SEUSS, DR. (THEODOR GEISEL, 1904-1991). American author and illustrator of such beloved books as How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and The Cat in the Hat. An original signed drawing. (“Dr. Seuss”). 1p. Oblong 12mo. N.p., 1965 or later. A drawing of the Cat in the Hat on a FDC from the “Prominent American” series depicting a cachet of Abraham Lincoln with two 4-cent Lincoln stamps, and the first day of issue ink cancellation postmarked New York, New York November 19, 1965. Seuss has sketched the Cat in the Hat in black and red ink and added his signature with a black and red paraph to the right of the image.

After publishing his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in 1937, Seuss penned, under his pseudonym, more than 60 books including Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, and, in 1957, The Cat in the Hat, featuring a cat in a red and white striped hat and red bowtie. The Cat in the Hat, a reaction to the debate over the efficacy of traditional reading primers, was an instant success and changed children’s book publishing. The book was the first of Random House’s successful Beginner Books imprint, which featured the Cat in the Hat in its logo. In 1984, Dr. Seuss was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for “contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America’s children and their parents.”

In excellent condition; Dr. Seuss is increasingly scarce in original sketches.