An easy cel: cartoon art collector Les Steinberg gave up his leather jacket business to enter the market for animated eels that the major studios once tossed away. (Small Business).

LES Steinberg had been a cartoon fan most of his life but it was only a chance conversation with an acquaintance more an a dozen years ago that got him into the business.

Not the business of drawing, but of collecting.

Steinberg owns and operates Great American Ink, a Brentwood gallery that carries 6,500 pieces of animated art -- from concept drawings sketched in pencil to elaborate, hand-painted background scenes. Dozens of Disney and Loony Toon characters adorn the gallery's walls, while classic animated films are shown on a large monitor in the corner.

"We're in business to buy art and sell art, but it's difficult to do because you want to hold on to it," said Steinberg, who for 20 years owned an L.A. leather manufacturer and importer. "There's pressure in every business, but this is something you get to enjoy every single day, far more than looking at a row of leather jackets sizes 32 to 44."

Bob Stillman, a retired schoolteacher and vintage animation art collector, buys from Great American Ink and hopes his pieces will help pay for his grandchildren's college education (if he can bear to sell them).

"I've seen my pieces grow in value, especially my Woody Woodpecker since Walter Lantz died," said Stillman, referring to that cartoon's creator. "Eight years ago I paid $875 for the original animation cell with a reproduced background. Now those are going for over $4,000."

Tapping into heyday 

Steinberg must sometimes educate potential collectors on whether they want "concept art" (storyboards from the early stages of the animation process) or animated cels (characters and objects hand-painted onto celluloid). Cels are the most common type of vintage animation art because of the volume produced; a six-minute Warner Brothers cartoon would generate 6,000 or 7,000 cels.

Most of Great American's pieces come from the heyday of animation, back when Disney and Warner Brothers employed hundreds of animators. Since the early 20th century, they have generated millions of drawings and cels.

"These drawings would pile up and so the studios would give them away or just burn them," said Noel Blanc, son of the legendary Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Pepe Le Pew). Steinberg brings in the younger Blanc for radio ads and other marketing efforts.

"My dad would bring tons of them home. If he still had those cels now, we'd all be retired!" said Blanc, who sold part of his father's collection of cels to Steinberg.

Vintage animation was all but dismissed in the art world until 1984, when a longtime Disney animator auctioned off pieces he had taken home with him over the years. "Disney tried to intervene and get control of the works," said John Altyn, animation art historian and gallery curator, "But the artist had a signed note from the head animator saying he could have the drawings."

Steinberg, meanwhile, was looking to get out of the leather business when he happened to hear about animation art. He began researching and collecting -- eventually opening the gallery in 1991. Today, Great American is believed to have amassed the largest public collection.

The gallery buys art from the original animators who took their work home, as well as other studio employees and collectors. Steinberg assesses the value of the pieces he comes across, based on his expertise. Margins vary according to the price paid and the quality and the rarity of the work.

"We've been in business long enough that I can look at a piece and know what its worth," he said. "And if it's coming from one of the major studios -- Hanna-Barbera, Disney or Warner Bros. -- that makes a difference."

Most of the sales come from repeat customers. Some look for villains or princesses; others are into favorite characters, like Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse.

"The great thing about dealing with them is their vast knowledge across the board, from the earliest and the rarest to limited editions," said Peter Merolo, who has collected animation art for 20 years. "Knowing it's the largest collection in the country, you feel confident because sometimes you spend a lot of money on these pieces."

The pieces, which range from $200 to six figures, appear to be holding their value, despite the unsettled economy. "It has not dropped off at all, especially now that really good vintage pieces are getting harder and harder to come by," said Jim Lentz of Animation Art, an online art seller with a gallery in Boca Raton, Fla.

In a way, though, that's creating a dilemma for Great American. With many of the original cels now owned by private collectors, Great American Ink is looking to grow its "Limited Edition" business, which makes up to 30 percent of revenue. This is comprised of hand-painted versions of classic cartoon scenes, like the witch handing Snow White an apple. These pieces can sell for up to a few thousand dollars.

Gallery Director Sally Walsh explains that the availability of the originals has narrowed. "We always had five or six Snow White cells on hand, now I don't think we even have one," she said. "There's not enough original art, so we'll have limited edition pieces for down the road."

RELATED ARTICLE: PROFILE

Great American Ink

Year Founded: 1991

Core Business: Collecting and selling vintage animation art.

Revenues in 2001: $4.5 million

Revenues in 2002: $4.1 million

Employees in 2001: 14

Employees in 2002: 15

Goal: To become the premier animation art gallery in the world.

Driving Force: Keeping a rare art form alive.