Jingle Ball by Vanguard

This is something I can't believe actually survived.  It is called a Jingle Ball, and is a rubber ball with a bell inside of it.  It must have been meant for very small children and the fact that this has survived all these years essentially untouched is amazing.

It has deflated somewhat (you would too after 65+ years), but is still bright and colorful, and the rubber is not degrading at all (yet).  The back of the ball is a solid red color.

Believe it or not, I have actually seen another example of the Jingle Ball, with a blue back.

The Jingle Ball was manufactured by Vanguard, and according to the original campaign book it retailed for a whopping 29¢.

Italian Ferrero Premium Cards

Italian chocolatier Ferrero, best known in this country for those yummy balls of chocolate hazelnut goodness wrapped in gold foil, created a set of premium cards in the 1950s featuring LOTS of Disney characters.  Here we see three Alice characters:  Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the March Hare.

Given the numbers on the back, one can assume that there were at least 3 more Alice characters in the set, probably more.  I do know that number 38 is Flower from Bambi, so there probably aren't any more Alice characters earlier in the series, but the next number I know for sure is 48 (Bongo).

And, of course, there are variations.  Sigh.

Greek Chocolate Trading Cards

Knock me over with a feather, I recently acquired this partial set of trading cards from Greece.  Premiums from a chocolate company called Melo (or more properly Μὲλο) these remind me of Sugar Daddy trading cards, only larger.

These have been removed from an album, presumably an album of Disney cards as I doubt there would have been an album in the 1970s featuring 70+ cards of just Alice, but I could be wrong (geez, I'd hate to try and track down that full set).  I've seen Melo albums on other topics, and they are pretty cool, usually the cards fit flush to one another on the page to make a larger picture, it could be the case here as well, if you notice that the backgrounds could merge together to form a larger tableau.  Let's hope a full set in album surfaces one day.

There may have been a couple of different variations, as I have also seen this variant of the Dodo card

UPDATE: I love the Internet. Just two days after posting this I received an email from a reader who shared more images, and information. The set was Disney, many characters, and at least 150 cards. The different sizes came about when the company changed the size of the chocolate bars in the mid 1970s.

Alice #62

Tweedledee and Tweedledum #67

Mad Hatter #63

Queen of Hearts #66

So now we know the following list:

• 62 - Alice (probably the first card in the set)
• 63 - Mad Hatter
• 66 - Queen of Hearts
• 67 - Tweedles
• 68 - Dodo
• 69 - King of Hearts
• 71 - Carpenter

I would speculate at a minimum the following:

• 64 - March Hare
• 65 - White Rabbit
• 70 - Walrus

1951 Studio Letterhead - Redux

Way back in 2008, in the 23rd post on this blog, I showed a piece of Walt Disney Productions studio letterhead for the original 1951 release of Alice in Wonderland.  What I didn't know at that time, or in reality didn't notice 'cause sometimes I miss little details like this (shiny!), is that there are TWO variations of this letterhead.  Whoa. (cue Keanu Reeves).

The first is the same as originally posted, a Disney studio letterhead, with the beautifully rendered art on Strathmore Bond with the studio address at the bottom.

What I didn't realize at the time (even though I had an example of it as a piece of correspondence), is that there is also an RKO version of the letterhead, with the same art, on Blackstone Bond with the RKO headquarters address in Cleveland, OH across the bottom.

I only recently noticed this as I came across the above blank sheet, and was no longer distracted by the contents of the correspondence in my pre-existing example (that will show up in a future post).  Will wonders never cease?

For those of you who'd like a piece of this blank RKO letterhead, you can find one in the Wonderland Bazaar.

David Hall Story Art Stills - All Cards Lead Away from the Castle

Our journey is finally at its end, this is the last of the stills of David Hall story art.  Here we see Alice on a path of cards looking at a castle in the distance.  The supporting structure of the castle appears to be disintegrating, one assumes this is from the sequence where Alice is beginning to wake up.  This watercolor is unfortunately not reproduced in the David Hall book, nor have I been able to locate it anywhere else in color.  Labeled 'VIII'

So that's it, 114 stills later, we've come to the end of our story.  I hope you've enjoyed this journey through Disney's Alice in Wonderland of 1939 as seen through the eyes of David Hall.  I know I have.  It is hard to imagine what a film based on these concepts would have looked like, but it sure would have been fun to see.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Off With Her Head

Looks like things didn't go too well at Alice's trial.  This watercolor shows the Queen's gallows in all their glory.   Labeled 'VII'

This watercolor is reproduced in the David Hall book as a double page spread, so you can really look closely at all the detail.

The first detail focuses on the blade itself and the assorted assistant headsmen working on it.  Gotta make sure nothing goes wrong after all... Labeled 'VII A'

 Next is an extreme closeup of the assistant headsman at the very top of the gallows, straddling the blade.  I certainly wouldn't want to be him.  Labeled 'VII B'

 And finally we see Alice being led up the stairs to meet her fate.  Labeled 'VII C'

I think you'll all agree with me that this is perhaps the most macabre of all the story art we've seen so far.  Can you imagine if they actually filmed this?  

Happy New Year 2013 - LE Disneyland New Year Cheshire Cat Flip Pin

Happy New Year to all my faithful readers!  Here's hoping your 2013 is filled with fun, prosperity, and lots of Alice.

Goodbye 2012 - The Year in Review

It's been quite the topsy-turvy year for us here at the Vintage Disney Alice blog.  The real world made itself know in several ways.  There was work, travel, illness, and of course new acquisition!  Here is a sampling of what we saw this year.

Mickey Mouse Weekly issues from England

Zaccagnini figures from Italy

The Final Four Goebel figures

and lots of David Hall story art (just a little more to come)

and a few other odds and ends.  I hope to be a little more regular in my posting in 2013.  Wishing all my faithful readers a prosperous new year.

David Hall Story Art Stills - Alice Before the Bar

Her day of reckoning has finally come, Alice stands before the bar, pleading her case before the court.  This watercolor has so much going on in it, there are four details!  And again, I've not seen this reproduced anywhere else.  Labeled 'VI'.

The Jury looks on drearily.  I particularly like the stork with is pince nez.  Labeled 'VI A'.

The King and Queen of Hearts look quite somber as the White Rabbit reads the list of charges.  Labeled 'VI B'.

 Alice pleads her case from the witness box.  Labeled 'VI C'.

 And the Mad Hatter and March Hare appear to be looking up legal precedents.  Labeled 'VI D'. 

David Hall Story Art Stills - The Queen's Procession

This is a pretty fabulous watercolor, I wish I had a color image of it somewhere.  I swear I've seen it somewhere, but I just can't place it.  The royal procession approaches, with a huge retinue in tow.  Labeled 'V'.

Including the Queen's headsman (how creepy is that), with his even creepier assistant headsman/train bearer (do headsmen really need someone to hold their train?).  Labeled 'V A'.

And of course, every court needs a jester, this one complete with porcine steed.  Labeled 'V B'

David Hall Story Art Stills - Painting the Roses Red

Having escaped the Duchess, Alice finds herself entering the Queen's garden where she encounters some cards painting the roses!  This watercolor is labeled 'IV'.  I was so disappointed to find that this is not in the David Hall book, nor in Surprise Package.  BUT...

the original was included in an exhibition called Once Upon a Time Walt Disney: The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios that was show in exactly two place - Paris and Montreal.  I was lucky enough to see the Montreal exhibit in 2007 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art,

where when we weren't being silly, I purchased the tome of a catalog,

and lo and behold, this image was inside.  Thanks goodness!

Zooming in on the rose bush we see three card painters busy at their work:  2, 5, & 7.  The deuce you say? This is labeled 'IV A"

This detail of Alice shows the design work on the garden grounds.  I love the card suits motif in the garden stones.  Labeled 'IV B'

David Hall Story Art Stills - In the Duchess's Kitchen

Well, there certainly is a lot going on here.  Alice has found herself smack-dab in the middle of a frightful scene in the Duchess's kitchen in this watercolor labeled 'III', and sadly not reproduced in the David Hall book.

 This detail shows the Duchess holding her screaming child (not a pig yet), and is labeled 'III A'.

 The details shows the Cook, getting ready to beat someone over the head with a frying pan, labeled 'III B'.

 And finally we see Alice, looking on in horrified fascination.  You can also just make out the Cheshire Cat at the bottom right.  Labeled 'III C'.

David Hall Story Art Stills - An Invitation to Tea

All continuity and timelines have been thrown out the window at this point, as we leap backwards in the story (although this scene never made it to the screen), to the Fish Footman delivering an invitation to tea with the Queen of Hearts to the Frog Footman at the residence of the Duchess.  Labeled 'II',

this watercolor IS reproduced slightly cropped in the David Hall book.

In this detail, labeled 'II A', we see Alice peering through the foliage as the Fish Footman makes his delivery.