The Balance of Trade

A life falling in to place requires a delicate effort. From career to romance to everything in between, as we figure our way through… we learn a thing or two about balance.

Ted Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, understood that life is a continual balancing act. He learned early in his career the importance of keeping the plates spinning, the cups balanced, and the scales tipped just right.

He had been shopping his first children’s book and just landed a deal to publish “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry St” with Vanguard Press. But success was far from guaranteed, and Ted had to balance between the advertising and editorial work he had been doing with the dream of being a successful author. 

Ted’s painting appeared in Stage Magazine in 1937 under the headline, The Phantom of the El Morocco. It was a fantastical, surrealist story Ted had written about the dizzying, late-night experiences at the El Morocco. In the painting we see the many links to this famed club and a nod to the culture of the time:

• The zebra striped booths that were the famous visual icon of the club 
• The waiters balancing plates and glasses
• The famous El Morocco maître de with his signature tuxedo (he was both host and gatekeeper into this famed world) 
• And finally the shirtless central figure balancing all of this on his back…