First Edition Identification
Dr. Seuss Beginner Books B-25
1962 Robert The Rose Horse
1962 B-25 Robert The Rose Horse
Joan Heilbroner. P.D. Eastman (Illustrator). Robert The Rose Horse. New York. Beginner Books: 1962.
Pages#: 64 pages.
Book Description: Color illustrated boards wrapped in matching dust jacket. An early book in the groundbreaking Beginner Book series, written specifically to help children learn to read while simultaneously engaging and entertaining them. The story tells of the horse Robert and the laughs which arises when he sneezes smelling roses. Told using only 183 different words.
Pagination: Front fixed and free endpapers illustrated in color; [i] title; [ii] copyright; 3-63 story; [64] blank; back free and fixed endpaper illustrated in color.
Collectibility Context
The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is a Very Collectible: Early book in ground breaking Beginner Books series, which changed the way children learned to read in America. Embraced by the public for 62 years with hundreds of thousands of copies sold. Heilbroner was a successful children's book author. Eastman was the writer and artist for Mr. Magoo for a number of years, and won an Oscar for co-writing Gerald McBoing-Bong (Short-Subject, Cartoons). Little pop culture appeal.
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 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
Scarcity Context
The first edition book in its original first edition DJ is Uncommon: There was only 1 first edition found in the March 2024 survey offered at $60. This first edition is not scarce, just that the market price is too low for copies to surface.
First Edition Book & Dust Jacket Descriptions
Book Front: Bound in glossy red paper covered boards with color illustration. “Robert / the / Rose Horse / by / JOAN HEILBRONER / Illustrated by / P.D. EASTMAN”
Note: Click on any of the book's images to see at larger scale.
Book Back: Bound in glossy red paper covered boards. Blank with no illustration or text.
Book Spine: “[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Robert the Rose Horse HEILBRONER B-25 [black horizontal text]”
Title Page: “Robert The / Rose Horse / By Joan Heilbroner / [illustration] / Illustrated by P.D. Eastman / BEGINNER BOOKS / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.”
Copyright: “(c) Copyright 1962 by Joan Heilbroner. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright / Conventions. Published in New York by Beginner Books, Inc., and simultaneously in Toronto, Canada, by / Random House of Canada, Limited. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 62-9218. Manufactured in / the United States of America.”
DJ Front: Color illustration matching Book Front. With added Beginner Books logo. “Robert / [Beginner Book logo top right] / the / Rose Horse / by / JOAN HEILBRONER / Illustrated by / P.D. EASTMAN”
DJ Back: Beginner Books DJ Back 'I': 1962 25 Titles
“[Large Beginner Books logo] / A CHILD LEARNS TO READ… [… paragraph] / Books for / Beginners / Average Reading Vocabulary — / 204 words / [list of 20 BB titles starting with 'THE CAT IN THE HAT' to 'ROBERT THE ROSE HORSE'] / for BEGINNING Beginners / [list of 5 BB titles starting with 'GREEN EGGS AND HAM' to 'ARE YOU MY MOTHER?' / BEGINNER BOOKS • A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC. / 457 Madison Ave, New York 22, N.Y.”
DJ Spine: “[BB logo] BEGINNER BOOKS [black horizontal text] Robert the Rose Horse HEILBRONER B-25 [black horizontal text]”
DJ Price: 195/195
DJ Flap Front: “195/195 [top right] / Robert The / Rose Horse / By JOAN HEILBRONER / [Illustration] / Robert has terrible trouble with … [… paragraph] / But making children laugh is only … […paragraph] / Mrs. Heilbroner's enchanting … [… paragraph] / [Illustration] / ROBERT THE ROSE HORSE / comes to you from the home of / THE CAT IN THE HAT / Beginner Books / A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.”
DJ Flap Back: “[Two paragraph Joan Heilbroner biography] / [illustration] / [Two paragraph P.D. Eastman biography] / *Author-Illustrator of three other Beginner / Books: SAM AND THE FIREFLY, / ARE YOU MY MOTHER? and GO, / DOG. GO! / (c) Copyright 1962 by Joan Heilbroner”
First Edition Identification
First edition book states “Published in New York by Random House” on the copyright page and has 'B-25' on the spine.
First edition dust jacket is Beginner Books 1962 DJ 'I' with 25 titles listed. See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books.
Second Printings and Later
Second printing book is identical to first printing.
Second printing DJ is Beginner Books 1962 DJ 'J' with 28 titles listed. See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs from Chapter 52 of the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books.
See First Fifty Beginner Books for first edition identification of the first 50 Beginner Books.
See Beginner Books Dust Jacket Backs to see the chronological sequence of the Beginner Books dust jackets.
All of this information is sourced from the First Edition Identification Guide: Beginner Books (2024, Flying Moose Books), by Stan Zielinski.