Seuss Cat in the Hat Comes Back 1958 First Printing Bob Staake Signed Bookplate

by Dr. Seuss

$125 · Offered by eBay

First edition

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. Dr. Seuss. New York: Beginner Books, 1958. First edition, first printing. Octavo, 63 pages, approximately 9 by 6.5 inches. Publisher's glossy blue pictorial boards. Pink, blue and black pictorial endpapers. Issued with a dust jacket; none present with this copy. Younger and Hirsch 11. Edition. A true first printing, verifiable from the book itself rather than from the jacket. FIRST PRINTING is stated at the head of the copyright page, above the 1958 copyright and the Beginner Books imprint. Two further first-issue points are present on the front board: the Cat's bow tie is white, and the snowball appears to the left of his tail. Both were changed in later printings, and they exist so that a first-issue book can be told from one wearing a later jacket. The rear board lists the original six Beginner Books, ending with Sam and the Firefly at $1.95, which is the fall 1958 launch line-up. Later printings extend that list. Provenance. From the personal library of the illustrator Bob Staake, with his signed Ex Libris bookplate on the front pastedown. Bob Staake is my father, and this copy comes directly from his shelves. Condition. Good. Boards worn along the front hinge and at the corners and spine ends, with white showing through in places. A slight crease to the spine. Light soiling and a few faint spots to the front board. No dust jacket. Interior clean and bright, no tears, no crayon, no inscriptions, no marks beyond the bookplate. Binding tight a

• Publisher: Beginner Books
• Year: 1958
• Printing: first

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