Post #503158 by Tom Slick on Sat, Jan 9, 2010 1:46 AM

Ok...It has been a while since anyone including myself has posted here, and I know for me at least, its been because of harsh economic reasons. Anyhow This thread is movin' on up, thanks to Leleliz firstly, and secondly a random auction I had happened to come across!
First up, Liz sent me a couple of killer vintage ashtrays from Disneyland. I'm guessing ca. mid 60s to mid 70s. And she also found a vintage "Milk Glass" Mug(early 80s), with my name on it! All three items are in fantastic condition, including the gold accents! I can't say it enough....Thank you Liz for thinking of me!

Secondly, I forgot what I was looking up at the time(I'm a Fricken Google addict!), but I stumbled upon a huge Ward Kimball auction liquidation from his estate. If you do not know who Ward is/was, let me be brief, as you can always google it later.

Ward Kimball was one of Walt's original 9 old men team. He was a tremendously talented gentleman, and one of the few Imagineers that was ever given a public compliment by Walt Disney himself. Walt called him a Genius, which apparently surprised people by his flattering compliment of Ward.
Ward Kimball was a keen Draftsman, an excellent artist(He created some of Walt's most famous characters such as the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland,Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio, the not-so-P.C. crows from Dumbo, and many, MANY others, including the Disney in Space programs. He was also a trombone player for the band he founded, the FireHouse Five + 2, which was a jazzy-new orleans type band, and was mostly composed of other animators. The band actually toured different Southern California venues as well as performed weekend stints inside Disneyland. They had also released several albums.
Kimball was a huge inspiration to Walt because of Ward's love and curiosity for travel, namely by way of the Train. Ward had a full sized narrow gauge Steam powered train set up in his backyard in San Gabriel, what he called Grizzly Flats RR. His home sat on approximately 5 acres(?) at the time, and it was surrounded by orange farms. Walt was so fascinated by Wards knowledge of operating and repairing full sized steam trains that Walt decided he wanted one to circle his park, that had not yet been built. As you can assume, Ward was Walt's Advisor and go-to guy on this and even in the Casey Jr. Cartoon. Ward almost single handedly illustrated and or advised most of the cartoon trains in Walt's studio.

So anyhow, Betty Kimball just had another smaller auction with mostly paper collectibles recently. I wound up bidding and winning a couple items.

First was a letter with photos, apparently someone soliciting Wards knowledge of a 1904 wind up train, and seeing if he might be interested in purchasing it. Ward Kimball not only had full sized trains, but he had a custom built room to house his antique toy train collection, probably one of the most extensive and largest in the world, at the time.

It came with the letter addressed to Ward, the 15-20 photos of the train set, with notes jotted on the back of each photo, sealed in a little makeshift cardboard holder that reads "Marklin O-gauge train and accessories" (A deal that fell through)

Above is a certificate of authenticity/verification signed in pen by Betty Kimball, bless her heart!
It's a small piece of Ward Kimball, and his passion for trains, who is directly connected to Disneyland forever. That is why the Ward Kimball items are being posted here.

Secondly, and a little more oddball, were two posters sent to Ward from Knott's Berry Farm promoting; what I think is one of Knott's finest later added attractions, Mystery Lodge.

The poster above in the Pacific Northwest theme is on some kind of natural type paper, not the usual poster paper.

The posters were sent from the outside vendor and founder who created Mystery Lodge for Knott's Berry Farm. The company is still doing business and have installed all kinds of amusements and attractions at different themeparks around the world. Posters also came with the letter sent to Ward telling him about the opening, and if he'd like to see it in person to contact Bob Rodgers, the writer of the letter, and founder of the company.

Overall, some cool way to start off 2010, thanks to Liz and the discovery of the auction. Without disclosing the actual prices I paid, the 2 auction group items cost me less than a weeks lunch, for both.

[ Edited by: Tom Slick 2010-01-09 02:05 ]