A rare and heartfelt wartime publication from Disney designed for servicemen employed by the company.
The introduction from Walt Disney reads in part: “Here is news of our effort to back you up, along with glimpses of familiar faces and happenings. We hope this will make you feel like grabbing pencil, brush or camera and sending us news of yourself. Your contributions are welcome - the magazine will be the medium through which every employee can learn what you are doing and thinking.”
The upper wrapper features a colour image of Donald Duck hitting Adolf Hitler in the eye with a tomato, and the rear bears seven color military insignias with Disney characters like Pluto, Donald Duck, and Jiminy Cricket. The articles includes “Air Power Through Pictures” by Major Alexander P. de Seversky; an article on army veterans now employed at Disney; a poignant letter from the parents of pilot Gerry James, then missing in action; Entertainment Values in Educational Films by Bob Carr; and animated sequences from the Army’s War Orientation series.
Complete with the naive (and somewhat creepy) colour “Pin-Ups for Service Men” insert which features images of five nude sketches by Disney artists Fred Moore, Bill Justice, and Milt Neil, while the reverse contains a full roster of the Disney employees serving in the war effort. Among them are famous names like Xavier Atencio, Lee Blair, Del Connell, Van Kaufman, Martin Provenson, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Frank Thomas.
“This magazine is a letter to you fellows in the services, to let you know what’s going on at the studio. Now let us know what you’re doing. Keep us in touch with your correct address … and send us any address we don’t have.”
OCLC locates a single copy at NYPL.
