Heinrich Kley was born in Karlsruhe, Germany on April 15, 1863. He studied in both Karlsruhe and Munich and by the 1880s was known for his paintings. In 1908, he settled in Munich, where he began submitting cartoons to Jugend and Simplicissimus. These two magazines were satirical publications, in the same vein as Britain's Punch.
Kley was one of the most popular contributors to these magazines. His work was very influential, particularly on the Disney studios surprisingly. His satirical renderings of animals such as elephants were very influential in the designs of the characters in The Dance of the Hours from FANTASIA, as well as the elephants of DUMBO. John Canemaker makes a point of this in his commentary on the DUMBO DVD.
He died in Munich on February 8, 1945.
I will be translating from the original German.
From God's Marionette Theater
"All right, you can pack away the king, too, for the time being. At the moment, he isn't bringing in any customers."
Tourist Season
Tango
Turn in Your Gold to the National Bank
Secondhand Shop
At the Border
The Dance Floor
I hope you enjoyed this. There will be more German cartoon treats.
Auf Wiedersehen!
