Books &Fleischer &Illustration 31 Dec 2008 09:01 am
Mr. Bug Book
- Back in Feb 2006, I posted a couple of pages from a book I had in my collection, Mr. Bug Goes To Town, published in 1941. The drawings of the book are every bit as gorgeous as the film. The publisher listed is Garden City Publishing Co., but it’s a division of Western Publishing which also published some of the excellent Disney books.
Currently, at NY’s Film Forum (through Thurs. Jan.1) there are 1pm matinees of this film, so it gives me an occasion to post the entire book this time.
I saw a beautiful 35mm print of this film at MOMA last year. I’d been invited to a “press screening” which had only one member of the press in attendance. He, I and Matt Clinton, my animator on staff, were the only ones in the room. It was a private screening, indeed.
Here are the Back and Front covers of the book:
(Click any image to enlarge.)
Inner book covers
on 31 Dec 2008 at 10:14 am 1.bill said …
I love this film, and I love these illustrations! I didn’t even know this book existed. I wonder how much other merchandise was made, back in the day?
Happy New Year , Michael, and thanks for a great year of posts!
on 31 Dec 2008 at 10:21 am 2.Paul Spector said …
I was planning to get into the City to see Bug, but things just got too busy for me.
Thanks this year for your ever-tireless commitment to a Splog of substance!
on 31 Dec 2008 at 3:03 pm 3.Dawn said …
Lovely characters, and with such expressive variety. Thanks for making these images available to see if we didn’t make it to the screening. And thank you for your sharing so much this year.
Happy New Year, here’s to another year of Spolg!
on 31 Dec 2008 at 7:27 pm 4.annulla said …
Just popping in to wish you a happy new year and to thank you for all the wonderful art and stories you’ve posted this year. Looking forward to seeing what 2009 brings!
Blather From Brooklyn
on 01 Jan 2009 at 3:41 pm 5.Eddie Fitzgerald said …
Many thanks for putting this up! I love this way of printing, which makes the reader feel like he’s holding the original sketches in his hand. Why can’t we have books like that now?
I assume this process is lithography, whatever that is. The pictures look like they were made from original pencil and watercolor sketches, but it’s possible that the artist made the color seperations in black and white levels, and there were no fully colored originals.
on 03 Jan 2009 at 5:34 pm 6.Alex Steed said …
It’s so wonderful to find you blogging here. Your animations have definitely touched and helped to form the way I think/perceive over the years, and for that I’m thankful.