Ran Circus by Geisel Theodor, Signed (1 results)

Hardcover. First edition, 1963 printing. This first edition, later printing, was inscribed by Dr. Seuss for a young mother in 1963 at a bookshop one mile from Dr. Seuss's home in La Jolla, California. It was acquired by us directly from the person for whom this book was purchased, to whom it was inscribed, and whose family enjoyed this book for three generations. This copy is inscribed on the lower left corner of the front free endpaper verso in four lines "for | JiLL | with Best Wishes | Dr. Seuss" with a characteristic Dr. Seuss squiggle between the valediction and signature. EditionWe can speculate with confidence that this copy was printed in 1963, seven years after the 1956 first printing. When first published, the book listed "All twelve books by Dr. Seuss" on the rear cover, as well as a list of "Other books by Dr. Seuss" on the final free endpaper recto facing the final page of the story. This printing lists four additional titles on the rear cover, spanning 1956-1958, and a total of 23 titles in the advertisement on the final free endpaper recto, including 11 published between 1957 and 1963, the year this copy was inscribed.If I Ran the Circus was a line of demarcation; it was Dr. Seuss's last book published before 1957's The Cat in the Hat, which launched an entire new division of Random House helmed by Dr. Seuss, and made him a household name.ConditionAs Dr. Seuss surely intended when he signed this copy for a young mother in 1963, this book has been read, a lot, and then some more. If you seek a pristine, "trophy" copy, this book is not for you. Instead, it is imbued with provenance and story. Condition is good plus. The glossy paper-covered boards binding is bright, though generally soiled with moderate wear to extremities. Mild spotting is primarily confined to the preliminary leaves and page edges. Dr. Seuss's inscription, inked in blue on the lower left front free endpaper verso, is bright and clean. Affixed to the lower left rear pastedown is the printed and illustrated ticket of "John Cole's Book & Craft Shop" in La Jolla, California, where this book was purchased and inscribed.ProvenanceThis book's life story is as compelling as the story within.In 1959, the family of the "Jill" to whom this book is inscribed moved from Los Angeles to Point Loma in San Diego a beautiful peninsula protecting San Diego's vaunted natural harbor. Point Loma is just a few miles south of La Jolla, the seaside promontory to which Dr. Seuss had moved in 1948, where he lived the rest of his life, and where he wrote the majority of his books. In July 1963, Jill had her first child a boy, Jeff. For Jill's birthday that November, her mom decided to give her a gift that she could share with her new baby. Jill's mom was friends with Barbara Cole, proprietor of John Cole's Books in La Jolla, and Barbara was friends with Dr. Seuss, who lived exactly one mile away from the shop. So, with Barbara's help, Jill's mom got Dr. Seuss to inscribe 22 brand new copies of his books of which this is one in the fall of 1963. Jill read and reread these books to Jeff and his little sister, Lauren, born in 1966, throughout their childhood. Jill and her husband raised Jeff and Lauren in Point Loma, in the same house where, eventually, they read and reread this and their other Dr. Seuss books to their granddaughters, just as they had once read them to their children. With both children and grandchildren grown, Jill decided to entrust her Dr. Seuss books to us. Hence we now offer this book from their collection to a new owner for the first time since it was purchased for Jill by her mom and inscribed by Dr. Seuss in 1963. Reference: Younger & Hirsch, First Editions of Dr. Seuss Books, 2002, with 2004 corrections, Entry 43, pp. 108-110.