This book of Carl Barks' paintings is the brainchild of two collectors who have been familiar with the Barks stories since childhood. Both Russ Cochran and Bruce Hamilton have been Barks fans since the early 1940s when his stories started to appear in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories each month.
When the phenomenon of the Barks oil paintings started happening in the early 1970s , both Russ and Bruce were closely involved with not only the sale of the paintings to collectors, but also with suggesting concepts or ideas to Barks for future paintings. In the process, they became close friends with Carl and Gare Barks and visited them in their home many times.
The idea of publishing a book such as this, which contains all of Carl Barks' 122 Disney paintings, had been discussed at countless dinners and while driving around the country on collector-related business. When permission from Walt Disney Productions finally came for this edition, the thinking processes had been going on for so long the job was already half done. All that remained was to collect, from people Russ and Bruce knew all across the country, the professionally-made photographs from which the plates in this book were made.
Every effort was made to insure the best quality reproduction and most of the final cromalin proofs were approved by Carl Barks himself. The color separations were color-corrected and adjusted until everyone was fully satisfied with the results. No time or expense was spared. The foldouts were arranged to be fully-sewn and not merely tipped into the binding; the cover stock was chosen to last several lifetimes of use and appreciation
Regardless of whatever future publication of Barks oils there might be, this special, limited and signed McDuck Edition will be the only complete and comprehensive assemblage of these very special paintings. It is an edition prepared especially for collectors by collectors.
The 122 paintings themselves, of course, are the ultimate in collectors items for the Barks enthusiast. This edition is expected to be the "bible" for collectors who own (or seek to own) one or more of these paintings.
Profusely illustrated in colour with many double page folded pictures, this is the entire collection of Barks' duck paintings; other b/w drawings and strips, and the book is SIGNED by Carl Barks. This book is the ultimate collectors item for Barks fans, as it features in superb reproduction all 122 Disney paintings Barks painted. 312 pages. Hard Cover Full Colour 11" x 13" (279mm x 330mm) First Edition, Signed by Carl Barks and Numbered Edition of 1875 copies.The book was published in a very limited edition of only 1,875 signed and numbered copies, some of them in a blue binder and some in maroon. It was produced using high grade glossy paper stitched in a heavy top-of-the-line binding and came in a sturdy matching slipcase. The overall product was so exceptional that it won a prestigious industry award for its binding. Because of the exceptionally small print run, not to mention the extraordinary contents, this book which sold for $150 per copy upon publication is now valued at something like $2,000 -- if you are lucky enough to find a willing seller. ( )