Ran Zoo, Signed (1 results)

Hardcover. First edition, later printing. This likely 1958 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. EditionOriginally published in 1950, If I Ran the Zoo won a Caldecott Honor Award in 1951. This book is one of the six now-suppressed Dr. Seuss titles, no longer published due to alleged insensitivities therein.This is an early printing, with no further print history on the title page, but we can speculate with some confidence that it was published in 1958. The rear face of the first printing dust jacket listed "the seven other books by Dr. Seuss". This copy's dust jacket lists 16, the latest of which are 1958's Yertle the Turtle and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. None of the Dr. Seuss titles published between 1959 and 1963, when this copy was purchased and inscribed, appear on this dust jacket's list of "other books by Dr. Seuss".The dust jacket is identical to that of the first printing except for the aforementioned 16 Dr. Seuss titles on the rear face as opposed to the first printing's seven, and with "295/295" on the upper front flap instead of the first printing's "200/200".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 in a good plus dust jacket. The glossy paper-covered boards binding is bright and tight, though with light overall scuffing and soiling and wear to the corners and spine ends, exposing a little card. The contents are clean apart from very light, intermittent spotting. 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. The dust jacket is bright and complete, with the printed "295/295" intact on the upper front flap and no loss. However, there are closed tears at the lower spine, lower left front face, upper rear face, and lower rear flap fold, as well as appreciable wrinkling to the spine and extremities. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.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 childre.