eBay.

Most of my collecting these days is done on eBay, though I still love to visit antique stores and the occasional memorabilia fair. But eBay seems to be changing the world of collectibles - things that once were pretty pricey can be found relatively inexpensively, while other things have turned out to be quite in-demand, though they may have seemed less interesting before the masses discovered them. The main downside to eBay is that the pricing isn't an entirely accurate way to determine value - whatever the richest person is willing to pay to get something isn't always the truest indicator of worth, but that's how eBay goes.

So I tend to look for less significant things that just make my collection a bit more interesting. One thing I often look for is old Disneyland ephemera because I imagine one day I may want to include it in a website or book project - but also, I just enjoy it. As I'm sure you could imagine.

Anyway, the latest eBay aquisition is an old copy of Ford Times magazine from 1960 with an article about Disneyland by Art Linkletter:

Sometimes it is hard to tell the kids from their parents, because the older folks get as starry-eyed as their young while traveling through Nature's Wonderland about a mine train or pack mule, or, with an Indian guide, paddling in the thirty-five-foot war canoe to the Indian Villages scattered along the Rivers of America. Guests ride horse-drawn surreys, turn the old-hand-crank movies, and whoop off down Main Street, having "answered the alarm" in a 1990 model fire-house-red wagon or hook and ladder.

What I didn't expect from the eBay listing were the wonderful watercolor illustrations by Ralph Hulett that were published with the article. Hulett is one of the plethora of under-appreciated artists from Walt's stable. He began with the Studio by working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and went on to have an illustrious, if understated, career with the company.