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Disney and Animation
Lot 169
A Pair of Walt Disney Original Photographs, 1950s, taken by Mell Kilpatrick
4 – 14 June 2024, 12:00 PDT
Online, Los AngelesSold for US$384 inc. premium
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A Pair of Walt Disney Original Photographs, 1950s, taken by Mell Kilpatrick
Comprising two silver gelatin photographs, the first 8 x 10 in., c.1959, stamped on verso, featuring Walt Disney at Disneyland with two of his grandchildren, Christopher and Joanna, in a carriage driven by a coachman, with passersby happily looking on; the second 4 x 5 in., stamped on verso, of Disney with Fred Gurley on the upper deck of the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland. Disney's grandchildren were thrilled with Disneyland but were perplexed by their grandfather's fame: "Every time we saw Grandpa in the public or on television, he didn't seem any different than when he was in his own living room or watching us play in the yard," his grandson Chris remarked. "He was always Grandpa." Being a kid at heart, Disney was just as excited to show them Disneyland as they were to see it. "Going to Disneyland with [Walt] was obviously something totally different from what anyone else gets to experience," Joanna said. She also remarked on the warmth he showed the cast members and staff at Disneyland. Fred Gurley was the President of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway from 1944 to 1957. He was present at the opening of Disneyland in 1955 and appeared on the special television broadcast with Walt Disney. There is an 1894 steam locomotive on the Disneyland Railroad at Disneyland, the oldest one, that is named after Gurley and has been there since 1958.
Photographer Mell Kilpatrick was one of the fortunate few allowed to photograph Disneyland during its construction period, on opening day, and after. He was hand-picked by Walt Disney himself and many of his Disney photographs have not been seen for decades. Originally a photographer for the Orange County Register, he was often first on the scene of major crimes and accidents, but his photographs of Disneyland are the jewels of his career.
8 x 10 in.
Photographer Mell Kilpatrick was one of the fortunate few allowed to photograph Disneyland during its construction period, on opening day, and after. He was hand-picked by Walt Disney himself and many of his Disney photographs have not been seen for decades. Originally a photographer for the Orange County Register, he was often first on the scene of major crimes and accidents, but his photographs of Disneyland are the jewels of his career.
8 x 10 in.
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