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America at 250

Fri, Jul 10, 2026 09:00AM EDT
  2026-07-10 09:00:00 2026-07-10 09:00:00 America/New_York Fleischer's Auctions Fleischer's Auctions : America at 250 https://bid.fleischersauctions.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/america-at-250-22027
A historic assortment of lots carefully curated to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, bringing together significant artifacts, documents, and objects that illuminate the people, events, and ideals that shaped the nation’s founding and early development.
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Lot 380

[U.S. GOVERNMENT] Chuck Jones Bureau of Land Management Production Animation Cels and Background, 1979

Estimate: $500 - $750
Starting Bid
$100

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$100 $25
$300 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$50,000 $5,000

A group of eight hand-painted production animation cels and one hand-painted background cel created for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management public service campaign. Each cel initialed "CJ" in pencil, with standard animator sequence numbers and registration peg holes along the lower edges. Accompanied by the original background cel, unsigned, and inscribed "Spot A / Dept. of Int. / BG-2" along the upper margin. Each sheet approximately 10 x 13 ½ inches.

 

In 1979, legendary animator Chuck Jones (1912–2002) partnered with the U.S. Department of the Interior to direct a series of four televised public service announcements aimed at promoting environmental stewardship on public lands. Distributed on 16mm film, the four shorts  ("Stay on the Trails," "Respect Wildlife," "Pack It In, Pack It Out," and "Not All Land is for All Seasons") utilized Jones's iconic Looney Tunes characters, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, to deliver messages on ecological responsibility.

The campaign specifically targeted the growing popularity of off-road motoring, using the characters' classic, chaotic dynamics to illustrate the environmental dangers of ignoring posted trail notices and disrupting fragile habitats. Jones had previously collaborated with the Department of the Interior earlier in the 1970s to design a series of graphic conservation posters, and this late-decade animation project translated that initial partnership back to the screen. Because these PSAs had limited broadcast runs compared to mainstream theatrical shorts, surviving production material from this government-commissioned campaign is scarce and represents a fascinating intersection of mid-century American pop culture and federal environmental history.

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