My friend Mr. X discovered some negatives in a drawer, and it turned out that some (but not all) were of photos that we've seen on GDB before - though at the time I only had the prints to scan. It's always better to scan from negatives or transparencies!
For instance, here's a nice picture featuring a busy New Orleans Square, with that group of girls, all wearing the same paisley shirts and blue jackets (why??).
The new scan (from the negative) reveals a lot more detail in areas that were washed out in the print, such as the building in the upper right, or the awning to the left. Overall the image is crisper, too.
They sure look better in the new scan, and we can even see that the sixth poster to the right is for the Carousel of Progress, which narrows down the date that this photo was taken. In the original post (back in 2013), Mike Cozart informed us that this was "taken over near the outside locker area located near the tram stop and restrooms (west of the Disneyland entry).
I hope you have enjoyed these rescans; the rest of the Instamatics from Mr. X will be new, never-before-seen images.
Major-
ReplyDelete"New and improved". (Some day that's exactly what I'm going to do to me-!) Extra points for the red/yellow striped shopping bags.
Thanks, Major, for the rescans.
Maybe they are triplets, who always dress alike?
ReplyDeleteThanks for re-scanning the images for us, Major!
Make that "quadruplets." I see there is a fourth one, hiding!
ReplyDelete@ TM!-
ReplyDeleteDo I hear quintuplets-??
Wow - talk about LOTS of color and patterns in one place! That first scan has it all. The one lady to the right, in the flowered shirt, is following a lady in a flowered jumper/onesie(?) . . . and when you add the striped Disney bag (shopping bag - not person) to their "grouping," you almost get dizzy. Great people-watching and fun fashions . . . maybe 1972?? I'm sure someone knows when that Disney bag came out (again, the shopping bag) . . .
ReplyDeleteDo I hear quintuplets-?? LOL! :o)
Thanks, Major & Mr. X!!
Sue
Wow, the color from the negatives really pops on these! As for the matching clothes of the girls, you have to look your best when you're going to (or coming from) the Blue Bayou.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that Mr. X would think to take a picture of something like attraction posters. Common at the time, but priceless now. People likely thought he was a weirdo for doing it, but now it's all worth it. Fun post!
These were definitely worth the effort to rescan the negatives. Thanks again, Major!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the new, never-before-seen images. Kinda curious what eye-closed photography looks like. ;-)
What I find interesting is that a little bit of the image is lost from the white framing of the photo while the negative shows a little more of the image. Just slight, but I noticed it. Nice job! Thanks, Major.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the difference is quite striking. Really brings out the color. Makes it pop, as it were. Good job, Major.
ReplyDeleteAnd on top of all the goodness and color, the photographer was
lucky enough to catch Sully Sullenberger, in the yellow shirt and tie, probably rushing to catch a flight.
Thanks Major.
Thanks Major, spiffy rescans. The cast member on the left of the first photo appears to be selling those Disneyland Dial Guides, at her own little station ... and that's all she's selling. As souvenirs I'd like to have, those guides are not far behind the attraction posters: with the exception of the Indian Village, all the elements of classic Disneyland are there to be spinned.
ReplyDeleteNanook, someday I’m going to have to photograph my red/yellow bag that’s exactly like the ones in that picture!
ReplyDeleteTokyoMagic!, fraternal triplets perhaps??
TokyoMagic!, maybe they just thought it would be easier to find each other in a crowd?
Nanook, probably… quintuplets are awfully noisy.
Lou and Sue, how about the man in the yellow button-up shirt with the striped tie? Classic! Those flower prints are pretty “in your face”.
Andrew, it’s too bad these slides are pretty grainy, but what can you do. From the way the people to the right (in the distance) are standing, I wonder if they are listening to a tour guide? Mr. X was a true fan, things that interested him are interesting to US.
Chuck, I realized that I did already post a couple of his never-before-seen images - it’s hard to keep things straight when one composes posts weeks or months in advance!
K. Martinez, frankly I expected more of the image to be lost when the photo prints were made. But they only lost little slivers from the outer edge!
DrGoat, oh, ha ha, gosh I didn’t realize Mr. Yellow Shirt was such a person of note! I can’t decide, if Sully was sitting next to me on an airplane, would I feel nervous, or a lot safer?
Stefano, I love those Dial Guides, just like you! I finally managed to get all of the variations - funnily enough, the 1975 and 1976 versions are the hardest. The 1970 and ’71 versions are very common. You can usually get them for in the neighborhood of $20, if you are patient with your ebay searches.
Ah a rare shot of the Blue Paislys on the hunt for more victims! The Paislys held New Orleans Square in their web of terror for approximately 23 minutes on November 3, 1972. Their rein ended when it was pointed out to them that they actually weren't in New Orleans and therefore their vision of taking control of the mouth of the Mississippi and charging a buck fifty for every person caught looking at it was not practical or even very smart. They were later seen in a station wagon shouting "New Orleans or Bust!" while heading north on Interstate 5.
ReplyDeleteMajor, this is a fine prelude to further pics from Mr. X.
ReplyDeleteLucky to find those negatives. You never know what might pop up in a forgotten box or drawer.
I can't offer any insights as to the young ladies matching dress. It's not uncommon for family reunion groups to have matching shirts, but those are usually groups of all ages, men, women, boys and girls. Although two could be sisters? I thought maybe a cheerleading squad, or just friends keeping track of each other. Now that I look closely, I am not convinced that the jackets are all alike, just "similar", so probably not uniforms.
NOS certainly makes a respectable effort at looking like the real place, even though the streets curve in Disneyland.
Thanks for the hard work bringing these improved images back to the internet.
JG
Stu29573, first the Crips and the Bloods, now the Paislys! When will the madness end? Thank goodness they are heading to New Orleans and life will be perfect with no problems after that!
ReplyDeleteJG, I always love it when X tells me he’s found more photos or negatives! Hopefully they’ll keep coming. I agree with you, the girls must all be part of a team or squad; my friend said he bets they are from a foreign land, which is certainly a possibility. I’ve never been to the real New Orleans, and wondered if they had winding streets like the one in Disneyland. Of course the curved streets are an old movie backlot trick, and it works like a charm at the park.
ReplyDeleteStefano, it looks like that lady at the "Dial Guide" podium, has an empty wooden holder on top of her cash register. I wonder what it held? Postcards? Or maybe it was just for the freebie entertainment guide for the day or the guide book that they would give you at the ticket booths.
I noticed above the cashier's head is the word "Pirates" and on the other end of that awning we can see the letter "U" and "M." That space was obviously still the Pirates Arcade & Museum. They should have left that alone!
Major, it took me a couple seconds to get your response to Nanook's second comment, "Do I hear quintuplets-??"...."probably… quintuplets are awfully noisy." Major, you slay me!
Here's a photo that I took of one of those striped DL bags. My mom purchased it during one of our visits:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cMhaW4V3P-g/Wops-U0-T5I/AAAAAAAAQMs/xGWJ1Jf_lbo2mof-KzggMTH0RqgSRkC9gCLcBGAs/s1600/DL%2BBag%2B-%2B1960%2527s%2B-%2BCopy.jpg
Major, that's true. Any Mr. X photo is worth seeing.
ReplyDeleteThe real French Quarter in New Orleans is a gridiron layout, all straight streets and right angles, nothing at all like NOS. There is a bit down by the real French Market that is a little bit angled, but not dramatically. There is a also little garden park with a fountain that resembles the area in front of the Frontierland train station, but again, not quotational, just "similar". It's really brilliant how the Disney spaces evoke the scale and "feel" of the real New Orleans while being so different in detail. After so many visits to NOS, it was amazing to visit the real place and have it feel familiar.
@Tokyo, I was confused by those letters on the wall and couldn't remember that the arcade also had "museum" in the name. I miss that spot.
JG
Major, compare these images.
ReplyDeletehttps://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/louisiana/articles/a-brief-history-of-new-orleans-jackson-square/
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/bananaphone5000/GORILLA3/56-SB_Castle.jpg
JG