The Hats of Dr. Seuss on display in The New York Public Library's Children Center at 42nd Street through Feb. 11

Random House Children's Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced today the launch of the Hats Off to Dr. Seuss! campaign at the famed 42nd Street branch of the New York Public Library in New York City. Inspired by the 75th anniversary of The 500 Hats of  Bartholomew Cubbins (Anniversary Edition on sale January 22, 2013), the yearlong celebration salutes the breadth of Dr. Seuss's work, not only the remarkable library of children's books he created, but also the span of his incredible career and legacy as a man who wore many hats: as an ad man, a political cartoonist, filmmaker, and a fine artist, to name a few. To celebrate this partnership there will be a brand new exhibit featuring Dr. Seuss's personal hats which have left his legendary, secret "hat closet" for the first time. The exhibit will be on display in The New York Public Library's Children's Center at 42nd Street through February 11.

Dr. Seuss was an avid hat collector known to wear one of his crazy hats for inspiration while writing, and at dinner parties, it was often a tradition for each guest to wear a hat.  In his artwork, as in his personal life, Dr. Seuss saw hats as transformational. From the time he was a small boy in  Springfield, Massachusetts, he was aware of the inherent magic in hats. Curated by Chase Art Companies, the  "Hats Off to Dr. Seuss" Special Exhibition and Nationwide Tour  delivers an in-depth view of his personal hat collection alongside estate authorized reproductions adapted from his original artwork and produced after his death in limited edition from both classic Seuss titles and other rare Seuss works. The exhibit will tell the story of what hats represented for the iconic man of many hats. The Exhibition will be at the New York Public Library until  February 11, and then will begin touring the country to 15 different markets throughout 2013. Paintings that accompany the exhibit will be up at the Animazing Gallery in SoHo, NYC  February 13  -  February 18.

For more information on the touring exhibition, visit www.drseussart.com/hatsoff/