Seuss reportedly had misgivings about
The Seven Lady Godivas before its publication; the drawing on the
endpaper contains a small bucket of
sap labeled "
Bennett Cerf", the name of Seuss's publisher at
Random House. Seuss, by calling Cerf a sap, was apparently implying that Cerf was being too nice in allowing the book to be published. The initial 1939 publishing had a
print run of 10,000 copies, but only around 2,500 sold (one authority states that only 50 were sold). Seuss himself called it his "greatest failure" and "a book that nobody bought". To another interviewer he said: "It was all full of naked women, and I can't draw convincing naked women. I put their knees in the wrong places". The remaining copies were
remaindered in the chain of Schulte's Cigar Stores for twenty-five cents, though original editions now have been reported as selling at prices as high as $300. The book's initial failure has been attributed to several factors: at two
dollars, it was priced relatively high for the
Great Depression era. The failure of
The Seven Lady Godivas, Seuss's fourth book, may well have led to his subsequent immersion into the world of
children's literature. He stated that he would "rather write for kids", who were more appreciative, and was no longer interested in writing for adults. Indeed, his general contempt for adults is evident in his oft-repeated quote: "Adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them". When he eventually did publish a second book aimed at adults (''
You're Only Old Once!, in 1986), it was subtitled A Book for Obsolete Children''. ==Notes==