"Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs" (1943) — Studio Publicity Still / Lobby Card — Merrie Melodies, Leon Schlesinger Productions

Year: 1943  |  Studio: Warner Bros. / Leon Schlesinger Productions  |  Director: Robert (Bob) Clampett  |  Format: black-and-white paper display piece

About this piece

• Classic black-and-white promotional line artwork showing heroine So White with the seven military-clad dwarfs.
• Original theatrical title typography reads "COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN DWARFS — IN TECHNICOLOR — A MERRIE MELODIE CARTOON — A LEON SCHLESINGER PRODUCTION".
• Released January 1943 and directed by Bob Clampett, from a story by Warren Foster, with animation by Rod Scribner and a hot-jazz soundtrack inspired by Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway; Vivian Dandridge voiced So White.
• Clampett's wartime shorts are among the most studied in animation history, and this title in particular is a landmark of that discussion.
• Paper from this era rarely survives at all, which is what makes original promotional material from 1943 shorts collectable.

Historical note

This short is one of the "Censored Eleven" — a group of Warner Bros. cartoons withheld from distribution since 1968 because of their racial caricatures. It is offered here strictly as a historical animation artefact and a document of Hollywood's wartime output, not as an endorsement of its content.

Condition

Vintage paper collectible — please judge condition from the photos, which show the actual item being sold, including any edge wear, handling creases, pinholes or toning. Not framed and not signed. Message with any questions before purchasing.

What you receive

• The exact piece pictured.
• Shipped flat between rigid boards in a stiff mailer.

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