Books

First edition, first printing. The text is written by the composer and music critic Deems Taylor (1885-1966), who was involved in the early development of Fantasia and served as the Master of Ceremonies in the finished film. The Disney studio's third animated feature film was an large undertaking headed by Disney and Leopold Stokowski, the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was released to American audiences in 1940, after four years of production. Disney explained that "Fantasia was made at a time when we had the feeling that we had to open the doors here. This medium was something we felt a responsibility for, and we felt we could go beyond the comic strip and do some very exciting, entertaining, and beautiful things with music, and picture, and color" (Goldmark & Taylor, p. 75). The film is "revered as a technical and aesthetic milestone. With the original Fantasia, Disney succeeded in visually interpreting the infinite subtleties that refined music embodies. The intensity of his creation - musically, sonically, and artistically - has rarely been equaled" (Goldmark & Taylor, pp. 75 & 90). Daniel Goldmark & Yuval Taylor, The Cartoon Music Book, 2002. Folio (320 x 235 mm). Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in dark blue morocco, titles to spine and front board blocked in multi-coloured foil, twin rule to turn-ins, bright red endpapers, edges blocked in multi-coloured foil. Colour illustrations throughout, including 16 colour mounted plates, all by the Disney Studio. A fine copy.

Fantasia is a book published in conjunction with the release of the 1940 animated film Fantasia produced by Walt Disney. It includes the storylines of the segments in the film as narrated in text, accompanied by drawings and illustrations that reflect the scenes from the movie.