“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 
― Dr. Seuss

Happy birthday to the master of tongue-twisting, whimsical wild-haired characters himself, Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss! Born March 2, 1904, writer and cartoonist Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991 after a lifetime of creating worlds filled with nonsense words, rhyming life-lesson stories and magical characters.

Theodor Geisel chose the name Dr. Seuss to honor his father and his mother, whose maiden name was Seuss. He wrote more than 60 books, including “The Cat in the Hat” (1957), “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1957), “Green Eggs and Ham” (1960), “Horton Hears a Who!” (1962) and “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” (1990). The last title has become a traditional gift for graduating college students.

Vintage Dr. Seuss collectibles, made from the 1950s through the 1970s, rose in value after Geisel’s death. While alive, he licensed toys and other items.

But there are rare Dr. Seuss collectibles made in the 1930s and ’40s. Theodore Geisel worked for an advertising agency and illustrated ads with comical characters that later appeared in his children’s book. He illustrated and sometimes wrote ads for Standard Oil, including his most famous ad for a bug spray with the tagline, “Quick Henry, the Flit.” The sprayer was decorated with a picture of a soldier. Later he approved a wooden doll promoting electricity. He also created characters and copy for Holly Sugar, Warren Telechron Clocks, Ford, General Electric, Daggett & Ramsdell Cosmetics, Stromberg-Carlson radios, and giveaways at a boat show in the 1930s that included a 30-page book and a Commission certificate, as well as Nuzzlepuss ashtrays. He also drew political cartoons and animated instruction training materials for the military during WWII.

His first book in 1937, “And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” was rejected 27 times before it was published. But fame came with his clever book that used only 250 simple words in 1957, “The Cat in the Hat.” Later in his life, he created characters to help the environment like the Lorax who wanted to save trees. Geisel died in 1991, but his many children’s books are still popular.

Lunch boxes were one of the items he did license. In 2018, a 1970 “Cat in the Hat” lunch box with thermos sold for $92, and a 1970 World of Dr. Seuss lunch box with thermos sold for $50 in 2019. The opening of Seuss Landing at Universal Studios in Orlando caused the number of Dr. Seuss souvenirs hitting the market to explode faster than even Thing One and Thing Two could run to escape trouble.

Photo: Morphy Auctions

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