It’s often said that shoes make the man. It seems that Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) turned that notion on its head. His character Bartholomew Cubbins had 500 hats, and Seuss, it turns out, could give Cubbins a run for his money.
Right now, Northampton’s R. Michelson Galleries are host to the impressive (and never before seen) hat collection of Dr. Seuss, the product of six decades of collecting. No mere variations on the fedora, Seuss’ hats are often as florid and unlikely as those spotted on his characters’ heads. And, if pictures like the one at left and below are any indication, he put his money where his hats were, donning the lids, crazy or no, even for formal events.
Alongside the retrofitted steamer trunk that houses the hat collection for its national tour, you can see an unusual gathering of Seuss artworks. They are adapted from Ted Geisel’s original drawings, paintings and sculpture, and dubbed the Secret Art.
