Disneyland Memorabilia at Von Eaton Galleries

We went to Von Eaton Gallery in Sherman Oaks this weekend to see a collection of over 1000 items from Disneyland's early days. It's the most comprehensive collection of Disneyland memorabilia to ever be auctioned off. The auction will take place at the end of the month, both online and in-person, and I will not  be participating because everything is crazypants expensive and I do not have 50 grand to spare. The collection belongs to an anonymous collector who carefully curated this collection over 30 years. It includes a huge variety of things, including cast member costumes, tickets, blueprints, programs, concept art, popcorn boxes, menus, souvenirs, and so many more random things. It's basically a testament to hoarding and makes me want to hang on to every little thing I gather, just in case it's worth something in 30 years. 

Walt Disney was inspired to build Disneyland after taking his daughters to an amusement park. He thought it would be nice to have a place where families could all have a good time together in a safe, clean environment. ABC financed 1/3 of the park in exchange for a Disneyland TV series. The park had one million visitors in less than a year

Here are a few of the items up for auction:

Animatronic bird from the Enchanted Tiki Room, thought to be worth $20,000 to $25,000:

Pinocchio character head is valued at $7,000 to $9,000:

Skeleton from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride should go for over $60,000 to $90,000:

Walt Disney signed opening day guidebook, worth $7,000 to $9,000:

Some more cool things:
Mickey character head, only slightly creepy:

Some original It's A Small World dolls:

Some early Adventureland merchandise:

A whole bunch of stuff, including a JFK head and Lincoln head:

A Disneyland construction hat and some other stuff:

A mockup of shops on Main Street:

A random Los Angeles Greyhound poster:

The original concept map for Disneyland:

A couple Disneyland tickets and a key for the Disneyland Hotel:

Plates, cups, and an ashtray: 

Popcorn box and cups! Who would ever hang on to this stuff for so long! How is it still in mint condition?! I have so many questions!!!

They had stacks of various paper documents, like tickets, menus, passes, just anything you can imagine. A lot of them were around $100. Briefly considered bidding on one just because it was the closest to being something I could afford. Here is a main gate admission ticket - also, only $1.25?!?!?! Take the decimal out and that's just about how much it costs now:

They had a really nice catalog book of everything for sale and a brief explanation of each. I couldn't not buy this: