identify and value the first edition of dr seuss’s books
The following table is an excerpt from our book the Children’s Picturebook Price Guide. The estimated values are for first edition books, with dust jackets.
Anyone seriously in the market for dr. seuss books should also own a copy of first editions of dr. Seuss Books (2002), by Helen Young, Marc Young, and Dan Hirsch. Within the hobby, this book is considered the definitive guide to correctly identifying Dr. Seuss First Edition Books, which provide detailed information about each book, along with full-color examples of books and dust jackets. given the cost of making a mistake with dr. seuss first editions, the young/hirsch guide is an invaluable resource.
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We had been collecting Dr. Seuss first edition books for many years prior to the publication of the Younger/Hirsch book, and in the process had compiled our own list of points to help us identify many of the older first edition books. This list is included in the Children’s Picturebook Price Guide
In all cases, we own, or have had in our possession, the first edition book with the listed identification points. the information differs in several cases from that presented in young/hirsch, since it is the result of our own research.
we have been posting id points (trouble points) for dr. seuss first edition books on identifying dr. seuss first edition books in the following table, the book title is a link to the first edition book identification points.
values for dr. seuss first edition books
Values are for first edition books, with dust jackets.
identifying dr. seuss first edition books without dust jackets
Conventional wisdom among booksellers is the first edition dr. Seuss books cannot be identified without the dust jacket. this used to be true. With the recent discovery of some outstanding information, today, most of dr. seuss books can be identified as first editions without the dust jacket.
There are a couple of cases where the book in the first printing is indistinguishable from the book used in the second and third printings. in these cases, the book remained unchanged but the dust jacket was changed. even so, these books still have collectability (desirability) and value.
to help clarify, from the abaa glossary:
editing & print:
edition includes copies of a book or other printed material that originate from the same plates or type setting. If 500 copies of a book are printed on Oct. 5 and 300 copies of the same plates are printed substantially unchanged in December. 10, all 800 copies are part of the same edition.
print: Copies of a book or other printed matter originating from the same print run or from the same plates or type configuration at the same time.
In the “edition” example above, the 500 copies would be the first printing and the 300 copies would comprise the second printing.
first edition:
all copies printed from the first type setting; can include multiple prints if they are all of the same type configuration. When book collectors use the term first edition, they generally mean the first printing and, if there are different states or editions, the oldest printing.
in all dr. seuss books presented, the first edition book can be identified without the dust jackets. in almost all cases, the book is also the first edition/first printing. in a couple of cases, the book is the first edition/’first or first’ printing.
we describe the “availability” of each of the books. Most first edition books are hard to find on the market. “very difficult” means that one or no copies are usually available on internet book sales sites (abe, alibris, or bookfinder). “extremely difficult” means that a copy is rarely on the market, however, it may appear once or twice a year.
[note: where appropriate, the book title below links to the book identification points of the dust jacketed first edition.]
It’s hard to price first edition books without dust jackets. A dust jacket first edition mulberry street could sell for $8,000 in very good condition. the first edition book might sell in the $300-$600 range, so about 1/20th of the value of the dust jacketed first edition book.
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the cat in the hat first edition book with dust jacket would have a market value of $4000 more or less in very good condition. the first edition book could sell for $50 or so, since it’s not too hard to find.
since dr. Seuss first edition dust jacket books are too expensive for many children’s book collectors, so they might consider the first edition book without dust jacket as an alternative.
and to think I saw it on mulberry street 1937
Title page with ‘1937,’ Vanguard Press, and copyright page with no additional printings listed. Marco’s shorts are white on the front cover; on later printings Marco had blue shorts.
availability: “white pants” books are extremely hard to find.
the 500 hats of bartholomew cubbins 1938
front guards progress from large hats to small hats; rear guards progress from small hats to large hats. in later editions the progression was reversed.
Availability: “Large to Small Hat” books are extremely hard to find.
the king’s stilts 1939
Front cover with the yellow text ‘The King’s Stilts by Dr. Seuss’ on a red background covering nearly the entire area. On later printings, the title was reduced in size, with red text on a yellow cloth background.
Availability: “Large logo” books are very hard to find.
horton incubates the egg 1940
States ‘First Printing’ on the copyright page.
Availability: “First print” books are extremely hard to find.
mcelligot pool 1947
Front cover has fish with mouth open.
availability: ‘open mouth’ books are very hard to find.
thidwick: the moose with a big heart 1948
The first edition boards are red. The book with red boards was used with the first printing dust jacket (with ‘starburst’) and the second printing dust jacket (sans ‘starburst’, ‘200/200’ on front flap).
availability: Red board books are hard to find.
bartholomew and the oobleck 1949
The first printing book has blue boards. Later printings were changed to red boards.
availability: Blue board books are hard to find.
if I ran the zoo 1950
Copyright page with seven lines only, omitting the line “BASED ON MATERIAL WHICH ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN REDBOOK MAGAZINE.” Later printings have eight lines, including the Redbook line.
Availability: “No Red Book” board books are extremely hard to find.
horton hears who 1954
Horton has full ear on back cover and the list of other Seuss titles on the recto of the back free endpaper. Second printings also have Horton with full ear on back cover and Seuss title list on the copyright page.
availability: ‘full title page/reverse’ board books are extremely hard to find. availability: ‘full ear title page/copyright’ books are very hard to find.
if I ran the circus 1956
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The first printing book has pink boards. Later printings were changed to red & yellow boards.
availability: ‘pink slate’ books aren’t that hard to find.
the cat in the hat 1957
matte boards with unique binding signature. later prints have glossy cartons with three binding signatures.
The “single signature matte cover” book can be found with the second printing dust jacket (no price on the flap) and third printing dust jackets (‘195/195’ on the front flap).
availability: “single signature” books are hard to find.
how the grinch stole christmas 1957
Back cover with full page advertisement for The Cat In The Hat offered for sale for $2.00.
This book was used on second printing dust jackets (295/295 front flap) and third printing dust jackets (295/295 and 16 listed titles).
availability: ‘back ad $2.00’ books are not that hard to find.
the cat with the hat returns 1958
Copyright page states ‘First Printing.” Also, the snowball to the left of the Cat’s tail is only on the first edition book.
availability: ‘first run’ books aren’t that hard to find.
happy birthday to you 1959
The first printing book has a printing error on page 34 (page beginning with “Today is your birthday”), with six white spots that do not appear in later printings.
availability: ‘white dot’ books are not that hard to find.
first edition, first impression
It’s a complicated subject, the book that compiles the definition of ‘first edition’ is ‘first edition, first printing’.
as an example, the first edition of “conventional wisdom” the cat in the hat, with the ‘200/200’ on the front flap, is considered the first edition, while the ‘200 / 200’ was actually used in numerous editions.
“huh?” you ask. let me explain
The Cat in the Hat was first published in March 1957. Sales far exceeded initial expectations. The ‘200/200’ dust jacket was used on the book until early 1958, and perhaps as late as mid-1958. The earliest instance I can find of the book’s price being reduced to ‘195/195’ is in the October issue of 1958 from horn book magazine (p. 325), where random house advertises the first six beginner books for $1.95.
It is illogical to believe that the initial printing of The Cat in the Hat in March 1957 was sufficient to supply nearly a year’s worth of books, until January or March 1958. and especially in a light that sales are higher than initially expected. therefore, the logical conclusion is that there were multiple impressions of the cat in the hat ‘200/200’ throughout 1957.
Currently, the book collecting community cannot distinguish the initial ‘200/200’ printing from each of the other ‘200/200’ printings, but we still consider them all ‘first edition/first printing’.
The first edition ‘200/200’ cat in the hat typically sells for $3000 in today’s market.
© stan zielinskia serious collector having fun with funny books.
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