1938 Dutch Snow White Book

Printed in Amsterdam by C.J. Veen's Publishing Company, this Dutch-language Snow White book dates from the original release of the film. The Dwarfs (with their English names) adorn the front and rear endpapers.

There's a total of 64 pages. The majority of illustrations are in B+W, with four color plates.

A number of the drawings are from Gustaf Tenggren's original inspirational sketches.

A handsome vintage storybook.

Image scans courtesy of the Noah Daniel Glimmerveen Collection.

1938 Italian RKO/Generalcine Postcard

Here we have a rare gem, an RKO promotional postcard from the initial Italian release of Snow White. Made of cardstock, it's double the size of postcards common in Italy at that time. The crease across the center is original since it would have come folded in two. Unfolded, it measures 14 x 18cm.

The classic Gustaf Tenggren cast portrait graces the front with the "Snow White" name plate in Italian.

On the back, one side was free for stamps and address. The other was filled with an announcement of the film. It translates to:

Generalcine will present. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney's first full length motion picture in color. The Wonder of Wonders - Unforgettable for Children and Grown-ups.

Generalcine was the Italian "host" distributor for all the RKO movies seen in Italian theatres. Their logo is in the upper left, RKO's in the lower right.

This particular card also has a rubber stamp imprint with the word, "Venerdì" (Friday). The general release of the film occurred in Italy on Thursday December 8, 1938. Yet, some cinemas didn't begin showing it until Friday. Unfortunately, no name is given for the theatre.

Images and info courtesy of the Nunziante Valoroso Collection.

The Good Housekeeping Serial

From 1934 to 1944, Good Housekeeping magazine carried regular monthly four-color full page condensed versions of upcoming Disney shorts. At first, it was just the Silly Symphonies, but when Mickey Mouse cartoons started appearing in color on the big screen, they began surfacing in the periodical too, alternating months with the Symphonies. The text was always written in verse except with those special issues that highlighted a feature film.

The vast majority of the artwork was drawn by Tom Wood (and later by Hank Porter). Although Tom did not contribute to the Snow White issues of Good Housekeeping, he is seen below working at his drawing board on a Seven Dwarfs sketch.

Tom Wood. Image via Walt Disney's Mickey and the Gang, p. 7.

When the Good Housekeeping deal was first struck on December 1, 1933, the periodical agreed to pay Disney $500 each month for the one-page spread. Around the end of 1936, a year before Snow White was released, Kay Kamen negotiated an agreement with the magazine where they would pay $3000 to Disney to run a two-issue serialization of the story prior to the movie's world premiere.

Dorothy Ann Blank (a member of the Disney story team for the film) was enlisted to re-tell the complete tale in prose. Gustaf Tenggren's Snow White concept art would be used as illustrations. The pieces were published in the November and December 1937 issues of Good Housekeeping.

Good Housekeeping Covers, November and December 1937.

The November installment starts on page 35 and includes an image of the cast portrait. The entire story takes up four full pages plus sections of another six. Tenggren's color reproductions appear on two...

November Issue, p 36-37.

A couple pages from the December issue...

December Issue pages 35 and 37.

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In 2005, Tenggren's artwork and Blank's two-part story were published, along with all the other Good Housekeeping segments, in a 360-page coffee table book entitled Walt Disney's Mickey and the Gang. (Gemstone, ISBN: 1888472065). Original price $29.99 (USD). It's still available from booksellers, both new and used.

The Snow White serial as reproduced in Mickey and the Gang, pages 140-153...

Illustrations and text copyright Disney/Gemstone Publishing.

Snow White Glossy Promotional Stills, 1937-38

During the initial release of Snow White, among the treasure trove of promotional materials available to theatre owners was a series of twenty 8x10 hand-colored glossy stills. Sold for 15¢ each in lots of eight or more (or 20¢ a piece for lesser quantities), these would be used in a variety of ways to promote the film.

Gustaf Tenggren's sketch of Snow White in the dark forest is one of the most striking of all the prints.

Sold in auction on August 21, 2011 for $155.35 (USD).

The Disney and RKO copyright info in the lower corners of the photo.

In another still, we see Dopey tangled up in the kitchen pots and pans.

Here's the classic log crossing with Tenggren's Dwarfs.

The entire set of 20 promo stills can be seen on this page from the 1937 "New Edition" Snow White pressbook...

Images via Heritage Auctions.

Valentine & Sons 'Heigh-Ho' Postcard #4169

These two Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs postcards date from circa 1938. Published by Valentine and Sons Ltd. of Dundee, Scotland, both depict the well-known Gustaf Tenggren scene of the Dwarfs marching home across the log bridge. Yet, the cards clearly come from different printings.

Frontside:

Postcard A-- The illustration on this card holds true to the original Tenggren artwork, particularly in regards to how the Dwarfs are rendered. The caption along the bottom is printed in a simple font.

Postcard B-- The Dwarfs in this one don't exactly look like those in the film, but they have been modified some from the Tenggren work. Colors are more saturated too. Text along bottom is updated to include the Snow White logo.

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Backside:

Postcard A-- Shows logo graphic with Doc and Happy. Includes the Valentine's tagline, "This is a real photograph." Card was dated the 3rd of September, 1938 (posted from Bournemouth England to New Zealand).

Postcard B-- Castle logo graphic. Card is numbered, 4169. Tagline is gone.

Images via John Eccles and BeBrightSalesToo.

I'm a fan of these Valentine & Sons vintage postcards. See cards #4166-4168 from this series in the next post. Also #4170-4171 and #4172-4177 in earlier entries.

1938 Hollywood Magazine

Snow White and the Dwarfs appeared on the cover of the May 1938 cover of Hollywood magazine (Fawcett Publications, 8.5" x 11"). The periodical was conducting a "7 Dwarfs Popularity Contest" in which readers were instructed to "name your favorite dwarf and write in twenty words or less why you like him best." Entries were to be mailed and postmarked by May 15, 1938.

It's interesting to note that the cover art featured the princess and six of the seven dwarfs all in the style taken from the original drawings of inspirational sketch artist Gustaf Tenggren. In fact the animals, castle and trees are also from his work. Only Dopey, who's placed center stage, appears in his non-Tenggren onscreen persona.

Were the publisher's trying to create a Dopey shoe-in for their contest? Read what Paul F. Anderson has to say about it over at Disney History Institute.

[CLICK IMAGES TO SUPERSIZE]

The grand prize for the best answer to the 7 Dwarfs Popularity Contest was a cedar chest. I'm sure that 74 years ago, the readers must have thought this was a swell inducement to enter the contest. But nearly three quarters of a century later, I personally would much rather have won one of the"lesser" prizes (below).

First prize: Original color sketch of Snow White and Dwarfs, signed by Walt Disney.

Second prize: An Alexander Snow White doll (15 " tall).

Third prize: Set of Seibling rubber dolls, Snow White (8" tall), Seven Dwarfs (5 1/2").

Fourth prize: An Ideal Snow White doll.

Fifth prize: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs board game by Milton Bradley.

Sixth prize: Handbag with a picture of Snow White and the dwarfs.

Seventh prize: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs illustrated book, Grosset and Dunlap.

Consolation prizes: The first consolation gets one set of twenty colored scenes. The next 500 entries receive a single colored scene, all "delightful for framing."

All images courtesy of Rick Payne via dadric's attic. Used with permission. 

Find out who the contest winners were in the August 1938 issue.