First Conceptual Maquette of Sleeping Beauty Castle Designed by Walt Disney's Master Planner Marvin Davis and Built by "Imagin...

Description

The Creation of an Icon Known the World Over -- Sleeping Beauty Castle from Disneyland

First Conceptual Maquette of Sleeping Beauty Castle Designed by Walt Disney's Master Planner Marvin Davis and Built by "Imagineer" Fred Joerger for Disneyland (1953). Vintage original sculpture crafted of resin and mixed media detailed in light gray with blue spires, with a full accompaniment of towers, turrets and parapets representing the quintessential fortified castle seen in fairy tales. This iconic piece is from the collection of Marvin Davis, master planner for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and has never been offered for sale. Davis, trained as an architect, was an art director at 20th Century Fox when he was hired in 1953 by WED Enterprises (today known as Walt Disney Imagineering). Davis was instrumental in bringing Walt's vision for Disneyland into reality, designing the exterior of Sleeping Beauty Castle, The Haunted Mansion and the buildings along Main Street, U.S.A. For two years he worked on more than 100 different versions of the master plan for Disneyland. When interviewed for The "E" Ticket Magazine (Number 28, Winter 1997), Davis, while discussing the European castles that inspired the design, he states, "Here's the first model of it, by the way" (the article features Davis seated next to this maquette). Davis continues, "I was working on virtually everything to do with the Disneyland plan, but especially on Main Street, the Castle and the exterior of the Haunted House. I was involved with everything that was to go into Disneyland, because I had to allow space for it in the overall Park layout. I'd be on my stool, and Walt would come in and he'd sit on a stool next to me and look at everything. He'd put a piece of tracing paper over the work and say, 'Marvin, let's do it like this.'" Following the conceptual drawings of the Castle, it was the job of one of the original Disney Imagineers, Fred Joerger, to interpret them into three-dimensional models. As stated by D23: The Official Disney Fan Club website: "Fred and Disney Legends Harriet Burns and Wathel Rogers comprised the original 'model shop' when Walt began developing Disneyland. As Burns remembered: 'Most anything at Disneyland, Fred created as a model first. He constructed several versions of Sleeping Beauty Castle, for instance, changing each design, moving the turrets around, changing colors. Walt liked the model with the blue roof because he thought it would blend in with the sky, making the castle look taller.'"Provenance: From the family of Emmy Award-winning artist and designer Marvin Davis.

The maquette measures 12" x 7.75" x 10" on 13.5" x 9.5" base with etched brass plaque reading "Original Model of Fantasyland Castle designed for Walt Disney By Marvin Davis Built By Fred Joerger 1953". Exhibits age with a few missing "teeth" in the battlements. Besides the Mouse Ears, the symbol for Disney and Disneyland is Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This is the first three-dimensional rendering of one of the world's greatest pop culture icons and its importance cannot be overstated. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: The castle remained with Walt until his passing in 1966. According to Nannette Latchford (née Davis), "After Walt died, Roy was removing Walt's personal effects from his office and noted the model. He gifted it back to Mom & Dad, (Marvin & Marjorie Davis, Walt and Lillian's niece), and shared that the model was one of Walt's prized possessions, Roy confided that Walt had told him "the mouse got us started, but this castle brought us home."


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