's character

John Dough was a life sized gingerbread man baked for a celebration of

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

, and brought to life by a mad

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

's elixir. Much of the book deals with the Arab's attempts to eat John Dough, for the elixir, which he had intended to drink to become immortal, was accidentally mixed into the batter that made him. John is carried off in a rocket and lands at the Isle of Phreex, a

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

-like asylum for human oddities. There, he befriends Chick the Cherub, the world's first incubator baby, whose gender is never specified. Eventually the two are forced to escape along with Para Bruin, the Rubber Bear, and they visit the constant theatre of the Palace of Romance, the Fairy Beavers of Mifket Island, and others, all while John tries to avoid being eaten. John Dough loses his coat-tails to birds but manages to keep his body intact. He ultimately sacrifices his hand to save a dying princess. At the end of the novel, he is made the King of Hiland and Loland, an island dual country, and Chick becomes his Grand Booleywag, who rules the ruler. John fulfills a prophecy that will end the warring between the kingdoms and establishes the capital city of HiLo. One of the Los bakes him a new hand, and he passes a law against the eating of

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger root, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly ...

more than two days old. In ''

'', John Dough, Chick the Cherub, and Para Bruin are seen at

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma of Oz, formally known as Tippetarius, is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears for the first time in the second Oz book, '' The Marvelous Land of Oz'' (1904), and in every ...

's birthday party. In the fragmentary "An Oz Book" (''Baum Bugle'', Christmas 1965), a man named Gipper-Gupper-Gopp claims to have come from Hiland to the outskirts of the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's ''Oz'' books, first described in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of ...

Adaptations

Joseph Schrode played John Dough in ''

The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays ''The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays'' was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a ...

''. It is unknown who played the role in the lost 1910 film, ''

''.

A. Baldwin Sloane Alfred Baldwin Sloane, often given as A. Baldwin Sloane, (28 August 1872, Baltimore – 21 February 1925, Red Bank, New Jersey) was the most prolific songwriter for Broadway musical comedies in the United States at the beginning of the 20th centur ...

, who had contributed to ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'', wrote a musical called ''The Gingerbread Man'' around 1906. The main character was named John Dough and sings a song of that title, but had nothing to do with Baum's character, and had no particular qualms about being eaten.

References

{{Oz Oz (franchise) characters Fictional food characters Literary characters introduced in 1906 Male characters in literature Gingerbread men