Lot 277 Rare and Important 1953 DISNEYLAND PROSPECTUS
(Walt Disney, 1953) Rare original document drafted by Walt Disney and artist Herb Ryman to give words and images to Walt's idea of a family fun attraction. This complete document in a folder is one of 3 supposedly produced personally by Disney and Ryman for Walt to take to New York to find a partner to invest $5 million to finance the building of Disneyland. He left these 3 documents with 3 bankers in New York and left without an investor. This document was discovered at an estate sale on Long Island in New York in the early 1980s and has been in the same owner's hands since 1984 (collectibles expert and appraiser Gary Sohmers) who has extensively researched it, to determine its rarity and importance. It has been viewed by Dave Smith of the Walt Disney Archives and deemed authentic. The document includes: an outer 9" x 12" folder with tabs to hold pages featuring what appears to be rub on lettering "DISNEYLAND". Inside the folder are 9 typed pages describing Walt's planned park with descriptions of the different "lands,” including some that never came to fruition such as "Lilliputian Land" and "Happy Holiday Land." The first Map inside the front cover is a large 24" x 36" stat, hand colored by Herb Ryman in colored pencils featuring a birds-eye view of the proposed park. The second Map is a 12" x 18" stat of an architectural rendering of the proposed park showing an advanced stage of planning for the acreage that was purchased in Anaheim. The typed pages include quotes from Walt that have been referenced about the proposed park ever since. One page features only "Walt Disney - sometime - in 1955 will present to the people of the world - and children of all ages - a new experience in entertainment. In these pages is proffered a glimpse into this great adventure - a preview of what the visitor will experience – Disneyland." This is an extremely rare document in the history of Walt Disney and has never been reproduced in whole or in part. Although several sources on the Internet reference the document in research and company history, this is the only copy known to still exist.
Important Notice
Condition Reports: If you wish to obtain additional information on a particular lot, or cannot appear at the viewing, Profiles may provide, upon request, a condition report. We remind prospective buyers that descriptions of property are not warranted and that each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the terms of the limited warranty. Condition reports, as other descriptions of property, are not warranted; they are only provided as a service to interested clients.
open_in_full