"MAYBE CHRISTMAS… PERHAPS… MEANS A LITTLE BIT MORE!"

SEUSS, Dr. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! New York: Random House, (1957). Quarto, original pictorial paper boards, pictorial endpapers, original dust jacket. $3000.

First edition of Seuss' heartwarming celebration of true holiday spirit, in bright original dust jacket.

"In 1954 the Whos won popularity when Horton saved them from destruction… So Ted returned to Who-ville and paired the Whos with a character who was every bit as dastardly as Horton was faithful… Clearly the Grinch has been the most memorable Christmas villain to undergo redemption since Ebenezer Scrooge. To some degree, Ted identified with the Grinch… When asked why he wrote the book, Ted replied, 'I was brushing my teeth on the morning of the 26th of last December when I noted a very Grinch-ish countenance in the mirror. It was Seuss! So I wrote the story about my sour friend, the Grinch, to see if I could rediscover something about Christmas that obviously I'd lost.' It was no coincidence that, when the book appeared in 1957, the Grinch complained, 'For fifty-three years I've put up with it now…' Ted, of course, was born in 1904… After The Cat in the Hat [also published 1957] and The Grinch, Ted's reputation grew exponentially" (Cohen, 329-30). Geisel's tribute to true holiday cheer "added an unforgettable character to American literary mythology and a highly descriptive noun/verb to our language" (Dr. Seuss From Then to Now, 51). First edition, in first-issue dust jacket, with 14 titles advertised on rear flap. Younger & Hirsch 33.

Book fine, bright price-clipped dust jacket with mild rubbing to extremities, very shallow chipping to spine heard, two hairline closed tears to spine. A very attractive copy.