Hamburg (chicken) - Famous Hamburgs

Famous Hamburgs

Perhaps the most famous devotee of the Hamburg chicken was L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. He began a monthly trade journal, Hamburgs, in 1880 and in 1886, published his first and only book on the subject, The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs.

In Baum's third Oz book, Ozma of Oz, he introduces Dorothy Gale's chicken, Billina. He must have drawn on his experience in breeding Hamburgs when creating her character, as she is appropriately spirited and active.