Sumner Charles Britton

Born in Arkansas, Sumner Charles Britton first came to Chicago in 1893 to report on the World's Columbian Exposition for The Kansas City Star. He later settled in the city and moved into publishing, where he became an important figure in early 20th-century American books.

Britton was a co-founder of Reilly & Britton, the Chicago firm that published much of L. Frank Baum's work, including many of the Oz books. Around 1916, he left that company and started a new venture in New York, showing the same entrepreneurial streak that had shaped his earlier career.

As an author, he is associated most clearly with Dreamy Hollow: A Long Island Romance, published in 1921 and still available through Project Gutenberg. Reliable sources found for this overview focus much more on his publishing career than on his private life, so some personal details remain uncertain.