A fantastic Dr Seuss advert for Holly Sugar is set to star in Swann Auction Galleries' January 22 Illustration Art sale in New York.
 Dr Seuss created many advertisements, but grew tired of them and soon lobbied against the billboards he considered an eyesore |
The ad is one of several Dr Seuss created for Holly Sugar over the course of his career, with this example dating to the 1950s. It's expected to make between $20,000 and $30,000.
As Swann points out, the advertisement depicts a "somewhat sceptical-looking" goat munching on machine parts, with the tag line suggesting a "dubious palatability". This could be a reflection of Dr Seuss growing tired with his work on advertisements, having lobbied for a local billboard ban in his hometown of La Jolla, California.
The piece is joined by two further Dr Seuss drawings, each valued at $10,000-15,000.
The sale also features a previously unrecorded Norman Rockwell sketch, which shows a child reading by lamp light, his shadow taking the form of a Native American. Estimated at $18,000-25,000, it is thought to have been a rejected composition for an advert with the Armstrong Cook Company in Lancaster, PA.
However, the signature on the piece uses a different pencil to the artwork, with the auction house stating: "It is surmised that rather than a forgery it was added simply for identification purposes at an early date."
