Carl Barks' fame during the last decades of his long life was (and still is) unparalleled in the worlds of funny animal comic books and Disney-related paintings. This colossal avalanche of fame had its good and less good side effects. On the positive side Barks finally got out of the obscurity of anonymity and began to earn more money than he would ever be able to spend, but on the negative side he had to put up with untold hundreds of fans who, although most of them being pure of heart and genuinely interested in the man, pestered his daily life. Barks received loads of fan mail through the years, and as the conscious soul he was, he felt obliged to answer them all.
The greater part of the letters merely expressed unconditional gratitude towards a man who had enriched their lives, but many fans wrote only to get something from Barks; an autograph, a signature on a forwarded magazine, or a personal duck sketch. Although Barks appreciated the overall interest (which in turn cost him small fortunes in envelopes, stationery, and postage - not to mention working time!!!), especially the latter type of letters, 'the begging letters', were a thorn in his eye - and of no interest to us today as they do not contribute to our understanding of the busy man.

But another group from the same area were the many, more professional letters, where companies asked Barks to participate or contribute to different actions and events. Most of these requests sprung from a simple business wish to earn money for everyone involved, and, in general, Barks was sympathetic to the suggestions and went along with the projects. Luckily! Just think if he had declined any participation in, say, the numerous books about him. Then we would not have had the elaborate series of polished comic book encyclopedias and art books.
But Barks also received requests from companies to which he felt that he had to decline offers and projects. Many of them were excluded simply because Barks would have had no control over the proceedings. This was especially true in the field of different series of painting lithographs, where companies, in particular abroad, in reality requested 'a piece of the action'.

The sub-pages will present you to a very small collection of more diverse and sincere petition letters from fine companies, who nevertheless were turned down by Barks for different reasons. You are presented to the initial inquiries in order to give you an idea of what Barks was up against on a regular basis, and in some cases Barks' responses are presented as well. A few of the request letters have been partly censored by this website which is apparent from the blurring bars occasionally used.

(PRESS IMAGES TO ENLARGE)

FIRST WESTERN REQUEST	FURTHER WESTERN REQUESTS	EGMONT REQUESTS
DISNEY REQUESTS	DISNEY ARCHIVES	DISNEY CELEBRATIONS