First Edition Beginner Books

Dust Jacket Publishing Sequence

1957 Beginner Books Dust Jacket Back 'A'

 

Beginner Book Dust Jacket Back 'A', which can be found on the first editions of the following books:

• B-01 The Cat In The Hat (1957)

Click on the DJ image - and then click again - for the high-resolution enlargement.

1957 B-01 The Cat In The Hat

The front dust jacket for the first edition has the Cat in his familiar posture, however has 'For Beginning Readers' in a circle at a 45 degree backward sloping angle, as in the picture on the left (click image to enlarge).

The Cat In The Hat was originally issued with a price of $2.00, indicated by the '200/200' on the top right front flap of the dust jacket, as in the picture. This is considered the first edition within the collector hobby. All other Beginner Books published from 1958-to-1971 had a dust jacket price of '195/195' (i.e. $1.95).

The back dust jacket for the first edition appears as in the photo, above.

Three Dust Jacket Prices

Random House published copies of The Cat In The Hat with this same front and back dust jacket with three different prices, so there are three variants of the dust jacket, as follows:

1. '200/200', published from March 1957 to late 1957 or early 1958.
2. No Price, published from late-1957 to early 1958.
   After the enormous success of The Cat In The Hat, Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) formed Beginner Books as an independent publishing house. In 1958, in addition to the sequel to the Cat, four other early readers were readied for publication. While the price of the line-up was being established, Random House removed the '200/200' price from The Cat In The Hat.
3. '195/195', published from early 1958 to mid-year 1958.
   It is not uncommon to find this 'third issue' dust jacket, with the front and back dust jacket configured like the first edition, however with a price of '195/195' rather than '200/200'. In the fall of 1958, the back cover design was changed to reflect the release of the other five books in the series, see Beginner Books Back 'B'.

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.

See First Edition B-01 The Cat In The Hat for additional details on the first and early printings.

First Edition Book Binding - Single Signature

The first edition The Cat In The Hat book itself, without its dust jacket, can be identified by its binding. There is only one gathering - in book jargon, one signature - for the first edition book. The second and later printings have three signatures/gatherings.

Per the Younger/Hirsch Seuss Guide the first edition The Cat In The Hat book has a matte finish, while later copies have a glossy finish.

It might be difficult for some to recognize what is 'matte' and what is 'glossy', however there is a more definitive means.

The first edition The Cat In The Hat book was bound with a single signature, as pictured on the left. The second and later printings were bound with three signatures, as pictured on the right.

See First Edition B-01 The Cat In The Hat for additional details on the first and early printings.

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See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs to see the publishing sequence of dust jackets from 1957-to-1967. This is the primary resource to identify the year of publication if you own a later edition Beginner Book.

See Beginner Book Covers 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.