It's a set of 4 extra long (14 inches) Disneyland MAGIC PENCILS, each with a squishy rubber character head on the end. Two Goofys, a Donald, and a Mickey. While undated, the little graphics on the sides of the pencils include the Rocket to the Moon, so... pre-1966 anyway.
The pencils have 4-color leads. There's a reason why most pencils only have leads of a single color - 4 colors winds up looking like a mess. I used one for a resume, and it was a disaster. "Magic pencils" - more like tragic pencils!
The squishy rubber heads have melted some of the paint off of the adjacent pencils, and oil from the rubber (or plastic) has leeched into the cardboard backing (presumably these originally came in a box, maybe with shrink wrap around them). In spite of these issues, I was still happy to find these in that junky little shop!
When I tried to return to the shop the following year, it had vanished! Well, OK, it was still there, but that's not such a good story.
My favorite childhood Disneyland souvenir! I remember them in vertical bins at the stands, and I always picked one with a Dumbo head. To a five or six year old, they seemed as big as golf clubs!
ReplyDeleteMagic, tragic, and apparently toxic!
ReplyDeleteYep, one to take home every visit. It was fun learning how to use the 4 lead so that it didn't all come out brown. A really fun memory.
ReplyDeletei save lots of stuff like this, too. my daughter collects pencils, she will like this post :-)
ReplyDeleteneat!
Haha I love how '4 colors in one pencil' translates into 'hours of fun.' I mean, just imagine. You're having the time of your life writing, drawing, and sketching with extra long multicolored Disney-headed magic pencils and you look up and realize the day has just flown by! The sun has set, you've missed dinner... now that's some serious fun. Disneyland does NOT mess around.
ReplyDeleteRich T., I think I had a "Magic Pencil" when I was a kid, but I'm not sure it was a DISNEYLAND Magic Pencil. Dumbo head, I've never seen one of those!
ReplyDeleteAnon, I insist upon toxic pencils in case I have to stab a vampire.
Momma Nic, honestly a simple item like this was all it took to make a kid happy.
Nancy, I saw a blog showing somebody's pencil collection, and it was actually kind of neat! Pencils, who knew.
Hannahx2, your comment is hilarious. It's true, Disney managed to make these pencils out to be the best toy ever.
*Looks at the latest discovery in the Souvenir Dungeon*
ReplyDeleteCuriouser and Curiouser...
@ Maj, I have a clutch of those pens with the scene that has some object or vehicle float by when you tilt the pen, remember? They're oold & faded now and I wouldn't think they'd write but I still have them somewhere in my Souvenir Box (I is but a po li'le collector). There's some of Disneyland and WDW. Do you have any of those?
Chiana, I believe people refer to those as "floaties". I think I only have one somewhere (possibly with a Main Street vehicle).... they're lots of fun! Some collectors love 'em too. Depending on the example, they can go anywhere from $10 to $20 on ebay, maybe even higher for an exceptional floaty. I'd love to see photos of the ones you have, but if that's too much of a pain, just describe the floaty scenes!
ReplyDeleteMajor, they sold these individually at the park and as Rich T. pointed out, they were displayed upright in the shops. I have a Pluto and a Mickey and even though the Moonliner graphic is on the side of the pencil, they did sell these well into the '70's (and maybe even the early '80's).
ReplyDeleteI have a bunch of "floaties" too!
Owattona, Minnesota! That's my almost my neck of the woods! Next thing I know you'll be posting a pic of Rochester's corn cob water tower.
ReplyDeleteLauraJ953, do you live in Rochester? I love that corn cob water tower! No photos of it, though, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWow, UBER cool!
ReplyDeleteI do! And that tower's been here as long as I can remember so it might just almost qualify as vintage.
ReplyDelete