We all know Walt was a man of many talents, and in the 1950s several businesses as well. Did you ever wonderful what Walt gave people when they asked for a business card? Typically, it was the studio business card that has been reproduced several times. However, we all know that Walt started WED to help him build and Imagineer Disneyland. For years it was located on the Burbank Studio lot (at 2400 West Alameda Ave.). It is reasonable to assume that Walt had a WED business card. And here it is, in honor of his Birthday. I discovered this a good twenty years ago. At the time, no one was aware of a WED business card. As I interviewed many of the old timers, I showed them this card, and they had never seen it (and yes, I did ask the Archives). I believe it is probably still quite rare today, and so I wanted to share it with the readers here at the Institute.
Where did you get it? I was given Herb’s.
I purchased this back in the early 1990s from an Assistant Art Director at Tomorrowland. He had asked Walt for it when Walt had made a site trip the month before opening. At the time, I didn’t realize how rare it was, figuring it was yet another Walt business card that I didn’t have. But upon researching it over the years, I never found another one. At the time Ken Anderson was still alive and I was staying at his house in La Canada once a month to do an oral history with him, as well as various Disney research. I showed it to him, and he had never seen one and even called around to some of the old timers to ask (this was 1991, so Herbie had passed away). How wonderful to learn that there is another one out there. I’m guessing it looks exactly the same? And what is on the back (if anything?). Thanks again for your comments and this note.