The long-awaited book about Imagineer Claude Coats by Dave Bossert is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Dave sent me the following yesterday:

[Claude Coats: Walt Disney’s Imagineer—The Making of Disneyland:

From Toad Hall to the Haunted Mansion and Beyond

 

By David A. Bossert

Preface by Alan Coats

Foreword by Tony Baxter

The Old Mill Press

ISBN- 9781735769127, 264 Pages, US$65.00 

Claude Coats: Walt Disney’s Imagineer—The Making of Disneyland: From Toad Hall to the Haunted Mansion and Beyond is the story of artist and designer Claude Coats who, for more than half a century, was one of the most prolific creative talents at The Walt Disney Company and, arguably, the most accomplished.

An unpretentious man of strapping stature, Coats was the artist behind some of the stunning backgrounds produced at the Disney studio during the Golden Age of Animation before being handed-picked by Walt Disney, to start the fabled WED Enterprises—now known as Walt Disney Imagineering. Working side by side with Walt Disney, Claude Coats is considered a significant influence in creating the first theme park, Disneyland, and a new form of creativity called Imagineering. He forever changed the worlds of global entertainment, technology, architecture, and popular culture.

This book explores Coats’ first fifteen-years designing and building some of the most iconic and enduring attractions at Disneyland including Alice in Wonderland, The Submarine Voyage, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, and so many more. This 264-page book is profusely illustrated with many never-before-seen photographs and artworks.]

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of receiving a copy of The Art of Luca. 

 Chronicle Books did a great job, as always. The volume is full of stunning artwork by great artists like Deanna Marsigliese, Josh Holtsclaw and Tadhiro Uesugi which makes it a delight to stare at.

The subject matter does not attract me, as such, but this is a Pixar production, and the art is so beautiful that I may be pleasantly surprised when I end up watching the movie.

 Here is another new book by Jim Korkis which I will pick up soon.

One more interesting auction coming up this week, this one from Van Eaton Galleries.
 

A few days, I stupidly missed a Japanese auction that featured two great Mickey Mouse books. This one went for way too high a price for me to afford. I was frustrated to miss buying the other one that I had been looking for for months.

Anyway, I thought you would enjoy those images.

 

Kamden Spies just gave me a heads up about this new booklet released by the Walt Disney Family Museum and I immediately ordered it today.
 

 Looking forward to ordering and reading Jim Korkis' new book.

Last part of Mickey Mouse at the 1931 conference of London.

 

Mickey at the 1931 International Conference in London, part 2. One more part to come tomorrow.

 

On Monday, July 20, 1931, a conference of seven powers (Great Britain, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and Germany) met in London to discuss the economic situation in Germany.

According to the French newspaper "La Liberté," Mickey Mouse was in attendance as an observer :-)

More from this series tomorrow.

 

Scott Claus worked as an assistant animator on many of the Disney features from the 1990s and his memoirs provide an interesting perspective about life and work at the big (and small) animation studios over the past 30 years from the point of view of someone in the trenches. An entertaining read.
 

I am really intrigued by Wolf Burchard's upcoming book, Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts (note: the above is not the cover).

The blurb on Amazon reads:

[The films created by Walt Disney and Disney Studios represent almost a century of creativity. While they are often discussed as a quintessentially American art form, this captivating account reveals that the inspiration for Disney’s signature aesthetic extends across the Atlantic. Exploring Walt Disney’s personal fascination with French decorative arts and examining the novel use of French motifs in his Studios’ best-loved classics, the publication features 40 works of European design—from furniture to Sèvres and Meissen porcelain—alongside 150 film stills, drawings, and other works on paper from the Walt Disney Animation Studio Library and Walt Disney Archives. The text discusses the French aesthetic influences visible throughout Disney’s theme parks and beloved animated films, including the late Gothic architecture in Cinderella (1950); bejeweled, medieval-style books in Sleeping Beauty (1959); and Rococo-inspired furnishings brought to life in Beauty and the Beast (1991). This book bridges fact and fantasy by drawing remarkable new parallels between Disney’s magical creations and their artistic models.]

I have not read this book yet, but I like Aaron's work and I suspect it will be excellent.
 

This book is likely to be very interesting. I just ordered my copy.
 

Can't wait to read this book when it is released later this year!
 

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. 

I really wanted to buy those Swedish bottle labels from the 1930s but I lost the auction this weekend. I had never seen them before and I have a feeling some of you will enjoy discovering them.

SWEDISH DISNEY HISTORIAN NEEDED

In 2013, Are Myklebust and Jan Stale Engaas wrote a great book about the history of Disney in Norway (which they updated a few years later). That same year Jukka Vesterinen released a similar book about Disney in Finland.

The question is: who will do the same in Denmark and especially in Sweden? 

The history of Disney in Sweden in the 1930s is particularly rich, with one of the best Mickey Mouse magazines (Musse Pigg Tidningen) released in that country.

Are there any Swedish Disney historians or early-Disneyana collectors reading this? If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I have some ideas about how to approach the research, but you need to be based in Sweden (ideally in Stockholm) to get access to the proper resources.
 

Found in the French magazine Candide, dated September 12, 1935: "Are we mice or men?"
 

 Interesting auction happening soon at Heritage Auctions. Check out the catalog here.