Dreams of Sugar-Plums Danced In Their Heads -- In Fact, They Were Animated!

CHRISTMAS CARDS OF ANIMATORS AND THEIR STUDIOS

by Rick Marschall

In the worlds of comic strips and other branches of cartooning, through the years the artists have created personal cards for family, friends, and fans. More occasionally did syndicates and publishers send out greetings featuring their casts. Of course it happened, and we will share some in the next posting.

But here are cards that were designed by animators and animation studios. Although none of these were marketed in stores, they did serve as promotions for the characters and their studios.

Enjoy early Disney Studio cards; Otto Messmer (when he was doing the newspaper-strip Felix); a cast of stars from Paramount / Famous Studios; and a card inscribed to Seymour Kneitel from Max and Dave Fleischer.

The last example is a Christmas drawing probably by the great Hank Porter. The woodland Christmas image features all the Disney characters and superb penwork and shading. It has got to be one of the finest Disney pieces, or any cartoon by any cartoonist. I first saw the original art more than 50 years ago, framed on the wall of the great collector Howard Bayliss in his apartment in Queens, New York City.

HAVE A

MERRY

AND ANIMATED

CHRISTMAS!