comic art & animation Pristine Alaskan oil exploration document from 1936, the year of Snow White 607. Walt Disney. Choice DS, signed “Walter E. Disney,” one page,
8.5 x 9.25, June 16, 1936. Document in which Disney commits $10,000 to provide for “the drilling, under certain conditions, of a test well upon Iniskin Peninsula, Alaska.” Beautifully signed at the conclusion by Disney and countersigned by the president of the Iniskin Drilling Company. In very fine condition. Other investors in this scheme included Darryl F. Zanuck and Hal Roach, and they began drilling their first well in 1938. After two years of preparation, the animation work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had begun in February 1936, just a few months before Disney signed this document. Most of the Hollywood world doubted that his concept for the first animated feature film would be successful, but when the film was released at the end of 1937 it dwarfed expectations and assumed the record for highest grossing sound film at the time. A gorgeously signed and well-preserved document from this critical moment in Disney history. Pre-certified Phil Sears. Starting Bid $300
Rare inscribed edition of Fantasia’s ‘Ave Maria’ 608. Walt Disney. Signed book: Ave Maria. First edition. NY: Random House, 1940. Hardcover with dust jacket, 7.25 x 10.25. Signed opposite the title page in fountain pen by Disney, “Walt Disney,” signed and inscribed by the lyricist, “Ila Tonkin, with best wishes, Rachel Field, 1940,” Disney animator Frank Onaitis, “The best of all, Within your call, And may your hopes come true, Let there be peace, Within this piece, That music is for angels & you, Franklin T. Onaitis, 1941,” and Dora Shaw Heffner, “May you enjoy this book with the autographs of the authors and that of the donor—Dora Shaw Heffner, Christmas 1940.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG+/VG-.
Disney commissioned Field, an award-winning children’s author, to write the lyrics for the version of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’ used in the groundbreaking 1940 film Fantasia; this book was released in conjunction with the film. Between Disney’s enormous, bold signature and those of his collaborator, this is an absolutely exquisite piece. Pre-certified Phil Sears. Starting Bid $300
152 | October 14, 2015 | COMIC ART & ANIMATION