Books | Blenheim Hill Books

A Dr. Seuss You Might Not Know

Did you know that before Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) wrote children’s books and played with language he was a political cartoonist for PM, a favorite read for New Deal liberals? His cartoons are fiercely anti-fascist, pro-intervention and critical of anti-semitism and anti-black racism. They share the zeitgeist of the times undeniably racist in their portrayal of Japanese Americans, urging support for the war effort and caricaturing Nazi leaders. A book of these cartoons from 1941-42 with an introduction by Art Spiegelman is revealing of both contemporary attitudes about the war and Geisel’s illustration work before he became a renowned children’s author. Perhaps most startling some of his mythical beasts make an early appearance in these cartoons. Page through Dr. Seuss Goes to War for some surprises.

What are you reading this cold April?

I’ve just started a really fun biography, Irrepressible: the Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham by Emily Bingham. It’s a wild ride through the roaring twenties and beyond with an outrageous heroine and the author is one of her descendants. And, I’ve just completed the life of a very different woman living in an equally tumultuous time, The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe by literary scholar Elaine Showalter. If you know JWH only as the author of the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic during the Civil War prepare to be surprised by this complex, highly educated and very political woman. There is something about the long slide from winter into spring that makes biography an especially compelling read — the narrative arc of a life from spring to winter is somehow comforting, reminding us that there is value in all the seasons. Read about a life different from yours, explore, challenge yourself!

Lives of Pirates
Book of Pirates containing Narratives of the Most Remarkable Piracies and Murders, committed on the High Seas Together with an Account of the Capture of the Amistad and a Full and Authentic Narrative of the Burning of the Caroline
Compiled for the Publisher by Henry K. Brooke
Philadelphia: J. B. Perry 1841
The book is in remarkable good condition for its age and contains numerous wood cuts throughout which are sharp and clear. Bound with the Book of the Pirates is A Full and Complete Account of the Heberton Tragedy to which is added Beauchamp, or the Kentucky Tragedy. Followed by a catalogue of books published by John B. Perry with short excerpts from several books illustrated by woodcuts. Some pages have light foxing, the binding is tight and there is piece torn from the two blank pages preceding the frontispiece, some writing in pencil on the inside front cover and first blank page. Corners are bumped, otherwise good, please see photos.
Extremely rare. $500.