First Edition The Cat In The Hat

First Edition Identification

1957 B-01 The Cat In The Hat

Dr. Seuss. The Cat In The Hat. New York. Random House: 1957.

Pages#: 64 pages.

Book Description: Dr. Seuss's classic tale, using 220 wonderfully rhyming words, which revolutionized the way children learn to read in America. First book in the Beginner Book franchise. One of the 'All-Time Bestselling Children's Books' according to Publisher's Weekly.

Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title; [ii] copyright; 1-61 story; [64] Cat In The Hat illustration; [blank recto of back free endpaper]; back free and fixed endpaper illustrated in color.

Collectibility Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is a Premier Collectible: First book in ground breaking Beginner Books series, which changed the way children learned to read in America. Embraced by the public for 67 years with millions of copies sold. The 9th bestselling children's hardback of all-time. Theodor Seuss Giesel is the most successful children's book author/illustrator of all-time and has a strong collector interest. The book, the character, and the author are renowned within pop culture.

The Collectibility of a first edition American picturebook is comprised of specific factors, as explained in detail at Factors Affecting Collectibility.

Scarcity	Collect ibility	Illust.	1st Early Late	Author	Awards	Pop Culture	Copies Sold	Fran chise
6	10	10	5	10	7	10	10	10

Scarcity Context

The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Uncommon: There were 25 first editions found in the March 2024 survey, with an average price of $4,999, ranging from $14,000 to $1,000.

First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions

Book Front: Bound in matte paper covered boards with color illustration. "THE CAT / IN / THE / HAT / [FOR BEGINNING READERS logo] By DR. SEUSS"

Note: Click on any of the book's images to see at larger scale.

Book Back: "Educators hail / The CAT / in the HAT* / [Four paragraph reviews of The Cat In The Hat] / [Image of book front lower left corner] / *"The CAT in the HAT / written and illustrated by DR. SEUSS / RANDOM HOUSE · 457 Madison Ave. · New York 22, N.Y."

Book Spine: "The Cat In The Hat Dr. Seuss RANDOM HOUSE"

Title Page: "THE CAT / IN / THE / HAT / [Color illustration] / By / Dr. Seuss / RANDOM / HOUSE"

Copyright: "COPYRIGHT 1957 by DR. SEUSS / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND PAN-AMERICAN / COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE / THIS BOOK OR PARTS THEREOF IN ANY FORM. / EDUCATIONAL EDITION PUBLISHED BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY, BOSTON / TRADE EDITION PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN NEW YORK BY RANDOM HOUSE, INC., / AND IN TORONTO, CANADA, BY RANDOM HOUSE OF CANADA, LIMITED. / MANUFACTURED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 56-5470"

DJ Front: "THE CAT / IN / THE / HAT / [FOR BEGINNING READERS logo] By DR. SEUSS"

DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'A': 1957 1 Title

"Educators hail / The CAT / in the HAT* / [Four paragraph reviews of The Cat In The Hat] / [Image of book front lower left corner] / *"The CAT in the HAT / written and illustrated by DR. SEUSS / RANDOM HOUSE · 457 Madison Ave. · New York 22, N.Y."

DJ Spine: "The Cat In The Hat Dr. Seuss RANDOM HOUSE"

DJ Price: 200/200

DJ Flap Front: 200/200' top right / "I can spell CAT!" / Isn't that the way your small fry gave ... [... paragraph] / Dr. Seuss--a genius if ever there was one ... [... paragraph] / In other words, THE CAT IN THE HAT ... [... paragraph] / You'll be giving more than a book to any ... [... paragraph] / THE CAT IN THE HAT / written and illustrated by / DR. SEUSS / [smal Random House vignette] / RANDOM HOUSE"

DJ Flap Back: "[Dr. Seuss photo] / DR. SEUSS / From earliest youth, Dr. Seuss wanted to ... [... paragraph] / No Ivy Hall called. Somehow things got ... [... paragraph] / Soon, newspapers wanted it. Magazines ... [... paragraph] / Dr. Seuss has already gone to the top in ... [... paragraph] / The wonderful rhymed nonsense of this ... [... paragraph]"

First Edition Identification

The Cat In The Hat First And Early Edition Overview

The Cat In The Hat was initially published in March 1957 bound with a single signature The book also had a matte finish to the paper covered boards versus glossy finish of later printings.

The Cat In The Hat First Edition Text Block \

The first edition dust jacket has '200/200' on the top right of the front flap - the DJ price is vitally important!

The Cat In The Hat '200/200' DJ Price \

Sales immediately exceeded initial projections therefore there were several printings of this 'single signature/200' format from April to mid-1957. These additional printings are identical to the initial first printing, with a single signature binding and '200/200' on the front flap.

March 1957 First Edition: DJ Back & Copyright

From the first printing in 1957 through the sixth printing in 1958, the back dust jacket design remained identical, see above '16 DJ Back'. During this timeframe the copyright page remained the same, with 9 lines of text, see above '14 Copyright'.

June 1957: Horn Book Magazine Review

It was generally accepted knowledge within the collectible book market that the first edition The Cat In The Hat was initially priced at $2.00 even before the 2002 publication of the Younger/Hirsch Seuss Guide. However nice to see a tangible confirmation of the $2.00 retail price from the June 1957, Horn Book Magazine's Review: "Theodor Seuss Geisel, Author-Illustrator The Cat In The Hat 61pp. 7" x 9 1/4" Random 2.00". Note the review makes no mention of an educational edition.

Horn Book Magazine Review June 1957 \

Also rather illuminating the criticism as the reviewer states "I wish 'For Beginning Readers' were not so obvious on jacket and cover - this is a fine book for remedial purposes, but self-conscious children often refuse material if it seems meant for younger children."

October 1957: Retail Price Remains At $2.00

The October 1957 Horn Book Magazine had a full-page Random House advertisement which shows The Cat In The Hat's retail price was still $2.00. The ad copy states "No wonder this delightful fun-to-read book has take the country by storm! Using only 220 different words - which a beginner can read himself - it tells the hilarious story of a cat with a bagful of humor and tricks."

Horn Book Magazine Advertisement Oct. 1957 \

~Dec 1957-to-Mar 1958: 2nd & 3rd Printing - No Price On DJ

During late-1957, due to the runaway success of The Cat In The Hat, Beginner Books was formed as an independent publishing company with Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) as President. While the initial line-up of books was being developed, the retail price of the books was also under consideration. During this period The Cat In The Hat was commercially available with no price on the front flap of the dust jacket.

The unclipped dust jacket with no price on the top right of the dust jacket's front flap can be found on books with both single signature and three signature bindings, which further cements it as a transitional edition. The second printing is an unclipped dust jacket with no price on the front flap - and no 'B-1' on DJ spine - wrapped around a book with a single signature binding. The third printing is an unclipped dust jacket with no price on the front flap - and no 'B-1' on DJ spine - wrapped around a book with a three signature binding.

Change To 3-Signature Binding & $1.95 Price

~Mar 1958: Change Fron One- to Three- Signature Binding

In early- to mid-1958 the book's binding was changed from a single signature to three signatures. In conjunction with this change the matte finish boards were changed to a glossy finish. Presumably this change was made because the three signature binding was more durable and less prone to separation of the text block from the book's boards. With three signatures the text block has a flatter surface therefore able to be attached to the book's boards more securely than the more rounded profile of the single signature.

The change must have had positive benefits since the three signature binding was used on The Cat In The Hat for decades thereafter.

Note that all single signature bindings of The Cat In The Hat books have boards with a matte finish, and all three signature bindings have a glossy finish to the illustrated boards.

~March 1958: 4th Printing Price Change From $2.00 to $1.95

At some point in early-1958 the price for the Beginner Books was determined, and the retail price of The Cat In The Hat was reduced from $2.00 to $1.95, with '195/195' on the top right of the dust jacket's front flap. There was no 'B-1' on the either the dust jacket or book spine.

'B-1' & The Beginner Book Era Begins

Mid-1958: 5th & 6th Printing - Beginner Books 'B-1' on DJ Spine

Later in 1958, with the retail price for The Cat In The Hat at $1.95, with '195/195' on the top right of the dust jacket's front flap, the Beginner Books 'B-1' was added to the bottom of the dust jacket spine. There was no 'B-1' on the spine of the book.

The October 1958 Horn Book Magazine had a full-page Random House advertisement which listed the six initial books in the Beginner Book line-up. It stated: "BEGINNER BOOKS / A great new series of books for beginning readers, sparked by the electrifying success of THE CAT IN THE HAT by Dr. Seuss. Illustrated in 3 colors on every page. Ages 6-8. $1.95 each" The other five Beginner Books were listed, and numbered 'B-2' through 'B-6'.

Horn Book Magazine Advertisement Oct. 1958 \

Summarizing The Cat In The Hat First & Early Editions

Mar 1957 - Sep 1958 Dust Jackets

From March 1957 to September 1958, The Cat In The Hat was published with:

Two different bindings

Three different prices on the dust jacket front flap.

Without and with the Beginner Book 'B-1' printed on the bottom of the DJ spine.

Since the Beginner Books were not published until late in 1958, the DJ's without the 'B-1' on the spine are the earlier printings.

[Insert Summary Table]

Be very careful with sellers substituting the 1985 facsimile dust jacket on the first edition book. The only difference between the 1985 facsimile DJ and the first edition DJ is the phrase "Printed in U.S.A." on the bottom back flap of the facsimile.

1985 Facsimile Edition Back DJ Flap "Printing in U.S.A" \

Oct 1958: The Cat In The Hat Seventh Printing - DJ Back Same As B-2 to B-6

Beginner Book B-2 The Cat In The Hat Comes Back was published in the fall of 1958, simultaneously with B-3, B-4, B-5, & B-6, as evidenced by the list on the back dust jacket of all five books.

At that same time, The Cat In The Hat had been redesigned as Beginner Book B-1 with the back dust jacket graphics consistent with the other five Beginner Books. Each of the six books was priced at $1.95 ('195/195' on the front flap).

1959 to 1967 Printings - Beginner Books Back Dust Jacket

The front dust jacket cover graphic was changed in the 1959 printing of The Cat In The Hat, as the graphic circle with the diagonal text 'FOR BEGINNING READERS' was changed to the more familiar Beginner Books logo.

Circa 1960 BB-1 DJ Front \

The front of the dust jacket and the price remained at $1.95 ('195/195') from 1958-to-1967 for all editions of The Cat In The Hat.

Each edition of The Cat In The Hat published from 1959-to-1967 can be determined by the list of books on the back of the dust jacket. See Chapter 52 Beginner Books Dust Jackets to determine the year of publication of the edition you are researching.

Second Printings and Later

See First Printing Identification.

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See Beginner Book Fronts for first edition identification of the first 50 Beginner Books.

This information is from the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books (2024, Flying Moose Books), by Stan Zielinski.

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© Stan Zielinski
A serious collector having fun with fun books.