What do you think?
Rate this book
Theodor Seuss Geisel: The Early Works of Dr. Seuss, Vol. 1
Recognized as the most popular children's book author of the 20th century, Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) had a career in illustration that varied widely before he wrote his first juvenile book. Early Works Volume 1 is the first of a series collecting various political cartoons, advertisements, and other images drawn by Geisel long before he had written any of his world-famous books.
172 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
11 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Dr. Seuss
949 books18.4k followersAlso wrote as Theodore Seuss Geisel, see https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"
In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.
During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.
In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat , which went on to instant success.
In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham . Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.
Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.
Also worked under the pen name: Theo Le Sieg
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"
In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.
During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.
In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat , which went on to instant success.
In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham . Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.
Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.
Also worked under the pen name: Theo Le Sieg
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 20, 2020
I recently read
, which explores many of the early professional years of Ted Geisel. This book, admittedly a 'coffee table piece', was a wonderful visual exploration of those cartoons and ad campaigns that paved the way for Geisel's success in children's books. The sass, the sly nature of the image and the message... and the Seussian presentation were all wonderful to see in print.
While I scanned images more than reading the accompanying narrative, I was pleased with this first volume and will check out the second one to compare its contents as well.
Kudos, Mr. Geisel, for this early work!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
, which explores many of the early professional years of Ted Geisel. This book, admittedly a 'coffee table piece', was a wonderful visual exploration of those cartoons and ad campaigns that paved the way for Geisel's success in children's books. The sass, the sly nature of the image and the message... and the Seussian presentation were all wonderful to see in print.While I scanned images more than reading the accompanying narrative, I was pleased with this first volume and will check out the second one to compare its contents as well.
Kudos, Mr. Geisel, for this early work!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at: http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
November 17, 2023
Very different look at the good doctor - never realized how much he had done in advertising and political cartoons. You can see the style of the good doctor forming here: a very interesting retrospective on this icon of pop-culture. There may be some works in this books that fans of the good doctor may be shocked to see - fair warning.
November 30, 2016
The works should have been in chronological order.
August 19, 2019
Great collection. Read library copy, now I'll have to buy my own. I had no idea he did editorial cartoons at one time.
November 23, 2023
This book is a collection of some of Dr. Seuss' early work as an ad man and a newspaper cartoonist. Most were enjoyable, but the full page text with a few images felt out of place and I didn't understand where they fit in the timeline. Fav one was the fish finder!
October 5, 2020
B. nonfiction, semi-biographical
March 3, 2017
His children's books are where he really shines.
October 27, 2008
I'm not amazed by the book design, but I give Seuss high marks for being Seuss.
January 7, 2014
It's Dr. Seuss! What more can you say? Inspirational, appropriate and fun for any age.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews