Information
Complete title: Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Author: unknown
Illustrations: Tom Wood
Publication Date: January 1938
Publishers: The David McKay Company of Philadelphia
Country: USA
Retail price: $1.00
Dimensions: 10.45” x 9.25”
Number of pages: 42
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![](https://snowwhitemuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/book-cover-David-McKay-912x1024.jpg)
Even before the original release of the film, this hardcover book was released in the United States in 1937 by the David McKay Company of Philadelphia. There are advertisements for the book in January 1938 sold at 1 dollar each. The author of the book is not credited. On the dust jacket, there are ads for other series of books, first the Silly Symphonies at 50 cents each: Country Cousin, Elmer Elephant, Hiawatha. Then the Mickey Mouse adventure series at 25 cents, and finally the Mickey Mouse movie books at 1 dollar each.
Although strongly inspired by the studio’s drawings, the illustrations seem to have been specifically made for this book, although no artist, once again, is credited. It is likely to be Tom Wood’s style. Most of the illustrations in this book will be reused in all media in more or less repurposed versions through the decades. However, several of them are bizarrely used here to depict other scenes than those originally intended. Indeed, an image of Sneezy making a pillow for Snow White’s bed is placed over the text describing the dwarfs going to bed. The dwarfs hitting Dopey, fearing he is a ghost, is used to illustrate the animals’ warning of the Queen’s presence. Instead of the dwarfs chasing the Queen, an illustration of the little men cautiously entering their cottage with pickaxes is taken from an earlier scene, etc. The most disturbing thing is to see the smiling dwarves rejoicing as they discuss the bed to be built for Snow White when this illustration is used here when the decision is made to build her a coffin!
![](https://snowwhitemuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Adriana-Caselotti-holding-the-David-McKay-book-web.jpg)
The cover was reused in France to illustrate the collection of the scores of the songs of the film, and the book was adapted in Denmark.