The new Disney Twenty-Three magazine is out and it contains two great articles worth pointing out: A four-page one about JB Kaufman's new book about Fantasia and another four-page one by Steven Vagnini and Kevin Kern titled "Dear Aunt Jessie" which features some marvelous historical material that was brand-new to me.

The new Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual has just been released and I believe you will want to pick up your copy right away!

The 2023 HHA Annual is the fourth in a series of publications featuring in-depth articles on Disney history-related subjects authored by members of this professional association. This edition's articles include:

• "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.

The latest issue of the magazine Disney Twenty-Three contains an excellent article about Disney's True-Life Adventures, which, I am glad to say, mentions my new monograph The Origins of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures.

Not sure if this special issue of Life magazine is worth picking up, but I thought I would give you a heads up about its release.

An FYI from Andreas Deja for Disney history enthusiasts in France.
 

The first two years of the pandemic slowed things down... a lot. But they did not stop Disney research in its tracks. In fact, in 2020 and 2021 I had the opportunity of focusing on many projects that I would not have thought of tackling in normal times (more about these revolutionary projects in a few days).

With companies and other institutions finally reopening, several projects that had been on hold are finally seeing the light of day. I will be sharing a lot of good news over the next few days...

Starting with the fact that the new Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual has just been approved for release and should be available on Amazon by early July.

I have to admit that I am very, very proud of its content. We are covering a lot of new ground in this issue and the level of scholarly research is astounding. All the essays are also very fun to read, of course.

I have a feeling you will really enjoy this new issue of the HHA Annual.

I realized a few days ago that, in the 1930s and the 1940s, the magazine Collier's contained a lot of special artwork created for it by the Disney Studios. I still have a lot to explore on this new trail, but here is a first example from an issue dated June 30, 1934. 

 

I am looking forward to reading this new issue of Disney Twenty-Three.

Not sure what this new publication is worth but it looks very interesting. I will get my copy very soon.

The Baum Bugle, the research journal of the International Wizard of Oz Club has just released a heavily-illustrated special issue celebrating 35 years of Disney's Return to Oz. One of the great articles this issue contains (among many others) is an interview with Production Designer Harley Jessup by Disney Archivist Kevin Kern. 

The Baum Bugle is normally only available to members of the International Wizard of Oz Club (to find out more, follow this link).

Fortunately, the International Wizard of Oz Club has a very, very limited number of copies (no more than 25 I believe) that they have agreed to sell to readers of the Disney History blog and to members of the Disney History Institute Facebook page.

The cost is $15 apiece, including postage to US addresses, and interested buyers need to make a PayPal transfer directly to admin@ozclub.org.

The Hyperion Historical Alliance (HHA) has some great news to announce today!

The latest issue of the HHA Annual has finally been released. You can order it at this link on Amazon.

If you like to read very in-depth essays by vetted Disney historians about little know aspects of Disney history, you should not miss this issue of the Annual (nor the previous one). I believe you will love it.

Please spread the word!

I failed to get this wonderful item on eBay yesterday. Did one of you buy it? If so, would you be willing to send me a good scan? My email address is didier.ghez@gmail.com

The Hyperion Historical Alliance is in the process of finalizing the 2020 Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual. Click on the image to get a sense of the outstanding content that we have in store for that issue.

I will let you know in a few weeks when it becomes available for purchase on Amazon.

Do any of you have access to a large amount of 1930s issues of the rare magazine Playthings? 

If so, could you send me a note at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I need your help with some research. Many thanks in advance.

The new issue of Disney Twenty-Three will be released soon and I am especially looking forward to the article about Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic, an exhibition of more than 400 treasures opening this March at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.

I have been working in recent days on an in-depth essay about, Grace Huntington, the second woman to join Disney's Story Department. I am extremely proud of that essay which covers a lot of new ground and which will be released next year in the second volume of the Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual.

For those of you who have yet to pick up the first HHA Annual, it is still available on Amazon and contains some really in-depth essays exploring a large variety of fascinating Disney-history-related topics. From my standpoint (I am not the most objective observer, of course) this is Disney history at its best.

Speaking of which: you will notice that I try to review or promote all the relevant Disney history books that are released. You will also notice, from time to time, that I specifically avoid mentioning a few books. Usually when I ignore them it means that they do not meet bare minimum of quality standards when it comes to Disney history, This is especially the case for books that present themselves as "non-fiction" and end up being "historical fiction."

Thankfully there are not too many of those and there are enough well-researched, reliable new Disney history books that I still have my work cut-out for me for years to come.

For those of you who wonder how you can order this special issue of the magazine / newsletter Manuscripts, I just got the following information:

Copies can be purchased for $7 each including postage. Paypal to Sands.Manuscript@protonmail.com or check/mo to The Manuscript Society, PO Box 13349, Overland Park, KS 66282

The first Hyperion Historical Alliance Annual has just been released. It contains in-depth essays about Disney history by Jim Hollifield, Garry Apgar, Todd James Pierce, Lucas Seastrom, Dave Bossert, and your truly.

If you care as much about Disney history as I do, this new magazine is a must have. Note that it is not heavily illustrated. If you buy it, you will do so to read extremely accurate and detailed essays about little-know aspects of Disney history. I have a feeling that quite a few of you will thoroughly enjoy it.

If someone had told me that one day I would be quoted in a sports magazine, I would have laughed out loud! Context, however, is everything, which explains why I could not resist contributing to this special issue of L'Equipe Magazine at the request of my friend and fellow Disney historian Sebastien Durand...

This just in:

[The Walt Disney Co. continues to fete the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse through a partnership with Chaos Magazine.

The deal saw Chaos Magazine release a special-edition “True Originals” issue that pairs Mickey Mouse with some of fashion’s top models including Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Karen Elson, Cara Taylor, Vittoria Ceretti and Shenelle Williams. The magazine will be on newsstands Dec. 3.]