Artist: Max Fleischer
Title: Betty Boop Vintage 1930s Hand-Signed Printed Art + Vintage Color Print
Year created: 1930s
Medium: Hand-Signed by Max Fleischer
Signed by the artist
Height (inches): 19
Width (inches): 23
This piece is framed.
Includes a certificate of authenticity.
Description of piece:
An original 1930s Betty Boop publicity card hand-signed by Betty Boop creator, Max Fleischer, framed with a vintage classic color print of Betty Boop.
Max Fleischer— animator, inventor, director and producer— was the creator of Betty Boop, one of the most popular cartoon characters of all time. Making her first appearance in 1930 in one of Fleischer Studio's cartoons, the complete Betty Boop filmography went on to include 90 films, plus appearances in countless other animated cartoons and cartoon strips, art and merchandise.
Originally created as an anthropomorphic French poodle, the Betty Boop character soon evolved at Fleischer Studios into a totally human female character. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her black poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose. She was a caricature of a Jazz Age flapper, a "Jazz Baby", complete with a garter and short skirts. Despite having been toned down in the mid-1930s as a result of the Hays Code to appear more demure, she became one of the best-known and popular cartoon characters in the world.
This framed display combines a vintage classic color Betty Boop print with an original 1930s Betty Boop publicity card, which has been hand-signed by Max Fleischer. Custom-matted, it includes the two artworks, plus a plaque beneath Max Fleischer's signed piece. Framed size measures 19.75" in height x 23.75" width.
Max Fleischer's signature has been examined and authenticated by James Spence Authentication (JSA). the artwork has been assigned a unique alphanumeric certification number which corresponds with the full Letter of Authenticity from JSA which accompanies the item.
Artist bio:
Animation- and creative-genius MAX FLEISCHER was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon, bringing animated characters as Popeye, Koko the Clown, Betty Boop, and Superman to the movie screen, while inventing several of the technological innovations which made modern animation possible, including the Rotoscope, the technology for the "Bouncing Ball" song films, and "The Stereoptical Process."
Max and his brother Dave Fleischer started Out of the Inkwell Films, where Max developed "The Rotograph," a means of photographing live action film footage with animation cels for a composited image. In addition to theatrical comedy films, Fleischer produced technical and educational films two 20-minute features explaining Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Charles Darwin's Evolution, using animated special effects and live action.
Fleischer next partnered to form Red Seal Pictures Corporation, which owned theatres, prompting Fleischer to invent his "Follow the Bouncing Ball" technique used in his series of animated sing-along shorts. This preceded Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie, which has been erroneously cited for decades as the first cartoon to synchronize sound with animation.
It was shortly after founding Fleischer Studios, during the early era of sound in film when Fleischer was at work perfecting the Post-production method of sound recording, that Betty Boop was created— making animation history!