Comic Art and Animation

Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, drawn by its designer

429. Hubert de Givenchy Original Sketch. Original

felt tip sketch of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, showing her in her iconic sleeveless black dress with matching wide-brimmed hat, accomplished in felt tip by Givenchy on a white 4 x 5.75 card, signed in black felt tip, “Hubert de Givenchy.” In very fine condition. An exquisite original sketch that is unmistakably the ‘little black dress’ Givenchy designed for actress Audrey Hepburn in the classic 1961 romantic comedy—the legendary Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress has been voted the most iconic movie dress in the history of cinema. An extremely scarce piece of both movie and fashion history. Starting Bid $500

Magritte prepares a Paris exhibition: “I have found a lot of people that seemed very interested by my paintings”

430. Rene Magritte Autograph Letter Signed.

ALS in French, signed “Rene (et Georgette),” one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.5, personal letterhead, November 23, 1964. Handwritten letter to a friend, in part (translated): “We have had time to go to Paris for a few days. The occasion of the opening of an exhibition of paintings in the Galerie Iolas on the Boulevard St. Germain. It will last till the 10th of December unless it is postponed. I have found a lot of people that seemed very interested by my paintings. I will send you some cards for the New Year as you asked.” In fine condition. An interesting autograph letter by Magritte, mentioning one of his last exhibitions in Paris at a moment when his work was becoming much more widely recognized. Pleased with this renewed interest in his work, this is a very emotional moment for a modest man like Magritte. Starting Bid $200

Picasso and his Surrealist companions send a postcard to Man Ray

431. Pablo Picasso and Paul Eluard Signed Postcard to Man Ray. Rare 5.5 x 3.5 postcard of the famed Le Palais

Idéal in Hauterives, built by French postman Ferdinand Cheval over the course of thirty-plus years, signed on the reverse in ink by the great Cubist painter Pablo Picasso, Surrealist poet Paul Éluard, model and Surrealist artist Nusch Éluard, their daughter Cécile Eluard, and photographer Dora Maar. Addressed to the important Dada/Surrealist photographer Man Ray at his studio, “40 rue Denfert Rochereau, Paris.” Annotated along the bottom edge, “Vaste Horizons, Mougins (Alpes Mmes),” and postmarked at Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes on May 18, 1937. In fine condition. Starting Bid $500

Limited edition signed retrospective of Picasso’s WWII-era artwork

432. Pablo Picasso Signed Book.

Signed book: Picasso: The Recent Years 1939–1946. Limited edition, numbered 147/350. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1947. Hardcover, 8.75 x 11, 211 pages. Beautifully signed on the colophon in pencil, “Picasso.” Autographic condition: very fine. Book condition: NF in a VG- slipcase, with some edgewear, scuffing, and small tape repair to the slipcase. A wonderful limited edition retrospective of Picasso’s World War II-era work. Starting Bid $200

animation and comic art

454. Walt Disney Signature.

Super bold fountain pen signature and inscription, “To Gunther, with best wishes, Walt Disney,” accomplished vertically on an off-white 4 x 5.75 sheet of Disney’s personal ‘Mickey Mouse’ stationery. In very good to fine condition, with old tape stains to the top and bottom edges. Starting Bid $300

455. Walt Disney Signature. Magnificent vintage ballpoint signature, “Best wishes, Walt Disney,” on an off-white 5.25 x 4.25 album page, archivally double-matted and framed with a portrait to an overall size of 14.5 x 22.5. In fine condition. A choice, large example of Walt Disney’s sought-after autograph. Starting Bid $300

Ramsay Harris Collection

Ramsay Harris was a Renaissance man. He patented inventions, penned songs, and wrote poems. He played the piano and the musical saw. He instructed Army Air Force pilots, dabbled with paleontology, and, for over 40 years at the private Webb School, he taught history, literature, Latin, and, on occasion, religion. He was also an amateur cartoonist, who, upon first meeting animator brothers Preston and Lee Blair in 1920s Redlands, California, was immediately drawn to their intellect and artistic talents. Kindred spirits in their quest for creative expression, Harris and the Blairs fortified their friendships over decades of letter writing, sharing with each other words of support, advice, ideas, and family news—Harris came to know Lee’s wife, legendary Disney artist Mary Blair, and his own character, Herbert the Ant, may have aided Preston in the modeling of Jiminy Cricket. The Ramsay Harris collection includes several incredibly rare and significant pieces of artwork that were obtained directly from Preston and Lee Blair, highlights of which include a collaborative watercolor painting from Lee and Mary Blair, Preston’s early character drawings of his larger-than-life Fantasia creation, Hyacinth Hippo, and an unprecedented assemblage of 47 ‘motion sequence’ drawings of Jiminy Cricket, an amazingly early movement study from Preston’s work on Pinocchio.

456. Mary and Lee Blair Original Watercolor Painting. Remarkable original watercolor painting begun by acclaimed Disney artist Mary Blair in 1938 and finished by her husband, Lee Blair, nearly five decades later in 1985. The painting, 19 x 12.5, depicts a rural overhead vista, with brown rolling farmland and a central grove of trees—one of which is blue—set below a distant view of green hills and low-hanging clouds. Mary Blair’s portion of the work constitutes the foreground with brownish hills, trees, shrubbery, and cattle, and Lee finished the painting by adding the sky and outlying hillside. The lower left bears the elusive signature of Mary Blair in red artist pencil, and the lower right is annotated with the names of Lee and Mary Blair by an unknown hand, presumably their friend and the painting’s former owner, Ramsay Harris. Double-matted to an overall size of 24 x 18. In fine condition. Accompanied by a TLS from Lee Blair, which references this very painting. Starting Bid $300

457. Lee Blair Original Watercolor Painting. Magnifi-

cent original watercolor painting by artist Lee Blair, 21.25 x 16, signed in the lower right corner in black paint by Blair, who also signs the reverse in pencil, “Lee Blair, Mojave, Gold Hill, Calif., Goldtown, April 1941.” As Blair denotes, the scene rendered depicts a large hill teeming with stations for gold mining, a landscape that may very well show the Golden Queen Mine on what is Soledad Mountain. Matted to an overall size of 30 x 24. The original cardboard backing board is also included, with one side marked in pencil, “‘Gold Hill,’ $40, L. Blair,” and the opposite side bears four affixed exhibition slips, two of which contain the title “Requiem,” with one signed in black ink by Blair, who was requesting a price of $100 for the painting. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200

458. Preston Blair: Bambi (4) rough production drawings

from Bambi. (Walt Disney Studios, 1942) Four original rough production drawings of Bambi by noted character animator Preston Blair, each showing the young buck in a wonderful leaping action pose, all essentially full-figure, three of him with playful expressions and the last depicting Bambi in a state of surprise. Each is accomplished in graphite and colored pencil on an untrimmed 12 x 10 sheet of animation paper marked in the lower right corner as “22 1⁄2,” “23,” “24,” and “52.” Character images range in size from 3.5 x 6 to 4.5 x 6. In overall fine condition, with some light creasing to corners, and the last drawing features uniform toning and vertical and horizontal folds. Starting Bid $200

459. Preston Blair: Bambi (7) rough production drawings from Bambi. (Walt Disney Studios, 1942) Group of

seven original rough production drawings of Bambi by noted character animator Preston Blair, six of which show the young antlered buck in close-up and one depicts Bambi in a happy full-length pose. Each is accomplished in graphite and colored pencil on an untrimmed 12 x 10 sheet of animation paper. Character images range in size from 3.75 x 6 to 6.5 x 7. In overall fine condition, with some light creases and folds to borders, and a couple of small edge tears. Starting Bid $200

460. Preston Blair: Faline (4) production drawings from

Bambi. (Walt Disney Studios, 1942) Scarce quartet of original production drawings of Faline from Bambi by noted character animator Preston Blair, showing the pretty doe acting coy in four up-close poses. Each is accomplished in graphite and colored pencil on an untrimmed 12 x 10 sheet of animation paper marked successively in the lower right corners as “5,” “6,” “7,” and “8.” All of the images approximately measure 3 x 6.5. In overall fine condition, with light creasing to borders, and a faint vertical fold to the first drawing. Starting Bid $200

461. Preston Blair: Hyacinth Hippo (6) production drawings and (2) preliminary background drawings from Fantasia.

(Walt Disney Studios, 1940) Six original production drawings and two preliminary background drawings from Fantasia by character animator Preston Blair, who famously animated the hippo-alligator dance in the ‘Dance of the Hours’ sequence. The five rough drawings and one storyboard drawing all show Hyacinth Hippo in her tutu and are all accomplished in graphite and colored pencil on untrimmed 15.5 x 12.5 animation paper. The two preliminary background drawings depict the interior of the palace from the ‘Dance of the Hours’ sequence and are accomplished in graphite and colored pencil on animation paper measuring 12 x 10 and 15.5 x 9.5. In overall very good to fine condition, with some scattered creasing and small edge tears. Accompanied by a typed letter from Ramsay Harris dated December 20, 1972, which directly mentions the hippo group production drawing from this lot: “And here, before I forget, let me say how much Mary and I have enjoyed the line drawing of the Dance of the Hippos...Without actually moving your hippos give one a sense of radiant sylphs of ovoid contours forever gliding along with the most delicately graceful tonnage!” Starting Bid $300

Jiminy Cricket brought to life by a Disney animation legend—an umbrella-twirling motion sequence of over 45 early production drawings from Pinocchio

462. Preston Blair: Collection of (47) Jiminy Cricket production drawings from Pinocchio. (Walt Disney Studios,

1940) An unprecedented collection of 47 original rough production drawings of Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio by acclaimed Disney character animator Preston Blair. The sequence is numbered 12 through 112 and depicts Jiminy Cricket in a full-length pose that shows him twirling his umbrella, fixing his ascot, and strolling towards the sheet’s center, a walking motion punctuated by a playful heel-clicking jump. Each drawing is accomplished in graphite on an untrimmed sheet of 12 x 10 animation paper marked in the lower right corner with its respective sequence number, the majority of which are odd-numbered. A full number list can be found in our online description. In overall fine condition, with intersecting folds and light uniform blocks of toning to the first six sheets; the balance features the occasional small crease or mark. Accompanied by a typed letter from Ramsay Harris dated November 17, 1964, which directly mentions this lot: “The other day I ran across your sequence of rough drawings of Jiminy Cricket doing his little dance with the umbrella. You certainly can catch the spirit of those movements, Preston you old animator. Remember doing hippos and crocodiles beside the Salton Sea?” Starting Bid $1000

Superb key master set-up from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, presented by the Rabbit voice actor

463. Winnie the Pooh production cel and key master background from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey

Tree. (Walt Disney Studios, 1966) Original production cels and key master background featuring Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, and Gopher from the animated featurette Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, the last short film produced by Walt Disney. The cels are trimmed and applied to a hand-painted key master production background from film. The scene shows Winniethe-Pooh gloomily stuck in “Rabbits House,” Rabbit pounding a “Dont Feed the Bear” sign into the ground, and Gopher pleasantly observing all the action. Displayed in its original Walt Disney mount, annotated, “Walt Disney’s ‘Winnie the Pooh,’” with an “Original WDP” stamp to lower right. Character images range from 1.5 x 2.5 (Gopher) to 6 x 5.75 (Rabbit with sign) with a mat opening of 17.25 x 11. Framed to an overall size of 24.5 x 18.75, with the original Walt Disney Productions label on the reverse. Also signed and inscribed on the reverse in ballpoint by Junius Matthews, “For Earleyn, Junius Matthews,” with a later presentation inscription by Earleyn below. Matthews was the original voice of Rabbit in the Winnie the Pooh franchise from 1966 to 1977. In fine condition. Starting Bid $200