The Cat in the Hat

New York: Random House, 1957. First edition, First Printing, Third Issue. Near fine/Near fine. Dr. Seuss. 8vo, 9 x 6 1/2" (230 x 165 mm), (2) + 61 + (1) pp; pictorial end papers, verso of free end paper blank, pictorial title page, copyright page. Binding with glazed pictorial paper cover over boards and title on spine, very light signs of wear at corners and spine ends, binding stitched at 1 inch intervals; upper cover illustrated and lettered with addition of "For beginner readers"; back cover with excerpts from reviews printed in letterpress below illustration of chalkboard reading Educators hail The Cat in the Hat. Printed in red, black, salmon, dark blue and light blue on wove paper, with bold illustrations on every spread; pages a touch yellowed on edges. On the back of the last page of text is a note on the book enclosed within a large outline in blue of Cat in the Hat. The ORIGINAL DUST WRAPPER in near fine condition, with just slight wear on corners and a chip on the bottom of the spine, reproduces the book's cover; front flap bears price on upper right corner, 195/195, indicating this is the sencond state of the dust jacket.
Accompanied by a small drawing of a "green egg" with "Dr. Seuss" autograph in black ink with on a light green index card, 3 x 5 in. (76 x 127 mm).

[Younger & Hirsch 7; Greenaway 95]. Dr. Seuss was challenged by Houghton Mifflin's Education Division director, William Ellsworth Spaulding, to create a book for young children using the 225 essential words for beginning readers, a book they would not want to put down. Seuss used 223 of the words from the list, plus 13 others. Seuss tricked kids into enjoying learning with his destructive and charismatic house guest. Inspired in part by Krazy Kat and Felix the Cat, but with a wily mind all his own, the Cat in the Hat's humor and naughtiness are engaged in the noble cause of literacy. "Parents," notes biographer Brian Jay Jones, "were more than happy to join Dr. Seuss as fellow revolutionaries. Even if parents didn't necessarily understand the pedagogy, it was easy to see the difference between the staid DICK AND JANE and the rambunctious CAT IN THE HAT: kids wanted to read about the antics of the cat, just as Geisel had hoped."

This is the third issue of the first edition, as evidenced by the 195/195 on the front flap of the dust jacket, the glazed paper cover, and no mention of the "Beginner Books" series on the rear panel. (Younger & Hirsh, p. 26-28).

Seuss was born in Massachusetts and studied at Dartmouth College and Oxford. He designed corporate advertisement and published his first children's book "To think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street" in 1937, a book that Beatrix Potter called "the cleverest book I have met with for many years." During World War II Seuss served in the U.S. Army and drew political cartoons for magazines. He was a prolific author and among his 44 children's books many have received honors, including the Pulitzer, the Peabody, 3 academy Awards and 2 Emmys, but The Cat in the Hat was an immediate literary and educational success and defined his career. Published in 15 languages it has been the source for TV specials, a musical, several films and a variety of games and toys.