One Year to Go!

Seven years have passed since the start of the Snow White Archive. During this time, scores of generous people from around the world have shared information from their own research and/or images from their personal collections. The experience has been nothing short of phenomenal. Sincere gratitude goes out to everyone for their support.

With the close of 2016, let it be known that we've got one more year left in us. This experience of documenting "all things Snow White" has been extremely enjoyable and rewarding. Yet, at the completion of 2017, we'll be taking a much needed hiatus. It's probably not a permanent vacation from the blog but certainly an extended stay.

So be prepared...this next year will be bigger than ever. Expect a new post EVERY SINGLE DAY, and sometimes two or even three per day. We still have a whole lot of documentation to do, and a very limited time-frame to do it in.

In addition, we are continuing the progress on our fan-produced Snow White documentary film, Benjamin's Ride. Late in the year, we'll be looking to gather short video testimonials from other Snow White fans, enthusiasts, collectors, historians, and theme park experts. If you're interested in possibly being included in the project, let us know at sw.documentary@gmail.com. More details to come at year's end.

1983 Eight-Panel Blanche Neige Poster

An eight-panel poster from the November 30, 1983 re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in France. Printed by St. Martins. Distributed by Walt Disney Productions. This particular example was purchased by collector Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

From Greg:

This happens to be the poster that stood in the hall of the theater where I first saw the film back in 1983, and I was almost as charmed by it as I was by the movie. As you may have seen, there’s the diamond year logo on it [marking the 60th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company]. Characters and settings are rearranged to fit the horizontal space as opposed to the other posters.

The top tier panels...

The bottom tier...

All images courtesy of the Greg Philip Collection.

1960s Disney Character Rug

Vintage children's rug. Fringed. Large size, approximately 105" x 70". Mickey Mouse is popping out of a television set into a room full of Disney characters, including the Seven Dwarfs.

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

Close-up of the carpet pile.

Reverse side.

Images via kchew3.

In the 1964 pressbook issued to theatres in the United Kingdom, it's referred to as a "Play Pen Rug" available through Quetta Carpets. An individual Snow White rug is also listed and can be seen in an earlier Archive entry.

Pressbook image courtesy of the Richard Holliss Collection.

1940 Walt Disney Studio Xmas Card

The 1940 Disney Studio Christmas Card features the Fantasia Snowflake Fairy spelling out the word "Greetings" while other flakes float in the air above.

It opens up to the fairy writing "from Walt Disney".

Blue card images via Hakes.

It opens further to reveal the cast from Fantasia with conductor Leopold Stokowski on the far left. Also included is the Reluctant Dragon and that film's star Robert Benchly (far right). Plus they are joined by Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pinocchio, Snow White and Dopey--all singing Christmas carols.

The artwork was created by Hank Porter. Card is on stiff textured paper and measures 5.5" x 6" and is 22" long when fully open. Also see Hank's 1938 pen and ink Christmas Carolers illustration in an earlier Archive entry.



Collector Bob Cowan has posted on his Cowan Collection site the same 1940 Disney Studio card, but in these photos, it appears to be more purple in color.

Picturegoer Magazine - December 25, 1937

The December 25, 1937 edition of the British fan magazine, Picturegoer, was published just four days after the world premiere of Snow White. It includes a two-page spread on the Secrets of Disney's Million-dollar Fairy-Tale.

Included with the article are several photos of modeled setups with the characters. Other than referring to them as "reconstructed scenes from the film," there's no mention of who created these models or where they were exhibited. Could they possibly have been used as window displays at London's Selfridges department store, like those seen years later in 1980?

Special thanks to Greg Philip of A Lost Film for supplying the image scans.

1980 Selfridges Snow White Christmas Windows

As part of the 1980 re-release of Snow White to UK theatres, Selfridges department store on Oxford Street created a series of Christmas window displays featuring scenes from the film. To help with its promotion, twelve press kit photos (including a title card image) were distributed to the media.

Selfridges has a long association with the Disney Company and often create Disney-themed window displays for Christmas. The original Art of Animation exhibit visited the store as part of its world tour in the wake of the release of Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Here's a picture of Walt visiting that year.

Special thanks to the Richard Holliss Collection for sharing these image scans and info.

Dutch Snow White Christmas Comics (2014/2016)

A couple of years ago, I came across a Snow White xmas story from the Netherlands, published in the 44 page Donald Duck comic book (Nr. 52-2014), December 19, 2014. The tale was written by Frank Jonker. Pencils: Miquel Pujol, Ink: Comicup Studio.

The 5-page story was translated into English by a tumblr user who does subtitling for a living. These scans come from his tumblr page.








The story begins with the Old Witch spying around the dwarfs' cottage.

Illustrations and text copyright Disney. Posted here for historical documentation purposes only.

On the second and third pages, the Witch--disguised as a tree--plants herself near the dwarfs' cottage. When they come across it, Grumpy wants going to cut it down to take inside. Doc, however, suggests that because the tree is so close to their home, they should decorate it there. Snow White and the Prince arrive in a sleigh. The Prince places gifts under the tree and Snow sings carols with the dwarfs.

Then it's time to pass out the presents. Just as everyone is gathered around the tree, the Witch changes back into herself to ruin the holiday. Unfortunately for her, she gets tangled up in the decorations and catches on fire. She puts herself out in the snow but is surrounded by the Prince and the dwarfs. Yet, because it is Christmas, they decide to give her some presents and take her back to her castle--still all tied up in the tree decorations..

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Released today on December 22, 2016, another five-page Snow White story--Grumpy's Christmas--was published in the Donald Duck comic book series (Nr. 52-2016). Authored again by Frank Jonker. Pencils: Valentin Doménech, Ink: Comicup Studio.

The Old Witch is once more sneaking around the cottage as the Seven Dwarfs get ready for the regular holiday visit from Snow White and the Prince.

For once, Grumpy is actually in the spirit of the season, that is until the Hag casts a spell on him which turns him into a cold-hearted scrooge. He proceeds to rip the decorations off the tree, then throw out all the presents and treats that were on the table. He hides in the forest as Snow White and the Prince arrive in their sleigh.

Grumpy beams the Prince in the back of the head with a snowball, then tries to cut down the xmas tree with an axe. The Witch is loving all the turmoil until Snow White offers Grumpy a present and a kiss. The spell is broken, Christmas is saved, and the Witch's plan is foiled again.

Image scans courtesy of Dirk X at HET Verzameloord.