A rare animation cel from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has sold with an 84.5% increase on estimate, as a surprise top lot in a California animation auction.
 The cel came as a surprise top lot, after beating the first plans for Disneyland |
The extremely rare vertical pan captures the moment when the Hag drops the poison apple into her cauldron, and is an incredible artefact from the production of one of Disney's best-loved films. Created by Gustaf Tenggren and Ferdinand Horvath, it sold for $147,600 against an $80,000 high estimate.
The top lot of the auction was expected to be the prospectus that Walt Disney created for the construction of Disneyland, which came in with the second highest bids at $98,400. The archive was compiled by Disney and artist Herb Ryman to give words and images to Walt's idea of a family fun attraction.
One of only three produced and the only extant copy, it is among some of the most coveted Disney memorabilia and includes the very first map of Disneyland. It was taken to New York by Disney in 1953, where he hoped to find an investor for his project. He returned empty-handed, leaving his collection of documents with the bankers to whom he proposed the ideas.
Authenticated by experts from the Walt Disney Archives and with just one owner since its discovery, it was sold for $98,400 against a $80,000-120,000 estimate.
Also featuring was the most important copy of the Snow White book in existence, which had been signed by Disney and 51 of the 64 people credited on the movie. Produced in 1937 as a tie-in with the movie, it is one of just three extant examples, of which two are housed in private collections. It sold for $61,500 - a 23% increase on its $50,000 high estimate.
We are currently offering a fantastic selection of Disney memorabilia, which includes a hand-drawn sketch of Mickey Mouse and signature from Walt Disney on a copy of the Ivanhoe book that has also been signed by 28 members of the Bohemian Club.
