#109) My review of Disney's new book about a Libravet

My last post (#108) announced the publication of a new book about Herman Schultheis, an unusually talented Libravet that previously worked at Disney on their very early animated films. During Herman's time at Disney he, unknown to anyone else at the time, meticulously documented Disney's proprietary animation techniques in his private notebooks. These notebooks were not discovered until long after his death and are now treasured by Disney who has put them in their museum.  Disney also sponsored the publication of this book about these notebooks and Herman's life.

Following is my brief review of this "5 Star" book on Amazon:

It's not just about Disney - a potential documentary film?

By Son of Soren on June 14, 2014

This magnificent book by John Canemaker covers in captivating detail Herman Schultheis' life, including the period of time after he left Disney and worked for Librascope in Glendale, CA. It was while working at Librascope in the 1950's that Herman mysteriously disappeared in the Guatemalan jungle.

While doing his amazingly thorough research, the author discovered the Librascope Memories website, which fortunately included copies of all the Company's old newsletters (Librazettes). Over a year's time, the Librazettes reported on Herman's initial disappearance and the subsequent search. As the self-appointed Librascope historian and webmaster, I had the privilege of helping John Canemaker research Herman Schultheis' time at Librascope. However, this part of Herman's life is not described in unnecessary detail, and so it does not detract from the book's primary subject; i.e., his work at Disney.

Herman's work at Disney was fascinating, but I was also impressed with how each facet of his life reflected his intelligence, diverse interests, and overall curiosity about life. This book certainly provides the foundation for Disney to make a documentary film of Herman's life experiences.

#108) Disney Releases New Book About Former Libravet

The Walt Disney Family Foundation and Weldon Owen Press have released a spectacular new book about a former Librascope employee titled: "The Lost Notebook: Herman Schultheis and The Secrets of Walt Disney's Movie Magic". The book will be available May 27th on Amazon.

After working at Disney, Herman worked at Librascope from 1949 to 1955 when he mysteriously disappeared while on vacation in the Guatemalan jungle. At the time, stories of his disappearance were published in the Librazette. Eighteen months after he disappeared, his remains were discovered.

Three years ago, I posted on this Blog an e-mail from John Canemaker, a distinguished author and animation historian who was preparing to author this book about Herman. You may read John's original inquiry and my initial response on Blog Post #26: Click here. I researched the Librascope archives and Libravet rosters for John, and provided him with whatever information and Libravet contacts I thought would be helpful. John graciously acknowledged Librascope's help in his new book.

At Disney, Herman Schultheis worked in the Special Process/Effects and Camera Lab, where he was a Studio Effects Engineer. The book focuses on the meticulously documented notebooks he covertly kept while working on films utilizing the proprietary animation techniques Disney developed for the very early animation films they are famous for. Fifty years later, these secret notebooks were discovered in his widow's home after she died. That remarkable discovery resulted in the notebooks later being placed in the Walt Disney Family Museum and the publication of this magnificent book.

To read more about the distinguished author and Academy Award winner John Canemaker's work, please visit his website (Click here).

To read much more about the book on Amazon, click here.