GIFTS 90 “It All Began With That Shoe On The Wall” 130LeSIEG, Theo. Wacky Wednesday. New York, 1974. Octavo, original glazed pictorial yellow paper boards. $2750 First edition of Seuss’ silly scavenger hunt, with text by him and color illustrations by George Booth. Written under Geisel’s “Theo. LeSieg” pseudonym, Wacky Wednesday invites sharp-eyed young readers to discover increasing numbers of “mistakes” in George Booth’s whimsical illustrations, from one shoe on the wall to 20 impossibilities on the penultimate pages. Issued without dust jacket. Near-fine. “Well, When He Started Talking, You Know What He Said?” 131SEUSS, Dr. Gerald McBoing Boing. New York, 1952. Quarto, original yellow pictorial paper boards, custom slipcase. $1400 First book edition of Seuss’ sharp satire of intolerance, basis for the Academy Award-winning animated short, vividly illustrated by Mel Crawford. The United Productions of America (UPA) short based on Geisel’s story rejected the realistic style associated with Disney productions, embracing a visual style based on caricature. This was the first book edition, published two years later, featuring illustrations adapted by Mel Crawford from the animation. Near-fine. “You May Not Believe It, But Here’s How It Happened…” 132STONE, Rosetta. Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! New York, 1975. Octavo, original glazed pictorial boards. $2650 First edition of Dr. Seuss’ first Beginner Book, his whimsical tale of chain reactions, with color illustrations by Michael Frith. When Geisel and Frith collaborated on this “adaptation of the theme of ‘because of the nail the shoe was lost,” Frith “had a coauthor’s pride in it, but Ted was not sure he wanted to grace it with his own name.” And so “Rosetta Stone” was born” (Morgan, 218). Nearly fine. “This Is So, So, So Important And I Want To Know Right Now!” 129LeSIEG, Theo. Would You Rather be a Bullfrog? New York, 1975. Octavo, original glazed pictorial paper boards. $1950 First edition of Seuss’ book of far-fetched, fanciful forced choices. When Ted Geisel contributed text but not illustrations to the Beginner Books, he wrote under the name “Theo LeSieg,” as in this book that playfully presses young readers to decide whether they would rather be a cactus, toadstool or rose; have six feet of 164; or—the toughest choice of all—a dog or a cat. Small spot of soiling to title page, a bit of wear to extremities. Extremely good.
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