Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Horton the Elephant

On the 15th of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing…enjoying the jungle’s great joys…
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

                             --Horton Hears a Who (1954), Dr. Seuss

Here are three original souvenir drawings of Horton the elephant by Dr. Seuss. The images come from auctions at Christie's, Illustration House, and Heritage Auctions, respectively. We start with an image that recalls the first Horton book, Horton Hatches the Egg (1940). In fact, it's pretty close to a mirror image of the book's cover illustration:


Theodore S. Giesel/Dr. Seuss (American, 1904-1991) 
Horton the elephant 

signed 'Dr. Seuss' (lower right)
coloured chalks, unframed
14 x 11½ in. (35.5 x 29.3 cm.) 


Price Realized

    £4,375
  • ($6,733) 
  • £3,000 - £5,000
  • ($4,900 - $8,100)

Sale Information


Sale 5316 Lot 88

18 December 2008 

London, South Kensington


Special Notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. 



A delightful drawing was sold at Illustration House some years ago.
Dr. Seuss, Horton, Illustration House

This final sketch, below, from Heritage, seems to me to be the weakest, with a very loosely-rendered trunk, scant shading on the ears, and an ear flap edge that rather sloppily joins the corner of the mouth instead of approaching the chin fold as it does in the previous renderings.  
Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch

In fact, one could argue that this is a poor copy of the Horton Hears a Who! cover

Dr. SeussHorton sketch signature


Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch framed



Back of Horton sketch frame

Dr. Seuss, Horton sketch item description


Note:  While we're at it, don't miss the charming Dr. Seuss drawing "A Bee for Thee!" here.


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