Tweety and Sylvester Lobby Card

Tweety and Sylvester Lobby Card

MEDIUM:  Limited Edition Cel with a Giclée Background
SIZE: 13.75" x 17.75"
EDITION SIZE: 100 
SKU: CC1193

ABOUT THE IMAGE:  The Tweety and Sylvester Lobby Card illustrates the historic pairing of the iconic cat and bird: Sylvester and Tweety. On the piece’s background are fifteen original lobby cards, technically called “publicity stills,” which have been provided courtesy of the collection of Jerry Beck. These stills are reproduced to show some of Tweety and Sylvester’s most famous Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. Alike to feature films, these cards would hang in movie theater lobbies to promote the latest Warner Bros. cartoon, in addition to appearing in Hollywood trade magazines of the day. Of note upon observing the lobby card is the slight variation in character styles between the cartoon and the card itself. This occurred because Warner Bros. “farmed out” the production of these cards to local art houses specializing in publicity for films and animation. Lastly, one of the lobby card’s roles was to encapsulate in one image the cartoon’s story so that passers-by, with the blink of an eye, was able to get the essence of a most recent work.

Another distinguishing feature of these lobby cards is their representation of directors Clampett, Freleng and McKimson. Undoubtedly, without the indelible characteristics these men have given Tweety and Sylvester, neither would not have the sophistication they possess today. In all, this special and historically important fine art collectible shows that their pairing is one of the most dynamic in cartoon history.

Juan Ortiz rendered the original drawing for this limited edition, while Jerry Beck provided the lobby cards. The master was made by Laurie Dindis, which was then silk-screened onto an acetate sheet along with the Clampett Studio Collections seal of authenticity. Each cel was expertly hand-painted on the reverse side in the classic animation style. The original background was rendered by artist Hector Martinez and reproduced utilizing a fine art Giclée process