Interesting discoveries about Disney history, vintage Disneyana, Disney artwork, the Walt's People book series, and new books about Disney.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Thursday, May 09, 2024
I had the pleasure of being interviewed recently by Dave Lee and really enjoyed that program / podcast. You can listen to it and watch it at this link.
Monday, April 22, 2024
And we have liftoff! After months of hard work, Walt’s People: Volume 29 has just been released.
This volume features the interviews conducted by historian Ross Care with Ken Anderson, Art Babbitt, Lee and Mary Blair, Claude Coats, Ken Darby, Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Gerry Geronimi, Jack Hannah, Duck Huemer, Wilfred Jackson, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Bill Peet, Frank Thomas, and Judge Whitaker.
Please buy it as soon as you can. I really hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
Friday, April 19, 2024
From October 10 to November 14, 1931 Walt and Lillian Disney embarked on a vacation that took them to the Grand Canyon, St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, Washington D.C., Miami and Cuba. They sailed back home on the liner California by way of the Panama Canal. While in Kansas City, Walt received the Legion of Honor from the Order of De Molay.
In both St. Louis and Washington D.C. he visited the local zoo. This photo and this article are related to his visit to Washington. Enjoy!
Friday, April 12, 2024
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
G. Michael Dobbs' new book has just been released. Not Disney-related but I know that all of you will want to know about it, hence this post.
Monday, April 01, 2024
Friday, March 29, 2024
Michael Crawford has started uploading his collection of Disney-related documents on the Internet Archive. Some wonderful stuff in there at this link.
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Author Joe Gallagher was kind enough to send me a copy of his new book A Walking Tour of the Magic Kingdom. Like Tim Foster's books it is an excellent entry point to Disney history for casual Disney enthusiasts. Beautifully illustrated, it is divided into three sections:
"Tours" (of the various lands), "Facts by Year" (my favorite section) and "Slightly Impossible Quiz" (to test your knowledge of course).
Again, not a book for historians but a fantastic gift for casual fans who want to know a lot more. I am glad to own a copy.
Friday, March 22, 2024
For those of you who have friends and family who love Disney history and want to learn more without becoming Disney historians... for the casual Disney fans who want to discover a little more about the history of the parks while enjoying beautiful Disney-related illustrations... I have something for you:
I just discovered the magazine "Celebrations" as well as the books written by Tim Foster and really liked them. Like books by my good friend Jim Fanning they provide the perfect introduction to Disney magic. I wish these books had been available when I was a kid or a teenager starting to learn about the wonderful world of Disney!
Thursday, March 21, 2024
The Indigogo campaign is worth supporting if you can do so.
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
I can't wait to put my hands on the upcoming book Walt Disney Treasures: Personal Art and Artifacts from The Walt Disney Family Museum which is now available for pre-order on Amazon!
(The above is Walt's hat cast in bronze and gifted to Lilly.)
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Reposting this
I suspect that one of you picked up those exceptional documents pertaining to Bill Tytla in the the auction by Heritage back in December.
If that is the case, could you please, please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I would love to get access to some of the info they contain and have some incentives that you may like to motivate you. Thanks in advance.
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Thursday, January 18, 2024
I am scanning the Larry Lansburgh collection as part of the preservation efforts of the Hyperion Historical Alliance. At the top of the best discoveries of the month: some new never-seen-before photographs of the 1946 trip to Ireland for the making of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," and the diary of Larry Lansburgh from that trip (the pages were hidden in a totally unrelated folder!).
All this trip-related material will be included in the monograph about "The Making of Darby O'Gill and the Little People" that Jim Hollifield and I are writing at the moment for release by the Hyperion Historical Alliance Press in 2025.
As a reminder, if you want to support financially the efforts of the HHA, you can do it at this link.
Friday, January 12, 2024
The other book I am very much looking forward to this year is the autobiography of Bob Weis, Dream Chasing: My Four Decades of Success and Failure with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Coming up in September and finally available for pre-order on Amazon! I am so looking forward to this book by my friends and fellow Disney historians Don Peri and Pete Docter!
Thursday, January 04, 2024
The new Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual has just been released and I believe you will want to pick up your copy right away!
- "Woolie Reitherman Needs to Fly: A Disney Artist Goes to Work," the definitive account of the aeronautical accomplishments and World War II heroism of Disney animator and director Wolfgang "Woolie" Reitherman;
- "Oswald the Laemmle Rabbit," a look at the development and business-related management of the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character in his early years;
- "Walt Disney and The Life of Hans Christian Anderson," a history of the unrealized Disney projects related to the life and creations of the beloved author;
- "1945-46: Edgar Bergen and Disney's Story Department," an exploration of unmade projects that would have featured ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his beloved characters prior to the release of Fun and Fancy Free (1947);
- "Direct from the Islands: The Polynesian Magic of Pete Seanoa," a celebration of the life and career of a live entertainment pioneer whose work at Disneyland coincided with a post-war interest in Polynesian culture.
Tuesday, January 02, 2024
Are you missing back issues of the best Disney history magazine ever, Persistence of Vision? Would you like to pick up signed Disney history books?
Paul F. Anderson has decided to sell part of his collection via the trustworthy store Saturday's Toys.
You can find a list of what is being sold at this link.