Walt Disney’s Fantasia
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940. Item #06354
A Near Fine Copy in an Excellent and Untouched Dust Jacket
[DISNEY, Walt]. TAYLOR, Deems. Walt Disney's Fantasia. With a Foreword by Leopold Stokowski. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940.
First edition. Folio (12 3/4 x 9 1/2 in; 324 x 242 mm). 157, [1] pp. Profusely illustrated in color and black and white, including sixteen tipped-in color plates.
Publishers pale gray cloth, front cover and spine decoratively lettered in blue, red pictorial endpapers. Original color pictorial dust-jacket with some light chipping at extremities, untouched and complete with original price: $3.75.
A near fine copy of this classic.
Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940) stands as one of the most significant publications in the history of American animation and illustrated books. Issued in the same year as the film’s release, it serves both as a sumptuous art book and as the earliest comprehensive record of Disney’s most ambitious cinematic experiment - a landmark fusion of classical music and innovative animation. With commentary by Deems Taylor and a foreword by the legendary conductor Leopold Stokowski, the volume provides unique insight into the artistic philosophy and technical innovation behind the project. Its lavish production - including tipped-in color plates and meticulously reproduced concept art—captures the visual imagination of the studio at the height of its creative power. First editions in well-preserved dust-jackets, especially priced and unrestored examples, have become increasingly prized as both Disneyana and twentieth-century illustrated-book milestones.
Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) "was an American composer, music critic, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of The Lost Algonquin Roundtable, referred to him as "the dean of American music." Taylor was a promoter of classical music throughout his life. His journalism career included posts as music critic for the New York World beginning in 1921, and editor of Musical America from 1927 to 1929.
Taylor also worked extensively in broadcasting, and as intermission commentator for the New York Philharmonic.
He appeared in Walt Disney's 1940 film Fantasia as the film's Master of Ceremonies, and was instrumental in selecting the musical pieces that were used in the film, including the then-controversial Sacre du Printemps. In the long-unseen roadshow version of Fantasia, issued on DVD in 2000, and re-released on the 2010 Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 Blu-ray release, all of Taylor's voice-over work was re-dubbed by veteran voice artist Corey Burton. The complete film was originally 124 minutes long, due almost entirely to the fact that Taylor's commentaries were more detailed in the roadshow version, but the original audio elements for these longer commentaries had deteriorated to the point that they could no longer be used, so Corey Burton was selected to re-record all of the dialogue for consistency. The general release version of Fantasia, running 115 minutes, is the version most audiences are familiar with. In that version, Taylor's commentaries were severely abridged." (Wikipedia).
Price: $850.00