Liberty magazine - patriotic Donald Duck cover

[disneydave]

Courtesy the Porter family, the original art for the July 1940 cover of Liberty magazine. Over the course of his 15 year career at Disney's, Hank Porter created dozens of illustrations for magazine covers, advertisements and articles.

 

 

The conceptual art and the illustration that was actually used are pretty much the same with one exception - the positioning of Donald's head has been moved forward in the final art used on the magazine's cover. Otherwise, the two pieces are pretty much identical.

 

 

The image is loaded with patriotic American symbols, befitting the fact this particular issue appeared on newsstands the same month Americans celebrated their Independence Day. The iconic symbols include the torch from the statue of Liberty, the Scales of Justice, the Liberty Bell, reference to the year 1776 when the colonies declared their independence, and of course, an American eagle, who happens to be sporting an "Uncle Sam" stovepipe hat, beard and trousers.

 

And while that eagle was lashed to Donald's radiator in the illustration, less than a year and half after this magazine hit the newsstands, the might of that eagle would be unleashed as America declared war on the governments of both Japan and Germany.