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He
returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine
called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the
time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for
them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life,
Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made
reference to an insecticide called Flit.
These references gained notice, and led to a contract to
draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years,
gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase
"Quick, Henry, the Flit!"
In 1936 on the way to a vaction in Europe, listening to
the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to
Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly
rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually
in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went
on to at least moderate success.
During WW II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood.
Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps
Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries
(he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death).
He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which
also won him an Oscar.
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