I could have entitled today's posts "Leftuggies", but I am not hungry, so "random scans" it is.
Let's start with this undated (but certainly from the 1970's) photo. GDB reader Kathy J. sent me this tiny transparency, along with the following message: I enjoy your blog of vintage Disneyland images -- Disneyland is one of my favorite places! While walking around my neighborhood, I found an old slide in the street. The outer part is pretty beat up, but the image part itself looks OK. I could tell that it was a group of people in front of the floral Mickey. However, it is very small. The white part of the slide is 2" but the actual image is less than 1/2" by 3/4". It sounds like this is from a Minox camera, famous for its tiny "spy cameras" that gained a certain degree of popularity. My aunt had one! While the slide is a little dusty, it still looks remarkably good. Thanks to the Santa Fe logo above the train station, we know that this is form no later than 1974. Thank you, Kathy J.!
This is definitely a leftuggie - it's an Instamatic transparency, not very interesting. Still, I loved "Adventure Thru Inner Space" so much, that I still get a thrill just thinking about being able to walk into that entry. Peoplemover alert!
And finally, here's one that slipped through the cracks; we've seen this little boy before (look here and here), with other costumed characters. This time, he's found Donald Duck, and he looks pretty thrilled. Did the characters have nearby handlers back then? Ol' Donald is about to cause a mob scene.
Major-
ReplyDeleteTalk about finding things in the most unexpected places-! A single slide from Disneyland - inexplicably resting "in the street" - just waiting for a good soul to happen-by to rescue it. And look what we have: Just for fun [we can assume] "Mom" decided to play 'mix 'n match' with that black/white diamond pattern shirt & pants by "cross-dressing" two of her offspring. (Oh, Mom-!)
And my hats-off, once again, to our young friend who shamelessly is parading-around with those pants, just so he can meet Donald. (But, then there are the brothers in the matching shirts...) Go, Melissa-!
Thanks, Major... AND Kathy.
The street find is a nice family photo. You just know they've got a wonderful day ahead of them. Thanks for scooping up this pic, Kathy J.!
ReplyDeleteI like the ATIS photo. Sometimes a photo has good composition, sometimed an interesting subject and sometime a photo functions as a visual document of a building or place that once existed. I like this photo because it provides a clear unobstructed view of the attraction marquee with it's white-on-black lettering and red lettered "Monsanto" on white. Tomorrowland '67 was a beauty on all detail levels in its design and architectural style.
The third pic is really sweet. The kid looks genuinely happy as he holds onto his father's hand and Donald at the same time. Really nice set today. Thanks Major.
I'm going to say that the first photo was taken on the morning of January 11th, 1975. I'm basing that on complete conjecture, mixed with a little bit of uneducated guesswork.
ReplyDeleteI love Peek-a-boo Person and Middle Sis hiding behind Junior. My sister had a jacket around 1975 in a very similar pattern. They are going to have a fantastic day. Hope they rode Nature's Wonderland, ATIS, the Skyway, the PeopleMover, and America Sings.
Ken, you're absolutely right - while the ATIS photo may not be "postcard worthy," it provides a great document of something we can't see anymore.
Everybody looks so happy in the Donald picture! I think I like this "version" of Donald costume the best!
ReplyDeleteWhat was it about the 70s that made all of us suspend good taste in clothes? I was guilty as well. In photo #3 the man in the photo looks like he could be muscle for the Dragna outfit. Maybe he was making Donald an offer he could't refuse. "Forget aboud it". I too miss Inner Space, it was very cool. Thanks to Major and Kathy J. for the neat pics.
ReplyDeleteNanook, I’m not sure “cross-dressing” is the phrase I would use, but I know what you mean! ;-) Mom’s outfit looks her look like she walked right off the pages of a Sears catalog. Grandma works for the volunteer fire department, and wants to be ready to be “on call” at all times.
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, I have never found a Disneyland slide in the street, so Kathy J. got very lucky. Maybe she needs to go to Tasmania - with her good fortune, she’ll see a living Tasmanian Tiger. You might not recall, but another blogger (“Vintage Disneyland Goodies”) owned one of the “U” letters from the Adventure Thru Inner Space marquee seen here - when he sold it I wanted it - but couldn’t afford it.
Chuck, remember, the Santa Fe sign shows that this can’t be from 1975… they stopped their sponsorship in ’74. It’s a little weird that the “peek-a-boo” woman and the small child to the right are kind of left out of the photo. Maybe they weren’t part of the group? The woman looks like she is trying to see around the boy’s noggin, however. I like the balloons on the stroller, which they must have place there themselves to make it more visible in crowds.
Stuart Powley, I agree, this is a very good version of Donald. I feel like they keep fiddling with the design of Mickey heads, and it’s always kind of jarring to me. Most people don’t even notice, I’ll bet.
Jonathan, ha ha, it is true, some of those clothes look charming today, but they are not nice the way outfits from the 50’s and 60’s were. I’ve mentioned this before, but during the 50’s craze (when “Happy Days” was a huge hit), I thought to myself, “Nobody will EVER be nostalgic for the 70’s!”. I was wrong.
This is a good set of photos today, Major. Each for different reasons.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the owner of the Minox slide ever wondered what happened to that pic?
The edge of the roof in the ATIS marquee must be using some kind of space-age materials (maybe liquid coatings), since there is no sign of a metal trim on either the porch or the parapet. Not sure how they managed that. Must have been constant maintenance to keep the roof clean and watertight, notice no sign of dirt running down the white fascia. The structure looks like a foam-core model. Sorry, but stuff like that catches my eye.
Agree, that little boy in the last pic is having the time of his life. So is Dad, but it's not as obvious. Thanks for the links to the previous photos of them, great to compare them. The lady in the yellow stripes has "something in her eye".
Also, note the brothers in matching shirts in the foreground, patiently waiting their turn.
JG
Major, I do recall the story about Vintage Disneyland Goodies selling the leter "U" ATIS letter. I can imagine it was expensive.
ReplyDeleteMan, was my grammar bad in my ATIS comment early this morning. I butchered "sometime(s)" majorly. I need to pay closer attention to what I write. Yikes!
For an itty-bitty Minox slide, that first scan is very impressive. There's a whole lot of detail in that small space. How the slide could contain those bold 70's patterns is beyond me. I'm sure that's Oscar Goldman.
ReplyDeleteReally ... I cannot get over the patterns. So much plaid, so many stripes. Couple that with the rampant polyester, it's a wonder we made it into the 80's alive.
Two, count 'em, two sets of matching siblings for the price of one! Well, it may come at the cost of Little Sister's mobility, or her life, if somebody doesn't roll up those plaid pant legs before she takes a header onto the nearest patch of skull-crushing pavement. Pretty sure my other Grandma had both of those red polyester pantsuits.
ReplyDeleteAlways love the lettering on the ATIS sign. And everybody loves a sailor!
I guess the 70s were the beginning of 'anything goes' when it comes to clothing. Perhaps a leftover from the "Do your own thing' movement of the 60s but we never thought much about it then...it was the norm. BTW, I heard that with its acquisition by the Beyer corporation, the Monsanto company and trade name has just gone the way of yesteryear... KS
ReplyDeleteJG, it wouldn’t surprise me if somebody was hauling their family slides to the curb for trash pickup; I’ve known people to throw away better things than that! Funny about the ATIS roof - I never thought about it, but you’re right, it would soon get dirty (and leaky) without constant attention. How could we miss the two boys in those shirts!
ReplyDeleteK. Martinez, the letter wasn’t even as expensive as one might think, but I just didn’t have the cash at the time. Story of my life! And I catch spelling or grammar mistakes of mine all the time - sometimes I’ll bother to fix them, other times I’ll just leave it alone.
Tom, ha ha, I never realized that the tiny slide might actually be in danger of exploding by containing those incredibly loud patterns! They are definitely part of what makes that photo so great.
Melissa, I knew you would enjoy the clothing in these! Once again I wonder to myself (well, to everybody else too) if big plaids will ever make a comeback.
KS, the stuff that the counter culture wore seems like it was so different from what we saw in department stores, and yet there HAD to have been an influence I suppose. Wait, Monsanto was acquired by Beyer Corporation? Jeez, how many billions was that? Time to visit Google!
OMG, I just noticed that there's a THIRD elephant-print-shirt brother, hidden down behind and to the right of the big one!
ReplyDeleteMajor, I swear that I read your commentary this morning. And then I forgot what it said before I wrote my comment two minutes later. There's something about a pending colonoscopy that will do that to your memory.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I'm famous! I'm glad everyone enjoys the teeny slide. It was the only slide in the street, and maybe has been run over by a car. I live in Southern California but about an hour and a half from Disneyland, so I thought it was a bit unusual to be here. Funny that I instantly knew what it was a picture of holding it up to the sun.
ReplyDelete~Kathy
The small slide may indeed be from a Minox, but I think there is a better chance that it is from a Kodak Pocket Instamatic 10 (released in 1972 -- see eBay or Wikipedia for pics). I had one of these and its 110 film did indeed produce itsby-bitsy teeny-weeny slides -- so small that you needed an additional mount before you could show them in a projector. I still have some of them floating around somewhere (not of Disneyland, alas).
ReplyDelete