To get a little bit of meaningful classic cartoon discussion back into this forum besides discussion about home video releases and TV showings, I thought I'd revive this thread. The animation artifact collecting world can turn up some remarkable things, especially to us scholarly types who actually study or research the associated cartoons, though admittedly I haven't paid as much attention to animation art auctions or saving catalogs or images of anything particularly interesting as I should have over the years. But having seen Jerry Beck's recent
Animation Scoop post on Heritage Auctions' upcoming December 11-13 Animation Art auction, I decided to take a look.
Jerry's post raves on and on about the Fleischer Superman material, only briefly mentioning some of the other Fleischer items available as if an afterthought. But if any series illustrates how much the Fleischer Studio had "evolved" from the "cartoonist's cartoon" studio of the early sound era to more of a factory-like outfit, it's this one -- so this isn't of much interest to me. But this collection is just a small part of what's being offered. As usual there's piles and piles of Disney and TV/relatively-recent cartoon paraphernalia to slog through, with some WB-related things and a handful from MGM in the mix. But it turns out there are some diamonds in the rough for those of us who take more interest in rawer and more obscure cartoons and animators from the '30s and silent era. Some highlights...
https://comics.ha.com/it...-2-items-/a/7235-98019.s An original title card from a mid-'20s Aesop's Fable, plus some related ephemera. There's actually a number of interesting Terry-related lots available "From The Paul Terry Terrytoons Archive", including a
card congratulating Paul Terry for his 1,000th short (with signatures and sketches by a bunch of folks), a
Christmas card from Dave Fleischer to Paul Terry and wife, and a
painting of Farmer Al Falfa.
https://comics.ha.com/it...-total-2-/a/7235-98117.s The original pencil drawing for a familiar Betty Boop promotional illustration.
https://comics.ha.com/it...lar-1926-/a/7235-99002.s A 1920s illustration of Douglas Fairbanks by Dave Tendlar.
https://comics.ha.com/it...ntz-1926-/a/7235-99003.s A 1920s gag drawing by Walter Lantz? Yum.
https://comics.ha.com/it...res-1930-/a/7235-99008.s I was floored when I saw this. Although the auction company claims this drawing was for
The Apache Kid, it (as they admit) appears nowhere in the film and that cartoon has never seemed to me to be missing any footage, much less any featuring Kitty with double pistols! Rather, I suspect this is from the opening minute or two of
Taken For a Ride that sadly didn't make it into the circulating camcorder footage captured at the 2005 ASIFA-Hollywood screening. This cartoon, from what was captured, does involve a heist by gangster gorillas with machine guns blazing, and Kitty is in with the gang and wearing the same hat as seen in the rest of the cartoon, although she's in the hideout already when the gorillas arrive with the loot (perhaps she and more of them got away first?). Anyone out there who was at the 2005 screening and can confirm? I want to see a complete copy of this cartoon even more!
https://comics.ha.com/it...ntz-1935-/a/7235-99013.s https://comics.ha.com/it...ntz-1935-/a/7235-99014.s These Oswald drawings look like they pertain to
Robinson Crusoe Isle (1934) but do not appear in the cartoon. Not sure what their purpose was.
https://comics.ha.com/it...-c-1930s-/a/7235-99015.s An Easter card in pencil by animator La Verne Harding addressed to her sister. "From the Walter Lantz Legendary Animator Laverne Harding Archive."
https://comics.ha.com/it...-2-items-/a/7235-99017.s Original background layouts from
Spring Festival, a 1937 Color Rhapsody.
https://comics.ha.com/it...-2-items-/a/7235-99113.s Signed model sheets are always good! This one by Dave Tendlar for
The Cobweb Hotel.