Old Snapshots, 1965-ish
A while ago, somebody put a group of old snapshots/photo prints on eBay. They weren't particularly remarkable - except for one. This first one! It's the only shot I've ever seen taken inside the short-lived "Fashion and Fabrics Through the Ages" exhibit in Tomorrowland (1965-66). This exhibit was an odd fit for Tomorrowland, but that's how it went sometimes. The dress on the mannequin to our left was worn by the wife (Lucretia!) of President James A. Garfield (the 20th President of the USA) at his inauguration, while I believe that the dress seen to the right was one worn by the wife (presumably Julia Gardiner Tyler, wife #2) of John Tyler, the 10th President.
Back in 2018, I shared scans of the souvenir flyer/brochure thingy, check it out HERE.
As I said, the rest of the photos are not that inspiring, but I scanned them, so you are stuck with them! I should add that I originally thought that all of them were from 1965, but realized that the lot contained photos from a number of visits, so it's hard to say for sure when any particular image was taken.
Here's a fella posing with the good old Monsanto House of the Future, it almost looks to be hovering above the green shrubbery. Shrubbery!
Next, a somewhat interesting view taken from the Swiss Family Treehouse, looking down upon the Rivers of the World and a single jungle launch as it passed a ruined temple guarded by chocodiles. Note the red leaves of the tree in the foreground - red from BLOOD.
Stay tuned for more scans from this batch of snapshots.
14 comments:
Major-
"Fashions and Fabrics Through the Ages" - Tomorrowland really was screaming for a 'refresh' back then - and unlike today's poor excuses for "refreshes" - in 1967 it got one hellava 'refresh'-!
Reviewing my comment from 2018, I was about to 86 my entire wardrobe that wasn't 'as new as tomorrow'. I can see by opening my closet door no such purging took place, and as such can still be seen walking the streets dressed as a dandy. Or maybe it's closer to a hobo-?
Thanks, Major.
The Monsanto fashions exhibit really was showcasing Monsanto’s ( NEW) wear dated fabrics. And in the exit of Adventure Thru Inner Space MOST of the “Miracles From Molecules” exhibit was also focused on clothing fabrics . In fact the ATOMOBILES had guests exit after a spin around the MONSANTO FASHION FOUNTAIN!! Despite people’s political feelings on Monsanto … they’d be at a real loss without Monsanto’s research in synthetic fabrics …and don’t get me started about CLEAR PLASTIC MEAT TRAYS!!!
I forgot to mention : the clothing exhibited in Fashion Thru The Ages was actually detailed replicas and NOT the actual clothing artifacts but with artful wording it gave guests the impression they were viewing the original vintage clothing.
Monsanto did a lot of good things, despite an occasional foray into sad missteps..!
Thank Ye Major...
Funny how the back of Mrs. Garfield's dress is a different color than the front. That must've been a thing back then. Hey, we have a street in our town named after President Garfield. What are the odds? ;-) And Tyler too! (You have to say that using Glinda the Good Witch's voice.)
"Shrubbery!" And look, there's a path in the middle giving it a two-layer effect! The size of the man makes the HotF look smaller than usual.
Kind of a neat shot, looking at the Jungle Cruise through the Treehouse leaves. So, how did the leaves get bloody? Maybe the crocs are really messy when they're 'death rolling' their 'food', and the leaves get spattered with blood.
Not as clear as 35mm slides, but nice just the same. Thanks, Major.
Major, congratulations on your rare photo find! I still think it's an odd fit for Tomorrowland.....the historic fashions part, not any part dealing with new or future fabrics. Like I said back in 2018, if they did this exhibit today, they could use animatronic figures. They could crank out a bunch of RoboWalts (maybe without the mustaches) and have them model the costumes.
Thanks, Major!
Wow....who knew? I must have missed the 2018 post, but this is my first experience with this exhibit: and I'm super impressed as I've never seen anything ever written or published about it. Here's some interesting analytics: the Mrs. Garfield dress is as old as the woman's clothing with piled on hairdo (kind of Gibson girl actually...) today. So we are experiencing the same experience as her: many decades later. Deep thoughts. President Garfield had a short term in office and a short life. Although he looked much older (to me anyway) he was only 50 when he was assassinated. He is memorialized in the botany world by the President Garfield Tomato...one of the first ever "named" tomatoes and a true heirloom from 1884. I planted them too late this year, so the plant never came to fruition....so: next year. The tomato apparently is very "tomato-y" and tasty, and the plant grew very healthy until I just pulled it out a few days ago. I'd like to know where those Monsanto costumes went: probably used pieces and parts for other things...same thing with all the pieces and parts in the House of the Future...where is all THAT stuff? The Jungle Cruise/Treehouse photo is also pretty significant: due to showing the Treehouse leaves in a very close-up way. Missing the often spoke about, but never actually seen very often: "blossoms": which in 1984 was still in the Tour Guide spiel: no guest ever said "where ARE the blossoms?" and in my first day orientation the University Leader said that there was a big windstorm that blew them all off. In any case, it's really interesting to see this vintage photo of the leaves: where each one is a little different and the shape is nothing like what came to be years later: which came to be more waxy and green and round. Old photos of the treehouse in it's infancy always looked kind of "warm"....and now I see why! The REAL tree in Tobago (still standing albeit a bit damaged) is very green looking....so perhaps they scrapped the warm for a more authentic look (?) A future trip to Tobago is very much on my bucket list: although it seems I was there before as a 4 year old.....my only memory is being miserably HOT and complaining about it. Thanks for the posting the older post as well: it seems like these photos belong in a historic book! Thanks for the very interesting morning Major.
Well, you know what they say, "To understand the future, one must see replicas of old presidents' wives' dresses." Not catchy, or even particularly true. Maybe that's why they only said it once.
Yes, JB, those crocs make a smoothy blender look like a taffy puller. The analogy works, trust me.
Old dresses in Tomorrowland? This must be the "contradictions" John Hench was so keen on avoiding. Elegant Renalda here knows her stuff though and is thrilled at the colors and textures on display...highlight of her day at Disneyland.
MS
The Fashions photo reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode with Anne Francis locked overnight in a department store -----" Marcia! ". One of the biggest jump scares the TZ perpetrated. The whole pic looks ghostly, as the bone- white ladies would be at home waltzing in the Haunted Mansion, and the sign behind Lucretia is shaped like a tombstone.
Publicity tells us that every leaf on The Swiss Family Treehouse was applied by hand. That's a lot of duct tape.
More of the Hard Facts That Built America, complicated clothing. Major, I’m glad you scored such a rare view. Reminds me of the clothing museum in Bath Spa in England, showcasing the garb of the Upper Crust over there.
I remember reading that the original Star Trek costume fabrics were difficult to sew and care for, resulting in the “Tunic Tug” that is occasionally evident in the acting. Maybe the Future isn’t all it is cracked up to be. And then those modern fabrics gave way to the Natural Fabric trend. Go figure.
The HOF appears to float in the garden like a UFO, while Roger the Shrubber fixes his gaze in the mid-distance. A bit fuzzy, but a good view all the same.
The JC pic is a dead match for that shot in the iconic Nat Geo article. I wonder if our photographer had that in mind while framing the photo? The boat is even nearly the same position.
An unusual grouping today, Major. Thanks and congrats again.
JG
Nanook, I don’t know how I would have felt about “Fashion and Fabrics Through the Ages” had I seen it in 1965, but today I think I would find it interesting! Maybe not something for repeat visits though. A new wardrobe? I swear I have shirts in my closet that are 20 years old!
Mike Cozart, yes, in my older post I go into the “miracle fabrics” that were on display, so the exhibit did make sense in that regard. The antique gowns are museum-worthy, but feel more like “Hey, we can get them for the exhibit, so why the heck not??”. I remember the post-show of Adventure Thru Inner Space, and some of the mannequins sporting clothes made with the latest synthetic fibers.
Mike Cozart, replicas make much more sense, but yes, I really did get the impression that they were displaying the genuine antiques.
Anonymous, yes, for the last several decades, “Monsanto” was a bad word. I still remember the main character in Chris Elliott’s “Eagleheart” was named “Chris Monsanto”, the hero who happens to have the name of one of the most-despised companies. It made me laugh!
JB, all of my clothes are different colors on the front vs. the back, it’s all a part of my plan. What is my plan? I can’t tell you! I should have been much more excited to see a photo of the two-layer effect of the shrubbery, but I didn’t know how lucky I was. The blood in the Treehouse’s leaves was absorbed by the root system. Science!
TokyoMagic!, they could have animatronic Walt wearing outfits from every decade. I want to see “Punk Rock Walt”!
Bu, I can’t believe you missed the 2018 post, and don’t know if I can forgive you (OK, I can). F&FTTA is pretty obscure, I have the feeling that you could show that photo to quite a few Disneyland nerds and most would not have a clue that it was from an exhibit that had once been in the park. So I was the right guy to own it! I’ve seen a lot of people who look considerably older than their years, and conversely, have seen some who look much younger. Does it have to do with lifestyle? Or is it just dumb luck? Or both? Years ago, I saw an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, it had actual clothing belonging to men and women, some going back hundreds of years, it was pretty amazing. I remember thinking that sunlight was indirectly hitting some of the cloth, which made me anxious. Sunlight is bad for cloth. People sure were tiny back then, and of course most of the outfits belonged to very wealthy folks, so they were nicer than what most people wore. I sure didn’t know that there was a President Garfield tomato. All Presidents should have a variety of fruit named after them. I think I remember you mentioning the blossoms on the Treehouse blowing off in a storm once before. If you look at the attraction poster, it definitely shows that the tree was flowering. It’s cool that the real tree is still standing in Tobago!
Stu29573, that has always been one of my favorite sayings, if I remember correctly it was Mark Twain who made the observation. Or was it Kurt Vonnegut? Some guy with a mustache, anyway, and that’s what is important.
MS, I can just imagine Monsanto (the sponsor of several legendary Disneyland exhibits) wielding their influence; money talks! Still, guests didn’t have to visit it if they didn’t want to, so no harm done. I don’t know if it was short-lived because it was unpopular, or if it was removed as part of the “New Tomorrowland” redo.
Stefano, there are many great Twilight Zone episodes, but “The After Hours” is one that everyone remembers! And somehow the picture really does remind me of the ballroom scene in the Haunted Mansion. Hey, how DID they apply those leaves anyway?
JG, Bath Spa? There’s nothing I love more than a long bubble bath! (Actually baths are a waste of time. Just put me in front of a firehose). I have the feeling that the Star Trek constume’s form-fitting style was at least part of the need for “tunic tug”. But the futuristic fabrics probably didn’t help. I’ve always loved the look of the House of the Future, but apparently regular people want a regular-looking home, not a giant mushroom. Hmm, I’ll have to dig out my NatGeo issue, I don’t remember it having a photo from the Treehouse!
Wow, I didn't know Monsanto FFTA was so memory-holed! When I finally sort through my family's old boxes of snapshots yet again, I'll see if there's any examples amongst all the many other DL pics.
I've of course seen many references to this "attraction" in Tomorrowland, but as an eleven year old lad in 1965 I definitely wouldn't have been interested in seeing it -- or learning anything about it -- on our annual visit (!)
Thanks, Major!
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