Horse Museum is a Dr. Seuss book released by Random House Children's Books on September 3, 2019.[1] It is based on an unfinished manuscript by Theodor Seuss Geisel completed by Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner.[1][2] 250,000 copies were released of the first printing.[3]
Following the 1991 death of Geisel, his wife Audrey Geisel and assistant Claudia Prescott cleared his office, donating the bulk of his unpublished works to the University of California, San Diego and archiving a few others in a box.[4] In October 2013, they examined the manuscripts and sketches contained in the box, finding a folder marked "Noble Failures" of uncategorized drawings, a more complete project titled The Pet Shop which was later completed and released as What Pet Should I Get?, illustrations for flashcards, and a collection of sketches titled The Horse Museum.[4]
The unfinished manuscript was about 80% complete, and was accompanied only by rough sketches but not any completed original artwork by Geisel.[2]
The book contains a colophon with a publisher's note explaining background information about the book, including the discovery of the manuscript and associated sketches, artists and artworks depicted in the book, Geisel's interest in art, and Joyner's approach to illustration.[5]