Airplanes

Many of you know that I am fond of photos of vintage aircraft, particularly when they are on the tarmac at an airport. I can't explain it! But I always enjoy finding a good picture from somebody's trip, some 50 or 60 years ago. The first two scans (from the 1950s) show a BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) 377(?) Boeing Stratocruiser, I believe. Location unknown. Wikipedia says the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced for its day; its relatively innovative features (though neither completely new) included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.

It looks like folks are preparing to board, but first, why not stop and wave at the camera? These were the days when people dressed up to fly, as evidenced by the elegant woman to the right.  

Next is this 1950s photo of what I believe is a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, location unknown (as usual) - if this is indeed a DC-3, I am surprised, since those planes were already somewhat obsolete by the 1950s.

Capital Airlines! Capital Airlines was an airline serving the eastern, southern, southeastern, and midwestern United States. Capital's headquarters were located at Washington National Airport (now Reagan Washington National Airport) across the Potomac river from Washington, D.C.; In the 1950s Capital was the fifth largest United States domestic carrier by passenger count (and sometimes by passenger-miles) after the Big Four air carriers (American, United, TWA, and Eastern). Capital merged with United Airlines in 1961.

I hope you have enjoyed today's vintage aircraft!

Disneyland Hotel, July, 1961

I have two very nice photos from the Disneyland Hotel, circa 1961. The ads told us that it was THE WORLD'S MOST EXCITING HOTEL! And who am I to contradict them? 

For one thing, they had a Monorail passing through by '61, and that's pretty amazing - even now. There's the Mark II "Big Red" Monorail waiting at the station. BUBBLE DOME! The world was better when vehicles had bubble domes. There is a bevy of white/beige cars, a certain Junior Gorilla might be able to ID them. I'm especially digging the tail fins on the beauty in the middle!

I don't know why, but it has always amused me that the Disneyland Hotel's main restaurant was called "Le Gourmet". "The Squat and Gobble" was already taken, admittedly. We get a good look at the pierced beams that lend this old part of the Hotel so much of its mid-century charm. And oh yeah, more cars!

 

The 4th

Happy Fourth of July! I didn't think I had anything appropriate for this day - certainly nothing Disneyland-related; but I did have some scans of some vintage parades that felt patriotic. So that's what I chose. 

This first one is undated - I am tempted to say that it is from the 1940s, but that is a bit of wishful thinking, admittedly. It's probably from the 1950s - "location unknown". Maybe Wisconsin (I can't really read the plaque above the red, white, and blue arch, but it ends with "WIS")? A pretty young woman in pink satin sits on the throne, the Queen of the Parade, says I. 

The next two are from a parade, circa 1947 - 77 years ago. This float is pretty darn patriotic, with red, white, and blue foil, Old Glory, and a woman who probably represents Lady Liberty. The spiky hat gives it away. I wish I knew where this parade was! 

Same parade, another float - this time we have a large globe of the planet Urf, and the flags o' the world. Walt Disney would have approved. The 48-star flag is just a little bit higher than the rest, don't you worry! I feel like this might have been a salute to the United Nations, or perhaps just a nod to global unity after WWII.

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July!

Disneyland Hotel Child's Menu 1957

I've been scanning more vintage Disneyland items, and I'm sharing a good one today!

"What the heck is it?". Well, if you read the title of today's post, you already know - it's a scarce child's menu from the Disneyland Hotel, circa 1957. The cover illustration shows a stylized (very mid-century) Mark Twain, but otherwise it does not indicate what's inside. 

Unfolding the item, we see the selection of items - as with other early children's menus, it's surprising to see fillet of sole, roast turkey, a lamb chop (with mint jelly!), and so on. At least there is pasketti or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for those very picky eaters. But there are no chicken nuggets, no pizza, not even a humble grilled cheese sandwich.

The menu was brought to you by the makers of Pablum, a Disneyland lessee in those early years - and that means that they have specialties for very young guests, or for very weird older guests. As usual, I am amused by "Junior Beef", which should have been my blogger name. But alas, it's too late now. The back panel of the menu shows that it is a mailable item (place a 3¢ stamp in the box), while the other panel shows a simple map of the park, and a microscopic map of the SoCal freeways.

And now, something for the true nerds (and that includes me, of course) - a variation! This menu can fetch pretty high prices, but I managed to acquire a second one at a bargain, only to discover that the layout is a little bit different. The prices are all the same, and it still has the 1957 date on it, so I'm not really sure why there are two versions.

And here's side two comparing the two versions. Collect 'em all!

Stuff From the Box

We haven't explored the contents of THE BOX for six weeks or so - let's get back into it!

First up is this small enameled pin for Bosch Radios - presumably worn by a salesperson. Bosch is a German conglomerate. From Germany! I don't know when this pin was used, or anything else about it, to be honest. I think the device below "Bosch Radio" is supposed to be an old-fashioned microphone. Anyway, I like it because it harkens back to the days when radio was such an important part of people's lives.

Next is this tiny pin from Capitol Records. As a kid I have memories of watching my older brother's Beatles albums spinning around on the turntable, with the purple Capitol Records label; that combined with seeing the famous Capitol building in Hollywood made me fond of the company! Weird, I know. This pin is not much more than .5" in diameter; and like the Bosch pin, I don't really know too much about it. 

I hope this photo didn't frighten you too much! There's nothing to be afraid of, Casper is a friendly ghost, after all. I never really loved Casper's cartoons, but I find his design to be very appealing.This plastic ring (dispensed from gum ball machines, I believe) is the cat's meow!

Another tchotchke that I enjoy is the humble tin-litho badge with the fold-over tab. This Foremost Tastemark Dairy example is particularly nice; it has a Pacific Northwest look, with the stylized totem pole,  though I don't know why. Perhaps they had a factory in the Seattle area?

Howsabout this swell Special Counterspy Junior Agent badge? It's from 1949, from a radio program sponsored by Pepsi Cola. The portrait shows Agent David Harding, and apparently it once glowed in the dark, though it no longer does so. Notice that you could access a sliding panel in the back and add your own picture if you wanted.

Like so!

And finally, here's another plastic ring, this time from Wonder Bread. The squishiest bread of all! So soft, so pillowy, so apt to stick to the roof of your mouth. It was fortified with vitamins and minerals, too. I believe that the cartoon loaf of bread was known as Freddy the Fresh Loaf, but he might have changed his name to avoid The Mob.

STAY TUNED for more STUFF FROM THE BOX!

Arlene, 1956

Today we get to hang out with a nice woman named Arlene, who visited Disneyland with her husband in 1956. They were not yet encumbered with kids

This first one is from late in the afternoon, you can see that the sun is very much to the west; Arlene is in the lower part of the picture, with her blonde hair and blue dress. A little girl to the left has her Mouseketeer t-shirt on, The Mickey Mouse Club was presumably still in its first-run on TV. There's also an earless blue balloon, which just feels wrong.  

Earlier in the day, Arlene took in the Rivers of the World and the Jungle Cruise dock, bustling with activity - one boat is just about ready to depart, while another is coming around the bend with most of its passengers still on board. I'm always fascinated by the ever-changing costumes of the CMs who worked the Jungle Cruise. Above the tropical plants, the tops of Main Street buildings can be seen.