Seuss, Dr (Theodor Seuss Geisel)

4to (270 x 207mm.), FIRST EDITION OF SEUSS' FIRST BOOK FOR CHILDREN (with boy's shorts coloured white on cover and dated 1937 on the title-page), pictorial boards, illustrated endpapers, slight wear to edges of boards and spine

The publication of Seuss’ first children’s book was largely serendipitous. Having built a career throughout the previous decade as a cartoonist and illustrator, on a stormy sea journey back from Europe in 1936 Seuss concocted A Story That No-one Can Beat, using the rumble of the ship’s engine to set the rhythm for his now signature poetic voice. Seuss touted his draft around numerous publishing houses (in his own mercurial accounts of the venture, the figure ranges from 20 to 43), before a chance encounter with an old school friend, Mike McClintock, who had just that day been made children's editor for the Vanguard Press, brought him success. Seuss subsequently renamed the hero of his tale - now re-titled Mulberry Street - after McClintock’s son, and dedicated the book to his wife, Helene.