This English nursery set from the '30s by Lines Bros. Ltd. was being sold on ebay last week. It is the first time I ever see it in 25 years of collecting.

This just in from Jim Korkis:

[Here is a link to some publica domain Disney newsreels.]

Not sure how I forgot to mention this upcoming book about Maurice Noble by Tod Polson to be released next year by Chronicle Books. Definitely a volume I am looking forward to.

Do not miss today:

- Mickey Mouse’s Cartoon Band by Jerry Beck
- Why For did Phase II of Epcot's World Showcase never get built? by Jim Hill

This just in from Dana Gabbard (through Jim Korkis):

I have finally posted my entry for George Sherman on Wikipedia. His daughter is delighted at the results. Hope you like it.

Do not miss today:

- D23 Expo: Western River Expedition Virtual Ride-Through Video by Alain Littaye
- Disney Rescuers Lost Song Louis Prima SITTIN' IN MY FAVORITE POSITION (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)

I have just received a review copy of the upcoming book Walt Disney Animation Studios The Archive Series: Layout & Background. Like the 3 previous volumes in the series it is a beautiful book filled with fascinating artwork. Like the 3 previous volumes it is a must-have.

But like the 3 previous volumes the book is also slightly frustrating. The fact that close to 50% of the artwork comes from post-1984 movies is to be expected but is nonetheless a bit of an issue for Disney history enthusiasts. The main issue however is the fact that an extremely large amount of the art is not credited to anyone. When we are talking about the early shorts I can understand this to some extent, but when it comes to some of the clearly recognizable layouts and backgrounds from The Aristocats, Jungle Book, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, or even Alice in Wonderland, one wonders how the names of Ken Anderson, Walt Peregoy and Claude Coats are not mentioned. Annoying and slightly shocking.

This being said, should you buy the book? My answer is an unqualified "yes". But this does not erase the frustration.

The Disney Books Network has been updated.

In 1939, DeSoto offered Walt a new car if he would advertise their latest model. At first, Walt did not want to do the advertisement because he did not drive a DeSoto. However, his mother Flora said that she and Walt's dad would like a new car so Walt did do the ads that appeared full sized and in color in LIFE magazine. He gave the car to his folks who loved it.

For years, everyone assumed that there were only two ads: Walt in a suit walking out of his Woking Way house to the car and Walt sitting on a lawn chair while a butler appeared on the other side. Just this week, Disney Historian Jim Korkis uncovered there was a third ad.....Walt with a tennis racket in front of the car. Walt's pants and shoes are the same in all three photos so it is reasonable to assume they may all have been shot the same day in the same general location with Walt just changing his shirt.

"I have never seen this third ad ever before in all my years of collecting which, of course, brings up the question if there is even another version of the ad out there. The text copy in all three ads is exactly the same. Only the picture is different," said Jim. "I wasn't even looking and just stumbled across the ad by accident which is how alot of new Disney history is being discovered these days."

Do not miss today:

- Introducing the Museum's New CEO: Gabriella C. Calicchio!
- How to Capture a Disneyland Dragon by Todd James Pierce
- Aristocats by Andreas Deja
- Ward Kimball and UFOs by Jim Korkis
- The Walt Disney Family Museum and the Incredible Growing Walt! by Tim Callaway

Great news: Don Ballard's new book has now been released and can be ordered here.

This is a new book I will definitely pick up in the near future.

Can you help? Amid Amidi is looking for one episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color that Ward Kimball was heavily involved with: “A Salute to Alaska” (1967).

Do not miss today:

- The Bear that never was by Andreas Deja
- Disney's ARISTOCATS "SHE NEVER FELT ALONE" Eva Gabor RARE "Lost" Demo by Huston Huddleston (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)
- U.S Steel 1971 Disney World Commercial (Thanks to Rob Herdon Jr. for the link)
- TV Guide on Jiminy Cricket (1955) by Jerry Beck
- Kimballana by Amid Amidi
- On e-bay by Mark Sonntag

I am not spending at all at the moment, but if I were I would probably pick up this extremely unusual Spanish or Mexican butter box from the '30s.

Very interesting photo of Roy and the Cinephone trucks being sold at the moment on ebay. Way too expensive though (and that's an understatement).

There is a good article on the subject at this link.

If you do not yet know about the great WEDway Radio site, you should. It is managed by Nate Parrish and his brother and the shows are a real delight. I asked Nate to tell me what he considers as the best shows and he mentioned the following:

[We did a show on the roots of the Tahitian Terrace Restaurant at Disneyland. Its episode 75 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.

We did a show that started a series for Walt Disney Worlds 40th Anniversary back in May. It was episode 72 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.

We did a show on the story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from 1926-2006. It was episode 55 of WEDway Radio. Heres a link to that show.]

Do not miss today:

- EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT Original Demo 1968 Disney Aristocats (Thanks to Jerry Beck for the link)
- Memories of Bob Hope and Disney by Jim Korkis

Unfortunatelly I just heard this weekend from Steven Hartley that artist Del Connell had just passed away. For more information about his life and career, follow this link.

Do not miss today:

- Lost Louis Prima Disney Song by Jerry Beck
- Designing "it's a small world" - The 1964 New York World's Fair by Maxime Bogaert
- Robbie Sherman Talks About His Father, the Sherman Brothers and the Kennedy Center Honors by Tim Callaway

Today is a holiday in Spain. The blog will be updated again tomorrow.

Today we follow President Eisenhower during his visit of Disneyland.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Michael Barrier has posted one more of his interviews.

Do not miss today:

- Corny Cole - An interview by Michael Barrier and Milton Gray

- The Ghost and Yale Gracey by Todd James Pierce
- Prod. UM19 - Giantland by Hans Perk

If you have not yet added Ward Kimball as a friend on Facebook, you are missing many great documents linked to Ward's and Disney's history, like this recently posted photo showing "Ward with Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer, Dan Dailey and Benny Goodman. The photographer? A young Stanley Kubrick."

I owe you an update about the status of Walt's People - Volume 11.

I am glad to say that I received yesterday the cover caricatures and I am proud to announce that starting with Volume 11, none other than John Musker is the artist creating those caricatures.

Volume 11 is absolutely huge (in fact I need to be much more careful in the future regarding each volume's length since I am reaching the limits of what Xlibris can actually release in a single book). It will probably be almost 700-page long and absolutely full of never-released-before material.

I am hoping to get all comments from the contributors by the end of August, which would mean a release date around October if all goes well. Frankly there may be some delays this time around, so I will keep you all updated in the weeks to come.

Do not miss today:

- Jim and the Uncensored Mouse by Jim Korkis
- Walt Before Mickey - a book report by Michael Sporn
- MARY POPPINS AND THE CAPTAIN by Brian Sibley

We have all seen the photo of the big Mickey Mouse from the 1934 Macy's parade. In these two videos we see him getting prepared and then "in action".

Do not miss today:

- Walt in Kansas - 1922 (REDISCOVERED) by Mark Sonntag
- A Color Mickey Mouse Clube Serial? on The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show (Thanks to Jim Korkis for the link)
- The Newsprint Mouse and Duck by Michael Barrier

In 1946 Walt and Lilly travelled to the UK and to Ireland. I have a feeling that you will enjoy this interview conducted when they landed in London. And here they are arriving in Southampton.

Do not miss today:

- For Sale: Rare Disney acetates by Jerry Beck
- THE CARTOGRAPHY OF DISNEYLAND MAPS by Paul F. Anderson
- RICHFIELD SHOW "The World Beneath Us" by Paul F. Anderson

Tour of Walt Disney's Office



This just in thanks to Jim Korkis and Mike Scopa.

Do not miss today:

- Unpublished Photo of Walt in the Gulfstream by Todd James Pierce
- Silent Animation articles by Michael Sporn
- The Disney UFO connection by Grant Cameron

Jim Korkis reminded me yesterday that I had forgotten to mention this newly-released book on the blog. I learned about it a few days ago through a review by Jerry Beck on CartoonBrew and definitely looks like a volume I will soon pick up. Here is what Jerry said about it:

[Funny Pictures: Animation and Comedy in Studio-Era Hollywood (University of California Press), edited by Daniel Goldmark and Charlie Keil, is a fascinating collection of essays by noted animation historians and academics, exploring the link – from the outset of the medium to today – between comedy and animation. Fourteen pieces in all, including J.B. Kaufman comparing Disney’s characters to Chaplin and silent comedians; Mark Langer putting Fleischer’s early films in context to Vaudeville and comic strips of the era; Donald Crafton observing the effect of Hollywood cartoons on Depression era audiences; Linda Simensky on the influences of classic cartoons and earlier animators on the TV cartoon creators of today; and Daniel Goldmark writing about “funny music” in funny cartoons. This one is aimed at the scholarly – but is highly recommended (by me) to all! ]

The new issue of the Twenty Three magazine is now available. I am particularly looking forward to reading the We Say It’s Disney! article by Steven Vagnini.

Do not miss today:

- Designing Main Street USA – Behind the Scenes Footage by Maxime Bogaert
- Lunch at the Disney Family Museum by Jim Korkis

I just received this Serbian comic book from 1952, released by a magazine called Sport (subtitled Yugoslav's Sport Magazine), from Belgrade. The cover is credited to local artist J.Milanovic.

Dot not miss today:

- Walt Disney's Original Animation Stand (Thanks to Vincent Potuto for the link)
- Likely Looney, Mostly Merrie (a new non-Disney blog by Steven Hartley)

I have been spending the last two weeks in a time machine thanks to the online archives of various European newspapers. The most interesting of them all when it comes to Walt, for some unknown reason, is the Spanish daily La Vanguardia. I will quote from it often over the next few weeks.

November 22, 1933: Dr. Henry Niese, right, Argentine Consul presented a diploma to Walt Disney, on behalf of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, in recognition of Disney's film cartoons. Beside being signed by all the directors and professors of the Academy, the diploma contains the signatures of 1,000 graduates of the Institution, many of whom are famous artists throughout South America.

We also learn from La Vanguardia that this is the second such homage that Disney gets from a Latin American country. Earlier that year he received a similar diploma from the Academia Nacional de Artes y Ciencias de la Habana, Cuba.

Do not miss today:

- Here Come The Answers – Part 2 by Todd James Pierce
- FilmFax Plus Magazine - December 2005 on Vintage Disneyland Tickets
- MARY POPPINS (NEARLY) COMES BACK! by Brian Sibley