DENNIS THE MENACE. Inscribed

New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1952. First Edition.. Hank Ketcham. Hank Ketcham. First Edition. Signed by Author. Ketcham, Hank. DENNIS THE MENACE. Inscribed. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1952. Glossy color illustrated white boards. First Edition of the First DTM book published. Thin 8vo., 64pp. A very good or better example of this benchmark cartoon character that has endured for over 50 years. Neatly signed & inscribed in black ink on the title page by Ketcham: "This book belongs to my Uncle John! Warm regards - Hank Ketcham 27 Oct. 1993 Monterey, Calif." Minor repair to the upper cover at the spine, otherwise a tight copy showing minor wear, replete with black & white illustrations throughout. Rarely found inscribed. In 1951, Ketcham started Dennis the Menace, the freckle-face scamp in droopy overalls whose mischievous childhood has endured for over 50 years, based on his own four-year-old son Dennis Ketcham. Ketcham was in his studio in October 1950, when his first wife, Alice Mahar, burst into the studio & complained that their four-year-old, Dennis, had wrecked his bedroom instead of napping. "Your son is a menace," she shouted. Within five months, 16 newspapers began carrying the adventures of the impish but innocent "Dennis the Menace". By May 1953, 193 newspapers in the United States & 52 abroad were carrying the strip to 30 million readers. In March, 2011, a half-century of the publication of Dennis the Menace cartoons was celebrated, with the panel running in 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries & 19 languages, amusing a worldwide audience.