Holiday 2020 Catalogue

9 H o l i d a y 2 0 2 0 “Merry Christmas… From That Old Grinch, Dr. Seuss” 6. SEUSS, Dr. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! New York, 1957. Quarto, original pictorial paper boards, dust jacket. $12,000. First edition of Seuss’ heartwarming celebration of true holiday spirit, inscribed to Seuss’ longtime friends: “Merry Christmas to the Kays from that Old Grinch, Dr. Seuss.” “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 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” (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). Book near-fine, with stray mark to half title, small tear to rear joint and slightest rubbing to extremities. Bright dust jacket with slight soiling, light wear to extremities, and mild toning to spine. A wonderfully inscribed copy. “Christmas Day will always be Just as long as we have we.”