Sally Holmes was an inbetweener at Walt Disney Studios, meaning that she animated transitional frames between key frames. She left her job circa 1946 at which time she had many of the animators and even Walt himself sign her copy of Deems Taylor's Fantasia (1940). Some of the book's signers were well on their way to becoming Disney legends and others were to remain more obscure. Most added original drawings. Some of these presented to the married Holmes were sexist and risqué—and quite different from the usual Disney fare. The book was sold on eBay circa November 2009. It is now on the market again via AbeBooks, selling for a pretty penny.
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| Title page "To Sally Holmes All Best Wishes Walt Disney" |
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| "G'By Sally!" Artist Unknown "Gosh Sally! I'm sure gonna miss yuh! 'Take care of yourself baby' David Deliege[?] (Dave)" |
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"Take It Easy" Rudy Cataldi |
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"To a 'ducky' pin-up girl!" Stamped "O. K. for INB[etweening]. Signed: Earl Combs" |
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| Fantasia AbeBooks listing accessed March 17, 2022 |
Not much is known about Holmes. Here's her signature on a 1945 Disney studios borrowing card, second from the top:
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| https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1945-walt-disney-studio-library-card-1890410556 |
Note: Sally Holmes's farewell book was previously sold on eBay in 2009. This allowed Jenny Lerew's The Blackwing Diaries blog to show many additional pages from this volume. You can see her full 2009 post here. Also, Mark Mayerson's blog Mayerson on Animation has an additional page from the 2009 listing here. Back in 2009, I still had the good sense not to try blogging.
EBay listings are generally deleted three months after auction close. I would love to hear from anyone who may have had the foresight to archive the complete 2009 listing for this volume. Additional information about Sally Holmes would be welcome, of course.
Books signed and illuminated en masse like this one are often fascinating, at least to me. I would like to post images provided by collectors who are lucky enough to own books personalized by the likes of Disney studio animators, Dutch Treat Club members, or New Yorker artists—that sort of thing.
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