Courvoisier cels

I thought I'd post some examples of animation cels that survive to this day.   Most often they are referred to as Courvoisier cels, after gallery owner Guthrie Courvoisier.  He convinced Walt to sell the otherwise destroyed cels as artwork rather than a byproduct of the animation process.  Most of these early cels are nitrate and painted with water based pigments, before acrylic cels and paints were introduced, and are therefore very fragile and deteriorate easily.

The scene from the film

a Courvoisier cel in excellent condition

One in not so good condition.  This particular example may have been varnished as a method of paint preservation.  Over time the varnish has clouded and the cel has split just below the engine.  Its so sad to see cels deteriorate in this fashion.