Saturday, November 12, 2016

Vintage Viewmaster Scans!

Did you ever wake up in the morning, only to discover that you've actually been alseep for two weeks? Well, I feel like a silly goose, but that's what happened to me. So I have to make up for lost time and scan lots of slides for future posts. In the mean time, I have these old scans from vintage Viewmaster reels - just the thing for an "Anything Goes Saturday".

We'll start with this nice shot of the Chemical Wagon, being pulled by two large German Shepherds. Harry Truman likes to ride backwards, and who am I to argue with the heavyweight champ? We've got a cast member to drive the thing, and another to stand at the rear to make animal noises and to hum theme music. 


I love this shot of the Disneyland Police Department - it's one of those rarely-photographed features, being just inside the front gates. People hadn't warmed up their cameras yet. I love the details on the cutest li'l police department ever, especially those painted globes (presumably the word "Police" glowed at night), and the "Lost Children" sign.


The next two images are especially soft - I guess that it wasn't easy to mass produce zillions of stereo photos. In any case, I like this first view showing the Red Wagon Inn. Let's hitch up our horse and go get some grub. Many structures on Main Street are based on real buildings from various cities, I wonder what was used for reference on this one.


And here's another view from a different Main Street Viewmaster set - it seems pretty likely that it was taken around the same time as the previous photo.


5 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-


It's either Harry Truman or the actor John Fiedler - take your pick. I love this shot of the Police Station, as it almost looks as though it's merely a facade.

Thanks, Major.

Chuck said...

If they had left this guy on duty, the Yippee Invasion would have never happened.

Unknown said...

I'm just tickled to see the two women on stilts standing behind the wagon. You just don't see that many people on stilts in Disneyland these days.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, oh it’s definitely Harry Truman. Just look at him; no buck would ever get past him. Plus John Fiedler has less hair?

Chuck, he’d give them a tap on the skull with his billy club and they’d go crying home to mother.

Patrick Devlin, stilts were banned after an accident involving the Skyway, but now that that ride is gone, they are slowly regaining popularity.

Anonymous said...

These make me wish I still had the old Viewmaster... :-(

JG