Mark Sonntag was kind enough to send me recently those marvelous photos of Walt visiting the house of author Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island) in 1949. According to the Getty Images website the date was October 15, 1949, but I am still trying to confirm the month and the day.

Along with Marty Sklar's new book, I received last week an advance copy of Kevin Rafferty's Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career. While Marty's book is a light read, which makes you wish for more, Kevin's is a dense and fascinating story which makes you feel that he shared all of his best memories from his career at Imagineering. And the book is heavily illustrated with artwork and photographs, including one of Walt which I had never seen before.

If you are interested in the recent history of Imagineering this book should not be missed!

I hope that Kevin's colleague, Tony Baxter, will soon write a similar volume... or several.

At the beginning of last year, at the Annie Awards ceremony, the wonderful Russi Taylor was the one who introduced me to the audience. I can't believe that she is gone. This is a very sad day. R.I.P. Russi.

I have just received a review copy of Travels with Figment, Marty Sklar's last book and I absolutely love it.

While the book is a little bit too short, since Marty passed away way too early, it is also full of stories that I had never heard before. In addition, Marty relies a lot more on his own memories in this book than in the previous one, which is a relief and he focuses a lot on his recollections about the creation of EPCOT, a subject that, in itself would deserve a full book. To top it off, the editors have included a large number of color illustrations (Sklar-related memorabilia).

This book is a treasure trove and, from my standpoint, a "must-have."

D23 EXPO ANNOUNCEMENT - PART 3 - ARCHIVES STAGE

And here is the third and final announcement regarding the HHA Expo. Several Hyperion Historical Alliance members will be giving presentations on the Disney Archives stage during the Expo.

Here is the schedule:

Paula Sigman-Lowery, Mindy Johnson and myself will be presenting the work of the HHA and some of its most exciting discoveries on Saturday, August 24 from 10:00AM to 11:00AM.

JB Kaufman will discuss the making of Fun and Fancy Free on Saturday, August 24 from 1:30PM to 2:30PM.

Jeremy Marx will talk about Ken Anderson's 1957 Haunted House on Saturday, August 24 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM.

Todd James Pierce and Joe Campana will discuss Disneyland '59 on Sunday, August 25 from 5:30PM to 6:30PM.

I was interviewed last week by Mousetalgia about the upcoming They Drew as They Pleased - The Hidden Art of Disney's Early Renaissance. I believe most of you will enjoy listening to the interview.

WALT'S PEOPLE INDEXED!

I have more good news today.

The publication of the Walt's People book series began in 2004. This is an ongoing series, which, at the time of this writing, is already thousands of pages long. An index was sorely needed.

It took close to fourteen years for a good solution to be found. Thanks to Harald Nast and the DIX project we are finally able to search all volumes in the series. This tool is one that I had been wishing for since the series was launched. I encourage you to start your search. Welcome to the wonderful world of Walt's People!

Only two weeks before the released of the 5th volume of They Drew as They Pleased. Some of you may enjoy the interview I just gave to Animated Views.

D23 EXPO ANNOUNCEMENT - PART 2 - AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS

[Note: Mindy Johnson's autograph sessions have been updated.]

On the Hyperion Historical Alliance / Ryman Arts booth (308E), we are organizing autograph sessions.

A limited number of The Making of Walt Disney's Fun and Fancy Free monograph will be available for sale, as well as a limited number of 2019 HHA Annual and a very limited number of the 5th volume of They Drew as They Pleased.

Here is the schedule of the autograph sessions on the booth:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23

Didier Ghez: 3:00PM to 4:00PM
JB Kaufman: 5:00PM to 6:00PM

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
       
Todd James Pierce and Didier Ghez: 11:30PM to 12:30PM
JB Kaufman: 4:00PM to 5:00PM
Didier Ghez: 5:00PM to 6:00PM
Mindy Johnson: 6:00PM to 7:00PM

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
       
Todd James Pierce and Didier Ghez: 12:00PM to 1:00PM
Mindy Johnson: 2:00PM to 3:00PM
Didier Ghez: 3:00PM to 4:00PM
JB Kaufman: 4:00PM to 5:00PM

Pease spread the word.

Please note that only the new Fun and Fancy Free monograph, the 2019 HHA Annual and the 5th volume of They Drew as They Pleased will be sold on the booth. For all other publications that you want the authors to sign, please bring your own books.

D23 EXPO ANNOUNCEMENT - PART 1

There is so much good news to communicate that I almost do not know where to start.

As you know, a few months ago an official non-profit association dedicated to the preservation of Disney History, the Hyperion Historical Alliance (HHA), released its first publication, the 2019 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual. I serve as president of the HHA.

I am glad to announce that the HHA is now ready to launch its hard-cover monograph series.

The first volume in the series will be released in exclusivity at D23 Expo (it will become available on Amazon.com and at StuartNgBooks.com a month later). This first monograph is a hard-cover, 148-page-long, full-color, heavily-illustrated publication written by JB Kaufman about The Making of Walt Disney's Fun and Fancy Free and released with the authorization of The Walt Disney Company. You are seeing its cover for the very first time!

Most of the illustrations that this monograph contains have never been seen before in book form. I have a feeling that most of you will be blown away by it. And at $30, we have kept the cost very low (this is the beauty of being a non-profit).

It took close to ten years to make this monograph project a reality. This is really a major achievement.

The HHA will have a booth at D23 Expo, shared with Ryman Arts. The first monograph as well as the 2019 Annual will be available for all of you to purchase on the booth. Only a few limited copies will be available at the Expo.

There is a lot more to share regarding HHA's presence at the Expo, by the way: our members will give talks on the Disney Archives stage, we are planning some autograph sessions at the booth, etc.

I will mention all of this in upcoming announcements.

In the meantime, just remember: The booth number is 308E and if you want to support the HHA and its efforts or keep updated about future publications, check out HHAPress.org. More soon. 

COUNTDOWN

Just a few more weeks until the release of the fifth volume of They Drew as They Pleased on August 6!

Just a few more days before some exciting announcements regarding the first Hyperion Historical Alliance monograph and the schedule of autograph sessions at the D23 Expo.

Stay tuned!

Would anyone know where / how I could buy a copy of this German exhibition catalog?

This exciting news just in from Don Ballard:

[My 1960s book is with a graphics designer doing layout and cover design. I am hoping to have it out by early September. Todd James Pierce is writing the foreword for it. The cover may change.]

GET AMAZON TO SUPPORT DISNEY HISTORY PRESERVATION

Dear all, I suspect that many of you shop on Amazon. I just realized that there is a way to get Amazon to support the preservation of Disney history.

As you know, a few months ago an official non-profit association dedicated to the preservation of Disney History, the Hyperion Historical Alliance, released its first publication, the 2019 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual (HHA). I serve as president of the HHA.

This is only the start of a very ambitious publication project. The next publication will be a 148-page long, full-color, heavily illustrated monograph by JB Kaufman about The Making of Walt Disney's Fun and Fancy Free.

We should be able to share more about that upcoming monograph very soon.

In the meantime, there is an easy way for all of you to force Amazon to help financially all those projects. If you go to smile.amazon.com, Amazon will ask you to select a non-profit association that you want to help. If you select the Hyperion Historical Alliance, AT NOT COST TO YOU, Amazon will give 0.5% of the purchase price of most of the items you purchase to the HHA! If enough of us do this, this can add up quickly.

By the way, here is a page which gives some basic info about the HHA publication projects: hhapress.org

I am really curious about this book which will be released by publisher Scribner in November of this year...

I just received a physical copy of Jim Korkis' new book and absolutely loved it. If you are a fan of Disneyland's past attractions, stores and restaurants, this book is definitely for you. Congratulations Jim!