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Read the press release here.

Dr. Seuss' Hat Collection Displayed at Water Tower Place Starting Friday

 The touring exhibition will be in Chicago through Nov. 2 at two different galleries.
'Hats Off to Dr. Seuss'
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STREETERVILLE — Theodor Geisel, better known at Dr. Seuss, was famous for making children laugh with his writing and artwork. But in his private life, Geisel had a secret hobby he used to entertain adults, too.

Geisel and his wife, Audrey "used to have dinner parties at their house," said Bill Dreyer, curator of the Art of Dr. Seuss gallery on Water Tower Place's second level.

"If he thought the party was getting a little boring or lagging a little bit, he would go into the hat closet, grab some of his hats, put hats on people's heads and ask them to act out the character of the person they think would wear a hat like that."

Geisel kept his extensive hat collection in a hidden room behind a bookcase off the library of his San Diego home, and was fairly secretive of his hat-collecting hobby, Dreyer says. But he did write a book loosely about it, "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," which happens to turn 75 this year.

Dreyer says Geisel's collection may have teetered near that figure at some point, but since many of the delicate toppers have deteriorated, the current collection includes 158 hats, 26 of which are touring with the exhibition, along with some of Geisel's private artwork.

The Art of Dr. Seuss will host a free reception to celebrate the opening Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.

The exhibition will be at the Art of Dr. Seuss gallery through Oct. 14, and will then be move a few blocks south to Atlas Galleries at 900 N. Michigan Ave. from Oct. 24 - Nov. 2.

After that, the "Hat's Off to Dr. Seuss" tour will make additional stops in San Diego, Long Island, New Orleans and Hallandale Beach, Florida.

 

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