$683 used! I get it. This book cannot land in everyone’s Between Books library. It’s $683 (today) used. I am being dramatic, there is a copy listed for only $295.99! It is acceptable condition, so it’s acceptable! When I got my copy, they typically ran for about $400. I got lucky. I purchased my copy off Amazon from a Friends of a Library group. I had a pile of gift cards, but still under $100. I reached out and said, this is what I have, I will cherish this book. I will respect this book. And I know what this book is. There is no other owner who will love this volume as much as me! And the friendly friends struck me a deal.
It’s 1995 and Disney fans and postcards hobbyists Bruce Gordon and David Mumford gave other fans a look into their extensive postcard collections in Disneyland: The Nickel Tour. From there, this book became mythical to Disney books fans as it has been cited in numerous Between Books sitting on the shelf. The flow is simple, and one we have seen many times since. Gordon and Mumford work through the park and provide the history of the park and its evolution using primarily postcards purchased at Disneyland and found in their collections. Those cards were often affordable souvenirs costing just a nickel. The hobbyists start with founding and they walk us through the decades up until the 1990s. The cards are supplemented with additional images not captured on postcards to provide us with additional context. They also offer fellow collectors checklists of cards that were offered in the parks.
Gordon, Mumford…which one of you is the funny one? Maybe it’s both. There are a fair share of dad jokes in this book that made me unexpectedly chuckle. Honestly, the light and friendly tone combined with images provide a very easy to engage with text. Throw in some additional background on attractions that we may not see mentioned in a lot in books and some images, like a bulldozed Fantasyland, to help one understand how this book has been referenced heavily. This is especially true as one asks how many Disney history books were offered in the 1990s.
The late authors often provide a tone that makes you believe that they are friendly with many of the figures they are discussing. When they talk about Tony Baxter for example, it comes off as their pal Tony, not some third party who they are simply chronicling. This is because they are bringing across in their tone the actual relationships they held. Gordon was an Imagineer who contributed to Splash Mountain, a project led by Baxter. Mumford worked on the Land and Star Tours in Tokyo Disneyland, a project that Baxter helped to design in the United States. This gave them the perspective as a pair of not only chronicling but in some cases making Disney history. It also can help explain their access to some photos not found in postcards. And despite their years at WED and WDI and vast achievements, it is in their role as Disney historians that they are often best known for, helping found a tradition of Imagineer historians with this being seen as one of their most important contributions.
I do need to warn those of us with collector personalities, this book can be addictive. And I’m not just talking about collecting this hard-to-find volume. As you read, you may find yourself saying, “One postcard isn’t a collection, and I like that image. It’s vintage!” Gordon and Mumford are enthusiastic not just about Disneyland but also about postcard collecting. I found myself putting the book down to shop on eBay several times. I have a little bit of an addictive personality, so one card could easily become 30. It does compliment the authors that 3 decades later, readers are excited not just about the Disneyland park that brought them to the volume, but also the hobby that helped extend their fandom.
Disneyland: The Nickel Tour by Bruce Gordon and David Mumford for many Disney fans may be unobtainium, a book that is priced well outside our price range. But keep your eyes open as you may never know what you will find. The volume itself is visual, fun, insightful, and best of all engaging. It helps us uncover a Disneyland that many of us never saw. It also binds us together in our shared fandom and excitement in our various hobbies.
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