Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! A twisted cover to Disney Newsreel from Thanksgiving, November 27, 1981.

Disneyland 1958 Attraction Opening Lamp Post Sign

Continuing the theme of cool Alice items on which I was underbidder, I present to you a picture of one of the lamp post signs from Disneyland's 1958 opening of the Alice attraction. In my defense, I was actually out of the country when this auction was taking place, but I have a feeling that it would not have made a difference and would still have been underbidder in any case.

You can see some of these signs in this photo I have of Disneyland, although it is in black and white.

There were bunches of these signs all up and down Main Street. You can see some other views of these signs on Daveland's blog post here and Stuff at the Park's blog post here.

Zaccagnini Walrus

Another figure that I don't have, but I have actually seen one in person. The Walrus by Zaccagnini, I've never seen one for sale, but I've seen one in a collection, I pulled this photo from the web long ago.

This along with the King I posted here and the White Rabbit I posted yesterday comprise the complete set of Zaccagnini figures that I am aware of. If anyone out there has photos of the other Alice Zaccagnini figures, I would love to see them! Considering the large number of obscure characters from other films I've seen by Zaccagnini, they must have done a bunch...imagine a whole slew of Tulgey Wood creatures, that would be very cool indeed.

Zaccagnini White Rabbit

Ok, so I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I discovered the existence of another Alice Zaccagnini figure and am sharing it here; the bad news (for me at least) is that I was unsuccessful in acquiring it this past week. *sigh* Curse you gilgamesh01 :)

As is always the case, this is an amazingly beautiful figure. Well, at least I now know it exists and have a picture of it. One day, one day...

Vira Get Well Card 5X-420-WD

Last of my get well cards, although as previously stated there are probably two more out there somewhere. This one corresponds to birthday card 415.

I'm not sure I understand the sentiment...it must be a 1950s thing...or perhaps the copy writers just ran out of pithy sentiments by this time...

Vira Get Well Card 5X-418-WD

Get well card corresponding to 410.

Again, great idea to have the card open to make Alice giant after consuming the Eat Me cookie...

Vira Get Well Card 5X-417-WD

Corresponding get well card to 411

Not all that inspired, but at least the 'sappy' sentiment did not repeat itself...

Vira Get Well Card 5X-416-WD

Here we have the first of the get well cards. This card re-uses the art from one of the birthday cards - 412 - as do all the get well cards (as far as I know).

This one is unique in that the front of the card is identical to the birthday card, so you cannot quickly tell which one you have until you open it.

Same creepy Alice rendering inside...

The only birthday cards for which I have not found corresponding get well cards are 413 and 414 , but I assume at least ONE of them exists since I have a hole in my numbering sequence at 419, and if the pattern holds true there is probably a 421 for the other. Of course there could still be additional cards that I have not seen...

Vira Birthday Card 5X-415-WD

The last of the birthday cards, this time with Alice and a large red teapot.

Inside has the whole gang at a fabulous birthday tea party (I wonder if they made UnBirthday Cards, those would be pretty great).

Vira Birthday Card 5X-414-WD

Pretty gloomy color scheme for a birthday card.

This card features the Caterpillar (my fave) as well as the King and Queen of Hearts, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and of course Alice herself.

Vira Birthday Card 5X-413-WD

This one comes compliments of another collector as I do not have it in my collection. For those of you out there that may have one - hint, hint :)

I had a feeling that 413 was also a birthday card, as all the get well cards were numerically after all the birthday cards...

Vira Birthday Card 5X-412-WD

Ok, so I can't resist a series, and it appears it only takes two similar posts to push me over the edge.

Look who we have here, our old friend Figaro as Dinah (for LOTS of detail on her, look at a previous post here, with other examples here and here).

This was the first of these cards I came across, and over the years it seems to be the most common of them all, along with the Get Well version which is coming up in a couple of posts from now.

Interior art here is a little odd, there is just something not right about the way Alice looks, a little zombie-like, and her left hand looks like it has a dew claw instead of a thumb...

Vira Belated Birthday Card 5X-411-WD

Ok, so you knew this one had to be coming, after all, what Alice in Wonderland greeting card line would be complete without the White Rabbit exclaiming "I'm Late"?

So the concept is truly inspired and the art is very nice as usual...

but the text just blows..."I'm awful sappy"?! Ugh.

Vira Birthday Card 5X-410-WD

As I'm still operating in birthday mode, I thought I'd post a vintage birthday card. This is one of several greeting cards made by a company called The Vira Corporation of Mamaroneck, NY around the time of the film's release. They made both birthday cards and get well cards in a number of styles with really well done art.

This one is (I think) the first of the Alice cards, at least it is the first numerically of the cards I have. I don't know how many they made, but I have 9 cards that run in sequence from 410-420 with two missing numbers (413, 419). I know for sure there is at least one card I do not have (413), and probably there is another for the remaining missing number. And of course their could be numbers above and below the range as well...

This one is different from your standard birthday card in that the card opens the opposite direction, so that the card is tall and skinny, very unusual.

I love the fact that they used they used the film's logo on the back to identify this as an Alice Inspired card.

White Rabbit Story / Layout Drawing

This is a great little drawing, a pre-production story or layout drawing of the White Rabbit struggling with an uncooperative croquet mallet.

I always like finding these drawings with studio notations on them, gives them more of a feel of a true working drawing. This particular drawing has some aging on the right side, and someone at one time decided to clean their brush on it, but the image is unaffected and quite entertaining.