Disneyland/Disneyana (20th Century)

Disneyland – Park-Used Fantasyland Dumbo the Flying Elephant 54" Silkscreened Park Attraction Poster (Walt Disney, c. 1950s-60s). This is an original Park-used and displayed hand-silkscreened attraction poster for the iconic Fantasyland attractions: Mad Tea Party, King Arthur Carousel, and, as prominently featured here, Dumbo the Flying Elephant. As originally built, Dumbo the Flying Elephant was intended to represent the alcohol-induced "pink elephants" scene from the film. The working title of the attraction was "10 Pink Elephants on Parade" and the elephants were painted pink on installation. Walt Disney objected, not wanting Disneyland's guests to ride vehicles themed to a drunken hallucination, and ordered them painted gray. Of particular note, this specific poster was Park-used and displayed. The earliest Park attraction posters, such as this one, were silkscreened in small batches so additional posters could be displayed when the ones in the Park needed to be replaced. They would typically be mounted to metal or board and hung in various key visual areas of Disneyland. Such Park-displayed posters were regularly discarded after their initial use, and of the small number of the original silkscreened posters that still exist, even fewer still exist that were actually Park-used. This rare attraction poster measures 36" x 54" and is comes mounted to its original thin sheet of backing board, as used in Disneyland. The poster is in Fair to Good vintage Park-used condition, with spots of scuffing, minor discoloration, and wear throughout, and some slight curving to the board from age. The poster has received minor professional restoration to reinforce the edges, but still maintains its vintage Park-used quality, for a continued brilliant display. HID09710052018 © 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved