"THEN HE GOT AN IDEA! AN AWFUL IDEA! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!"

SEUSS, Dr. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! New York: Random House, (1957). Quarto, original pictorial paper boards, pictorial endpapers, original dust jacket. $11,500.

First edition of Seuss’ heartwarming celebration of true holiday spirit, inscribed by him, "for Eleanor Darby who brought joy to the world by inventing the first Christmas Hang Up Stocking. -Love- Dr. Seuss."

"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 250/250 code on front flap and 14 titles advertised on rear flap. Younger & Hirsch 33.

Interior fine, boards with minor rubbing to edges; dust jacket with light edge-wear, staining along flap folds, tape repair to head of spine. A very good copy.