7 1/2” x 10” Miniature Litho (1994)
 |
| Character images (c) Disney Enterprises, Inc. are provided for infor
mation purposes only and not for commercial reuse or reproduction. |
Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Donald Duck with the scintillating trio of little ducks, Huey, Dewey and Louie, are on their way to Africa so the patriarch of the clan can bid on -- and hopefully buy -- the famous Kaffir de Gaffir gold mine. Little does Scrooge know, however, that his arch rival, Flintheart Glomgold, also has eyes to own the mine and is determined to keep Scrooge from getting it! After their private plane is shot down, the ducks must rely on the boys’ copy of the Junior Woodchucks Guide Book instruction section on how to make animal-taming whistles so they can “hitch rides” on passing fauna and fowl: lions, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, cape buffaloes, warthogs, ostriches, elephants, giraffes, zebras, gemsboks, impalas, jackals and, yes, even rhinoceroses, to help convey them to their destination. Far Out Safari was taken from a simple cover design Carl Barks drew for Uncle Scrooge #61, published in January 1966, illustrating the lead story inside, “So Far and No Safari.”
In The Fine Art of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck by Carl Barks, historian Barbara Boatner comments that “the more paintings Carl did, the more he expanded his repertory of sizes. He always thought of value in terms of the number of square inches, which meant that a 12”x16” painting (the size of Far Out Safari ), 40% smaller in area than a 16”x20,” should sell for about 40% less. In the last eighteen months of his six-year run (all of ’75 and half of ’76) Barks did eight this size, but Far Out Safari was the only horizontal. He usually restricted them to simpler themes.” The Old Duck Man wryly commented later that even though this had been his theory when he did the paintings -- to make the original art more affordable to more collectors and to enable him to do more paintings -- it didn’t really work out as he had envisioned it: unless the composition was very simple, as in some of the 10”x 8” miniatures, he found himself detailing more per square inch. And Far Out Safari was a classic example.
Boatner went on to say, “the composition and execution of this particular painting must have exceeded even the Duck Man’s expectations. It was so finely rendered and the colors so perfectly suited to its purpose, it lent itself to selection as the only mid-size oil to be reproduced in this book as a foldout (no reduction in size from the original).” In the Fine Art book, Far Out Safari appears as plates 86 and 87 on pages 250-255, chronological number 98, Barks’ 7th oil painting in 1975.
“So Far and No Safari” was beautifully reprinted in Gladstone’s comic album Uncle Scrooge Adventures #51 (published August 4, 1998), superb color by Susan Daigle-Leach. Mint copies are available of the 24-page story in addition to Barks’ next epic, “The Queen of the Wild Dog Pack ,” a reprint from Uncle Scrooge #62, which is available, while limited supplies last (See the Gladstone web pages.)
A world-class English bone china figurine was planned for an edition of ten, but the project was canceled after two finished prototypes were cast.
Far Out Safari was printed in four U.S. editions by the Black Box of Chicago, image size 7 1/2”x10” on 11”x13” Opalesque Keramique, a paper constructed of 100% cotton fiber for strength and longevity, guaranteed not to fade under normal and stable storage conditions for hundreds of years.
- Regular Edition Price for #11 and up $395 (sold)
- Regular Edition Price for #2-10, add 15% (available)
- Regular Edition Price for #1, add 55% (available)
- Gold Plate Edition #11-100, add 20% (sold)
- Gold Plate Edition #2-10, add 55% (sold)
- Gold Plate Edition #1, add 125% (sold)
- Publishers and Printer’s proofs, add 80% (available)
- Artist Proofs, add 120% (sold)
- Progressive Proofs, Special Editions and Foreign Editions, inquire. (available)