Dear Dr. Seuss Collectors,
Dr. Seuss's Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy is rightfully considered a prized gem of the Seuss art collection. Of the known sculptures created by Ted Geisel in the 1930s (not counting three sculptures offered via "mail order"), twelve of the seventeen have now been released as Authorized Estate Editions.
Today, we proudly announce Flaming Herring as the thirteenth taxidermy release, leaving just four final sculptures before the coveted collection comes to an end.
In the early 1930s, Ted Geisel created what he called A Collection of Unorthodox Taxidermy, a menagerie of Seussian animals constructed from real animal beaks and horns. On the heals of that project, Seuss embarked upon a second collection which he termed the "Marine Muggs," this time of sea-going creatures that he ultimately linked to a 1937 advertising promotion at New York's National Motor Boat Show.
The Flaming Herring taxidermy sculpture hails as one of only seven sculptures from the Marine Muggs collection which also includes the following artworks:
The Turtle-Necked Sea-Turtle
Sludge Tarpon
Carbonic Walrus (2012 projected general release)
Gimlet Fish (2013 projected general release)
Powerless Puffer (2014 projected general release)
Sea Going Dilemma Fish (2015 projected general release)
In describing Seuss's 1937 boat show exhibit, a reporter for Yachting wrote, "From the briny depths of the imagination of the famous designer, Dr. Seuss . . . comes a collection of the weirdest denizens of the deep ever imagined in the wildest nightmare of a skipper." We look forward to speaking with you about this important yet dwindling collecting opportunity.
Bill Dreyer
Curator, The Art of Dr. Seuss
