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Auction or Sell Dr. Seuss Art for Over $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions

FREE APPRAISAL.  To appraise, auction, authenticate, buy, consign or sell your Dr. Seuss art that is for sale, please email [email protected] or phone the Nate D. Sanders office at (310) 440-2982.  High reserves and interest-free cash advances are gladly granted.  All of this from NateDSanders.com, the Nate D. Sanders Auction House in Los Angeles.

Please let us know if you have Dr. Seuss Art for sale. Top dollar obtained for your Dr. Seuss Art.

Sell your Dr. Seuss Art that you have for Sale for up to $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles!  Nobody Gets Higher Prices for You.

Our Dr. Seuss Art Auction Has Achieved Record Results.

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Actual Auction Prices Realized of Dr. Seuss Art Obtained by Our Auction House:

We obtained a world record price for this Dr. Seuss art item obtained directly from his secretary:

Dr. Seuss Art 31016 Dr. Seuss Autograph

Dr. Seuss Art (Click to Enlarge)

31016b Dr. Seuss Autograph Dr. Seuss Art

Dr. Seuss Art (Click to Enlarge)

Dr. Seuss’s Late 1960’s Never-Before Known, Unpublished, Abandoned & Unfinished Very Rough & Beginning Draft of a Children’s Book Manuscript Entitled “All Sorts of Sports” — With Seuss’ Handwritten Rhymes and Doodles Throughout Nineteen handwritten pages, the first seven of which are completely in the hand of Dr. Seuss. The remaining pages are mostly written by an assistant with corrections and doodles by Dr. Seuss, some taped on. This Dr. Seuss children’s book lost for over 40 years reads in part including the scratched out parts, “All Sorts of Sports.  Shall I play checkers? golf? croquet?  There are so many games there are to play.  I could. / maybe.. / shall I..  There are so many many sorts.  So many sorts of games + sports.  What am I going to do today?  There are so many games to play!  I guess I won’t.  I’m all tired out.  100 GAMES & sports you can play.  You can play checkers.  You can play chess.  Baseball.  Football.  Volleyball.  Basketball.  You can ski on snow.  You can ski on water.  And tiddle-de-winks.  What am I going to do today.  Well, that’s a simple matter.  Oh, that’s easy.  We could play.  There are so many sports games to play.  We could swim.  I could play baseball…golf..or catch.  Or I could play a tennis match.  There are so many sports, let’s see…  I could bowl, jump hurdles, or water ski.  I could blumf.  Or blumf blumf blumf blumf blumf.  Or blumf. Or blumf blumf blumf blumf blumf.”  This last page, marked page “6-7” by Dr. Seuss seems to be where the assistant takes over, though Seuss adds corrections and doodles, as mentioned before, some taped on. Accompanied by a Dr. Seuss typed letter signed “Ted” regarding this unfinished sports book on Cat in the Hat Beginner Books stationery dated 11 July 1983.  Seuss responds to a letter from one of his assistant writers (letter also included, dated 31 May 1983) where the assistant writes, “About 14 years ago, you wanted a sports book for Beginner Books. I worked on one, but what I eventually came up with did not please you…So I set it aside. I have just found it in an old file, and am thinking I might try submitting it to a few places to see what happens. Before I do that, I want to let you have another look at it…” Seuss responds in part, “Re your enclosed manuscript, I do indeed remember it.  And my critique now is as same as then.  What, in my opinion, is wrong with this story is that…despite the greatness of Pete as a stellar athlete hero…the negative image of him flubbing and unable to catch any ball at all will make him schnook.  This is not entirely apparent in the text, but when you picture these negative scenes in illustrations, you will find that negatives are always more memorable than positives.  And I think the reader’s reaction will be, ‘What’s the matter with this dope?’  I may be wrong of course…so why not send it to Harper and Row who do very good brat books and several times have made best sellers out of properties that I’ve rejected. ”  It seems as if Seuss’ sports manuscript — focusing on “What game shall we play today?” — varied from this writer’s concept of the athlete who couldn’t catch. A miraculous find in excellent condition.  Never before seen on the market. Accompanied by letter of authenticity from Seuss’ assistant writer to whom this manuscript and Dr. Seuss autograph was given.

It sold for $40,805.  One of the reasons it obtained such a high price is that we garnered a lot of press attention including a story by NPR.

Sell your Dr. Seuss Art that you have for Sale for up to $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles!  Nobody Gets Higher Prices for You.

Our Dr. Seuss Art Auction Has Achieved Record Results.

Wonderful Dr. Seuss Art – a Pencil and Watercolor Signed Drawing — Rare Dr. Seuss Art by the Imaginative Illustrator and Author

Dr. Seuss art, a watercolor drawing entitled “Mrs. M. on the Trail”. Mrs. M, likely the wife of Mr. Mayor of Whoville, makes her way down a treacherous looking hill with various animal companions in tow, looking unconcerned about the crocodile waiting below. Mr. and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville are featured in in Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and “Horton Hears a Who!” Drawing is signed: “Drawn with Heart’s blood — Dr. Seuss”. Measures 9.5″ x 15.5″. Overall toning and some fading to the Dr. Seuss autograph. Very good condition.  Sold for $20,939.

click to enlarge

Sell your Dr. Seuss Art that you have for Sale for up to $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles!  Nobody Gets Higher Prices for You.

Our Dr. Seuss Art Auction Has Achieved Record Results.

Dr. Seuss Whimsical Drawing of ”The Cat in the Hat”

Dr. Seuss autograph on a hand illustrated ”The Cat in the Hat” being pulled up and away by a large balloon. Letter dated 24 February 1972 on Dr. Seuss stationery to Diddo Clark reads in part, ”That was the finest letter I have every received on a green balloon in many a month…I am back again on that merry-go-round for Hollywood or New York…Ted”. Clark, an undergraduate at the University of California at San Diego, taught a class for freshman on the pursuit of excellence. Theodor Geisel (Seuss) was a guest speaker in the class. In 1972, Seuss was busy with his first animated special, ”The Lorax,” which came out that year. Letter measuring 7.25” x 10.25” is mounted to a 10” x 16” mat. A rare Dr. Seuss autograph. Fine condition.  Sold for $4,000.

Sell your Dr. Seuss Art that you have for Sale for up to $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles!  Nobody Gets Higher Prices for You.

Our Dr. Seuss Art Auction Has Achieved Record Results.

Dr. Seuss Art — a Drawing of “The Cat in the Hat”

Dr. Seuss art, a hand illustrated and signed letter on Dr. Seuss stationery, featuring his most famous character, the “Cat in the Hat.” The children’s book author draws the Cat, referring to it as “Me” in a clever story line, showing that he was “yanked out of town” against his will. The letter is to Diddo Clark, an undergraduate at the University of California at San Diego, who taught a class for freshman on the pursuit of excellence. Theodor Geisel (Seuss) was a guest speaker in the class, but it took more than a year for Clark to arrange for Geisel to speak due to his many commitments. Clark initially contacted Geisel through the U.C.S.D. librarian, forwarding him a drawing of a creature. Geisel responded with a humorous note and drawing. They corresponded through drawings until they finally settled on a time. Clark and Geisel corresponded throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s. Letter measures 7.25″ x 10.25, matted to 10″ x 16″. Dated 10 January 1972 in pencil in the upper right corner. Dr. Seuss autograph is signed boldly “Ted” in red crayon. Fine condition.  Sold for $3,896.

Dr. Seuss Art Dr. Seuss Autograph Dr. Seuss Whimsical Drawing of ''The Cat in the Hat''

Dr. Seuss Art – a Whimsical Drawing of ”The Cat in the Hat”

Fantastic Dr. Seuss Lot of 3 Letters Signed & Illustrations From His Pivotal Year of 1957 — ”…THE CAT IN THE HAT will, shortly, be my best known animal…” — Also Several Drawings by Walt Kelly

Exceptional lot of three letters signed, and two pages of illustrations by Dr. Seuss, in addition to four pages of illustrations by Walt Kelly. All letters by Seuss are dated 1957 when both ”The Cat in the Hat” and ”How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” were published, with Seuss here writing enthusiastically about the success of the books and considering toys and games based on the characters. Lot comes from the estate of Mike McClintock, whose children’s book ”A Fly Went By” was published by Random House, and also includes two letters regarding the book from Random House editors (one lengthy letter is by Seuss’ collaborator Phyllis Cerf). All Seuss letters are near fine, written on front sides of sheets only, and though varied in size, measure approximately 8” x 10.5”.

In Dr. Seuss’ first letter, dated 19 May 1957 on his personal stationery, Seuss writes to McClintock, in part, ”…you picked me off Madison Ave. with a manuscript that I was about to burn in my incinerator, because nobody would buy it. And you not only told me how to put Mulberry Street together properly…(as you did later with the 500 Hats), but after you’d sweated this out with me, giving me the best and only good information I have ever had on the construction of a book for this mysterious market, you even took the stuff on the road and sold it…I hate like hell to ask for your MSS if it isn’t finished. But I think I know your mind well enough to understand your intent even from the roughest notes…My situation in toys and games is exactly this…my major interest is books…and I refuse to louse it up, and lose all my PTA, Librarian and Teacher support by one stinking comic book, toy or sweat shirt or game…I definitely am going into the by-product field this year. Because the CAT will reach 100,000 very shortly, and the print order on HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS will in the first edition be over 50,000. And the Sat. Eve. Post will talk about this shortly in a profile that I wish to hell that you had written, / ANYHOW, if you want to talk toys and games, I’d rather talk to you than anyone I know…IF you plug anything, maybe you should keep this thought in mind. THE CAT IN THE HAT will, shortly be my best known animal. In another year, I believe that the GRINCH and the WHOS will outdo even the cat, [handwritten] and Horton…[signed] Ted”.

In Seuss’ second letter, spanning three pages, he digs deep into breaking McClintock’s manuscript, ”A Fly Went By”, giving interesting insight into what Seuss believes makes for a compelling children’s story, and often contrasting the story to ”The Cat in the Hat”. Dated 28 May 1957, he writes in part (with several hand-annotations), ”…You’ve hit something there that has more terrific chances of becoming a classic than anything I’ve seen in a hell of a long time. / The title is perfect. (It took me two minutes to prove, by this enclosed first stab, that there’ll be no trouble getting an unusual and provocative cover. [illustration included]) / The basic concept of fear, and running away from things, has something to say. The reader grasps it instantaneously, and then it builds, builds builds. / The whole thing is just as sound as it is ‘different’…start pinning up a rudimentary story board, with hens scratches. The story board will write this story…[handwritten] At the end, when the non-existant [sic] basic menace is exposed, you might have a nice quick finish by bringing all the characters back, happy, across a happy double-truck…Length: Same as CAT. 64 pages. But, at this stage, if you find yourself rolling, by all means over-write. We can always contract. And overwriting this sort of thing (in my case, anway [sic]) usually leads to the development of something worth-while. / Incidental: Don’t have any less text in this than I did in the Cat. (Only criticism we’ve had about the cat at all is that it would have made a better reader if there were a little more text to read…[signed and handwritten] Ted / Cat Reading Game is a swell idea!”

In Seuss’ last letter, dated 5 December 1957 on Beginner Books stationery, he adds a colorful flourish to the first word, ”FINALLY!” before writing two pages, largely about game opportunities for ”The Cat in the Hat”. In part, ”…The Hat Cat is doing a thousand a day. Latest printing brings print up to 200,000 in nine months. SO don’t feel too sorry for yourself for your sweat on THE FLY. That market is open to you, also. (Grinch, incidentally, is approaching 50,000 in two and a half months…Which brings me to our toy-making-policy-planning. I know that Lou and you and I are not much for ‘Opportunistic Toys’..based on fads. BUT, dammit, I believe that by fall…when my ‘HAT-CAT COMES BACK’ comes out, we’ll have the biggest character that has ever come out of childrens’ trade books. (Obviously, not enormous from comic strip standards.) And so I say, why can’t we think a little opportunistically? My recent (still gong on, and almost month-long) autographing tour from San Francisco to Mexico convinces me that every Hat-Cat in every library int his country is read by almost every child that goes into that library. AND, (although, confidentially, Houghton Mifflin’s School Sale is pathetic compared to our Book Store Sale via Bennett) this Cat is getting to be known…by teacher reading…to practically all the first graders in the country. / So, I think we’re idiots if we don’t think non-educationally, and start off on an opportunistic line……with a Cat-in-the-Hat Doll, Toy, put-together plastic, rag, fuzzy or whatever. But fast! / I’m riding a wave right now that may never again roll so high. So I think we oughta and gotta start in a different way than we planned. And get a Cat Character out as soon as we can. And THEN follow up with the game and the blocks and all the other things we want to do that make sense…[signed] Ted”.

Lot continues with several illustrations by Dr. Seuss and Walt Kelly, comprising: (1) Seuss’ draft illustration (referenced in his second letter) for cover art for ”A Fly Went By!”, with a child’s face following a dashing fly. Measures 6.25” x 8”. Folds, else near fine. (2) Two drawings, at least one certainly done by Seuss: what he labels ”a Thin Thuber” that resembles an ostrich. Page measures approximately 10” x 7”. Closed tear just touching the Thuber and toned with chipping to edges; very good condition. (3) Four pages of illustrations by Walt Kelly, Disney animator and creator of ”Pogo”, inscribed on the first page ”This is for Claudia McClintock from Walt Kelly”. Illustrations include an elephant (resembling the character ”Dumbo” which Kelly worked on), a mouse, ducks, a cow jumping over the moon, a dog, several cats and kittens with one playing the violin, a teddy bear, and a seal balancing a frog on a ball! Pages measure approximately 8.5” x 11”. Tape on margins and some chipping to edges, but illustrations remain bright.

A fantastic lot with unusual and personal content from Seuss just as his most successful books were gaining worldwide notoriety. Sold for $8,529.

Dr. Seuss Art

Dr. Seuss Art. Click to enlarge.

FREE APPRAISAL.  To appraise, auction, buy, consign or sell your Dr. Seuss art that is for sale, please email [email protected] or phone the Nate D. Sanders office at (310) 440-2982.  High reserves and interest-free cash advances are gladly granted.  All of this from NateDSanders.com, the Nate D. Sanders Auction House in Los Angeles. Please let us know if you have Dr. Seuss Art for sale. Top dollar obtained for your Dr. Seuss Art.

Sell your Dr. Seuss Art that you have for Sale for up to $40,000 at Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles!  Nobody Gets Higher Prices for You.

Our Dr. Seuss Art Auction Has Achieved Record Results.

Original Cat in the Hat Dr. Seuss Art

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