These two (2) original matte-finish photographic prints of the opening credits for two (2) Krazy Kat cartoons were made at the Mintz Studio in 1933 and are from the estate of animator Preston Blair, whose credit for animation appears on both. The famed animator and author's early work in cartoon production came at the studio of Charles Mintz, who produced the Krazy Kat, Color Rhapsodies and Scrappy cartoons for Columbia from 1929 to 1939. Mr. Blair's name does not appear on the Krazy Kat openings for 1932, so it is likely these shots represent his first screen credits. A nice array of Columbia title cards can be viewed at Jerry Beck's fine website: http://www.cartoonresearch.com/columbia.html.

Preston Blair began his career in animation with Walter Lantz and Charles Mintz in the 1930s before joining the Walt Disney Studio later in that decade. He animated characters for Fantasia (notably Mickey Mouse and Hyacinth Hippo) and also worked on Pinocchio (1940) and Bambi (1942). He left Disney after the 1941 strike for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. There he joined Fred "Tex" Avery's unit. He is famed for his animation of the sexy nightclub star Red in six of Tex Avery's M-G-M cartoons. In the 1960s he animated at Hanna-Barbera on The Flintstones and in subsequent years was involved in the development and production of animated films and commercials.

Mr. Blair authored a number of art and animation instruction books published by Walter T. Foster. The first, Advanced Animation, was published in 1947 and revised several times into the 1990s. His titles Cartoon Animation and Animation 1 remain in print today.

These two photographs are from the estate of Preston Blair. Our certificate of authenticity is included.

VERY FINE condition.

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