Saturday, September 22, 2007

Ashtray....best. find. ever.

The Disney Ashtray has come full circle. It is my favorite estate sale find, not because it turned out to be more valuable than I thought, but because it came with the best. story. ever.

I've been writing to the buyer and he promised me a great story, today I got this:


Dear baby-go-go,

That item and others were made in California by Eleanor Welborn. Her studio was in Northern California. When Disneyland first opened the stores were leased, not owned by Disney. He only controlled the Main Gate and the rides. He had a rule that the stores could not usuallly compete with the same merchandise. That way people stayed longer and more items were purchased. My parents were leasees from Feb 1956 to november 1959. they sold the Welborn dishes and ashtrays, exclusivly. They were sold under the Disney license for about one year. Then Disney licensed in Japan. When they left, Mom, who thought that D-land was just a passing fad, did not keep anything. I decided to use eBay to put a set of plates and ashtrays together as a family momento. The shop was called Show Business. It was in Town Square (and is now part of the exit path for people leaving the Mr. Lincoln attraction. Sorry I must stop here. I am running out of characters. Thanks for finding this. Bill

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