Bartholomew and the Oobleck, purchased and inscribed for a young mother in 1963 at a bookshop one mile from Dr. Seuss’s La Jolla, California home.
New York: Random House, 1949. 1962 or 1963 printing. Hardcover. This 1963 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.
Edition
Bartholomew and the Oobleck was originally published in 1949. It was the second and final of Dr. Seuss’s books to feature the titular Bartholomew, first introduced in The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938). This copy is a later printing, which we can speculate with confidence was printed in the fall of 1963, not long before this copy was purchased and inscribed. In the list of “all these wonderful books” by Dr. Seuss on the rear flap of the dust jacket, the last is Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, published in 1962.
Though with a red background rather than the first printing blue, and with “295/295” on the upper front flap instead of “200/200”, this dust jacket’s front flap, front face, spine, and rear face are identical in design to the first printing. The rear flap lists 23 Dr. Seuss titles, rather than the six that had been published in 1949.
Condition
As 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 very good minus dust jacket. The glossy paper-covered boards binding is bright and tight, though with overall scuffing and soiling and wear to the corners and spine ends, exposing a little card. The contents are bright with moderate spotting primarily confined to the endpapers and page edges. Dr. Seuss’s inscription, inked in blue on the green 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. Mild wear to the spine ends and flap fold corners and various wrinkling and creasing is offset by the bright hue and completeness. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.
Provenance
This 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 3, pp. 18-20. Item #008820
Price: $1,600.00