The Snow White "Story of" Books

Front Cover of the Snow White Edition

The "Story of" series of Snow White books were produced in 1938 by Whitman Publishing Company. Sold as a boxed set of eight, each illustrated story book was devoted to one character (the Princess and the individual Dwarfs). Printed on an inexpensive pulp stock with somewhat heavier stock covers, they were designed to be read and colored by younger readers. Each title measures 7.5" x 11" and contains 24 pages.

Each of the books were numbered 1044, and the set came housed together in an illustrated box.

Info and images via Heritage Auctions.

This set appears on page 839 of Hake's Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles (2nd ed.), 2007...

See The Story of Dopey book in next post.

Reprint of 1937 Children's Book (50th Anniversary - 1987)

Front Cover and Spine

In 1987, Abrams Publishers produced a 50th Anniversary Edition reprint of the 1937 children's hardcover, The Complete Story of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Throughout this 80 page book, the original artwork is gorgeously reproduced in B+W and color illustrations.

Title Page

Both text and images incorporate fragments of the story that weren't included in the film...such as Snow White's mother longing for a child and the Dwarfs' bed-building scene.

[CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

Here's a good look at some of the artwork...

Text and Artwork copyright Disney. Image scans courtesy of The Raymond Collection.

Many more illustrations fill the pages of this Snow White volume which is still available cheap from any number of online resellers. ISBN: 0810915154.

Charlie McCarthy Meets Snow White

Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy were no strangers to working with Walt Disney. Throughout the 1940s, Bergen starred in no less than four different live radio broadcasts of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (see earlier post). Of course, they also appeared in the very humorous Mickey and the Beanstalk segment of Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and on the television special One Hour in Wonderland (1950).

Yet before all this, we find that Edgar and Charlie were actually featured in the following 1938 book, Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy Meets Walt Disney's Snow White. Published by Whitman Publishing Company.

Front Cover

Title Page

We've seen before the madcap scenarios that can arise as personalities from different stories are thrown into the mix together, like in the 1947 comic Thumper Meets the Seven Dwarfs. Then there was the 1967, The Wizard Of Bahs, where the Dwarfs and Old Witch end up as characters in the land of Oz. But uniting Charlie McCarthy with the Snow White gang has to be one of the earliest--and strangest--mashups of all.

The book is written almost as if it was taken from a transcript of a live radio performance. In fact, it's quite possible that is exactly what it is. The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show aired for nearly 20 years, getting its start in May of 1937. Episode #33 occurred on the evening of December 19, 1937, two days before the Carthay Circle premiere of the Disney film. According to old-time radio author Martin Grams, Jr., the cast of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs appeared on this episode and performed a recreation. Unfortunately, a recording hasn't been found of this program. Yet this book might very well represent what occurred during that performance.

Bergen begins the book by telling Charlie that he has a great treat in store for him. McCarthy is introduced to the Dwarfs and nearly meets his match in Grumpy.

Next Charlie meets the Queen and talks to the Magic Mirror.

Snow White enters and Charlie thinks she's "a knockout." It's funny how the illustrations sometime depict Charlie as being dummy-size and in others as tall as the princess.

Charlie saves the day by locking the Old Witch in a closet.

Edgar Bergen was an immensely popular performer. So it makes sense from a selling point that Walt would want to link the ventriloquist's most well-known persona with his own box office hit Snow White. However, when you think about it, it's just a little unusual that someone known for his exceptional ventriloquism is featured in a book with no means of showing off his talents. Just another reason why I think this may simply be a transcript-turned-book from a live radio performance.

What a terrific look back at a time when the personality of a dummy named Charlie could steal the show.

Rear Cover

Special thanks to Major Pepperidge of Gorillas Don't Blog for his insights on The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show and especially for taking the time to photograph and share the pages of this book from his collection.