Alexander at the Silhouette Shop

In my collection, I have a vintage silhouette cut at the Disneyland Main Street Silhouette Studio. You can see where it is located in this August 1956 shot, just a few months after it had opened in January (originally it was the short-lived Grandma’s Baby Shop):



…and how it looked when I shot it in 2015:



Zooming into the printed signature on the silhouette, we see the name Alex, with a pair of scissors cleverly standing in for the letter “A”:



Who was Alex? In the June 1956 edition of the Disneyland News, we can see a shot of him inside the newsprint pages.



Below, Main Street Silhouette Studio artist Alex DeGonslar presents singer/actress Jane Powell with a portrait he had just cut of her:



As fate would have it, I was contacted by his granddaughter who happened to stumble upon my blog. How cool is that? She was kind enough to share these family photos of Alexander at work, beginning with this image from 1956:



The next two photos show Alexander in the window of the shop:





The below shot is from September 1960. And in case you’re new to this blog or vintage Disneyland photos, let me inform you just how rare interior shots of shops/stores/attractions are.



From August 1961:



So fun to look at the detailed pictures on the wall. I wonder who the people in the photos are? I am guessing they were celebrities or dignitaries of some kind.



This 1962 image is labeled as being shot at Disney; since the background doesn’t seem like Disneyland, I am going to guess that it might have been shot at the Studio in Burbank. I believe the man that Alexander is cutting is actor/comedian Cliff Arquette, better known as Charlie Weaver.



What an unexpected treasure trove! Thanks so much to Alexander’s granddaughter for furnishing these. If you were a reader of Highlights Magazine as a tot, you might remember Goofus and Gallant. She is a true Gallant!



Just today, I was contacted by Goofus:

I kinda upset that you didn't do enough reach search on every silhouette artist that worked there.. on main. Street.. because my grandfather [name removed to protect the rude], was silhouette artist. For over 37 years.

Instead of supplying info or photos, they dumped their bad attitude on me. A true Goofus. This makes me all the more appreciative of the DeGonslar family!

See more Disneyland Silhouette Shop photos at my main website.

Silhouettes by Cindi

Silhouette artist, Cindi Harwood Rose, started cutting silhouettes at Disneyland in 1969 and eventually at Walt Disney World, breaking park records by doing over 600 people in one day at Disney World in 1971! She still does silhouettes today and thanks both Roy Disney and Jess Rubio for believing in her talents, even though she was only a teen at the time. She paid for her entire college degree by cutting silhouettes. Below you can see a silhouette done by Cindi of music legend, Liberace, from Disney World.



Her sister, Holly Harwood, also cut silhouettes at Disney World. Holly battled cancer and finally passed; in her memory, Cindi cuts silhouettes and donates proceeds to cancer survivors through The Holly Rose Ribbon Foundation. The money goes to children who lost a parent to cancer as a scholarship for college, for free reconstruction for breast patients, for children's activities in hospitals such as clowns, book-reading, art projects, and her silhouettes. She can be reached at silhouettesbycindi.com or Cincere@wt.net. Many thanks to Cindi for sharing her amazing stories! Here they are in Cindi's own words:



I actually earned every penny of my college education cutting silhouettes for Jess Rubio in amusement parks (he owned the concessions at Astroworld in Houston), and each summer and December at Christmas, he would send me to Disneyland to relieve the other silhouette artists so they could get a vacation. I would stay in a "guest home" in Orange County, normally with an employee, and they were always shocked that the girl from Texas could out-produce the Disney artists in California. Call it Texas charm, or that I love silhouettes, or that I am the fastest silhouettest in the North, South, East, West, or plain Disney magic...to me, it is a "dream come true!"

I worked 14 hours a day, 5 days a week for Disney World, the fastest silhouette artist they ever had and the largest producer—600 people days! The most anyone else had done were 400 people days. I was the only silhouette artist when Disney World opened in 1971 and on my days off either Vincent (still at Disney World) or Rico (Prosperoso) would take to the stand. They never equaled my production—400-600 silhouettes each day! I think it is the energy of the love I have for the art, which is magic in itself. When I first worked, Roy Disney and Jess Rubio would check the trash at night to make sure my work was done in one cut! I was the only person allowed to have curly (frizzy) hair—no make-up which is fine, and I don't need—as that was natural for me, and Greta (in charge of grooming) approved my hair. It was not the Disney look, but working 12-14 hour days, I would leave for the park showered with wet hair, and by the time I arrived and went through wardrobe, it was dried in a natural blonde little curly bob.

Here is a cute story about Disneyland—I went to work my first day (during Christmas holidays to give the artist there in 1969 a two week vacation) and I was walking down the street to get to wardrobe. The guard stopped me and told me that I did not have a 25 year pin on, and was not allowed to walk on that side of the road! Then, when I got to work, someone joked that I was "A Texan" and was a "fast draw" with my scissors, comparing it to a gun. Roy Disney even greeted me with Jess Rubio (he could not walk well) and I was so excited. My first day there, I did more silhouettes than the other artists had done; they said it was because I would say, "Hi Ya'll" to everyone, and that even in California, Texas hospitality was appreciated! We were paid 25 percent of what we did, and the silhouettes were $1 for one and 50¢ for a duplicate copy. Thus, I was able to pay for my whole college education by cutting silhouettes at Disneyland and other parks owned by the Disney lessors. There was an art manager in the park, named John Raya, and he did silhouettes and caricatures as well at Disneyland. At the time, Disney instructed me, "If they have a double chin, leave it off; the guest is always right." These things I remember and always have my bright, shining Disney personality whenever I hand-cut silhouettes which is very often.

I still have my first manual from Disney World—what a treasure! I also remember Rico Prosperoso very well; he was from the Philippines; half Asian, half Hispanic. His beautiful works are published by Dover Books. His silhouettes had an Oriental style; they did not look like the people as they were very elongated, but his castles, butterflies, etc. are amazing! I remember they let him dress out of costume, unlike me, who had to wear "Main Street" which was not pretty, especially the flat shoes, that I found embarrassing! Rico would come in dressed like a Spanish matador, and he would cut out gorgeous fairy-tale silhouette scenes, then burst out laughing like a coyote—the loudest laugh you ever heard! And then, the whole shop would start laughing as well as all the "guests" around.

I always had a huge crowd around me, as I was taught how to display my work (by Jess Rubio): first show the people, then turn to your right and show the crowd, then sway the pasted silhouette to the left, then back to the people—showmanship! They did try to show me how to flip my scissors in the air as I cut silhouettes, but I did not master that, and I don't think any good silhouette profile artist could do that, but Rico could-- à la food chef style! Below are some of my elaborate scenes that are quite modern, and Rico's work done by my side at Disney World, that he published while I was there through Dover Books for everyone to use; they are not copyrighted. He would be honored to have something written about him, as Dover did not put anything about him in their books other than his name on the cover. He was like perfume; when he came by, there was happiness and laughter and magic! I stopped working for Disney in 1972, after 5-6 years for the Disney Theme Parks...pre-college, college, after-college.







Above are some modern silhouettes that I did and one below from a page of Rico's from Dover prints (you can find his work on-line):



...and the other from 1972, of Abraham Lincoln that I did as a sample at Disney World:



...and then one by my precious sister, Holly Harwood (later Skolkin):



I am not sure why, but in "those days" and I noticed recently still, at Downtown Disney, many "character" silhouettes are on display, such as fisherman, cowboys, army people, and they do not look like real people, which is a mistake of many silhouette artists. The real art was a "history" of the era, as it predates the camera. That is why my work is modern, and I stay up-to-date on fashion, or a person's style statement. My work is real, and the art is supposed to be "intuitive" where we capture more than features…we capture personality! I know that I do, as people from over 40 years ago have always told me that my work had an impact, and that they learned much about themselves from it. It is more than black and white, for me it is LIGHT and LOVE! Please view my video (you can use it) Rocking Paper Scissors, and you will know what the art means to me—the unity of man. Silhouettes know no prejudice or skin color, they see your positive light, not your shadow. They should never be done from a shadow; the real Disney silhouette artists do it from sight, and they do it right!

Many silhouette artists give everyone the same face. A great silhouette artist would not do that, neither would a great portrait or caricature artist; they would make you as you, your handprint profile!
Above is one of my sister Holly's silhouettes; she also worked at Disney World and Disneyland during college vacations—to give the California artists a break and to work at my side in Florida, doing silhouettes. She worked for Rubio Artists in his Houston location, Astroworld (no longer open, it closed in 2005), doing silhouettes. Holly died of breast cancer 2 years ago, and on-line there is a story about the two of us at Disney World doing silhouettes in our Main Street costumes in front of the Magic Castle!

Thank you Cindi for sharing your inspirational story!

See more vintage & current Disneyland Silhouette Shop on Main Street, U.S.A. photos on my Silhouette Shop web page.

What's My Theme?

Recently, one of my followers on Twitter brought up how out-of-theme this Souvenir/Information Kiosk was for Town Square/Main Street, U.S.A.

It is so common today to debate whether a change to the park should be made or not and whether it's "on-theme," citing the recent Fantasy Faire addition to Central Plaza that replaces the former Plaza Gardens. Somehow, it never occurred to me to scrutinize early park photos for "violations" of theming when this little kiosk so obviously cries "foul"!

It seems to have disappeared by the 60's, and although it's very festive and eye-catching, it truly seems out of character with the other muted buildings and shops that guests found on Main Street, U.S.A. back in the 1950's.

Of course, this won't stop me from zooming in so that curious readers can see the merchandise being offered in this 1956 photo:



How about those souvenir construction-style hats?

While we're near Main Street, as a follow-up to my recent post on the Silhouette Studio, Daveland reader Cherie generously sent in a photo of the portrait she had done at Disneyland back in 1960:



As she recalls:

I went to Disneyland in 1960 on Thanksgiving Saturday when they had a special Date Nite. I was a freshman at UCLA and my new boyfriend invited me. It was a cold, gray, sprinkly day but I had so much fun. We danced a lot in the Carnation Plaza to great big band music. I had never been there after dark before.

I lived in the Valley and my mother took me and three girlfriends to Disneyland shortly after it opened. But this Date Nite was very special. And I cherish the silhouette.

Thanks for sending your photo, Cherie - it really is a beautiful piece!

"Frankenweenie" is out on home video now. I skipped this movie in the theater; I was determined not to like it, since I was so enamored with Burton's original short live-action version of this story. However, I watched it last night and truly enjoyed it. Although the story is similar, it (obviously) has been expanded, and definitely stands on its own. The stop-action animation is breathtaking; the details blew my socks off and put 'em in the wash! Note of caution; I do feel that this movie is quite a bit more emotional, as Sparky the dog is much more endearing, and the relationship between him and his master gets fleshed out. Whereas the original movie seemed more tongue-in-cheek, this version is a bit more serious. If you are a dog-lover, get the hankies out.

See more vintage and current Disneyland Town Square photos on my Town Square photo web page.

The Silhouette Studio

The Silhouette Studio on East Main Street is a somewhat hidden gem at Disneyland. Here, guests can have their silhouettes done the old-fashioned way: hand-cut by the talented artists that work inside. Here's a vintage silhouette:



I love the creative signature of the artist, Alex, found in the lower-right-hand corner:



This article was featured in the Disneyland Line Newsletter, April 27, 1978:

Of Shadows and Smiles…The Main Street Silhouette Studio

When Walt Disney first conceived his Main Street entryway to the Magic Kingdom, he desired that each details, each characteristic trait of that turn-of-the-century period be recreated in the most authentic manner. One of the most prominent examples of this duplication of 19th century life lies within the door of the Main Street Silhouette Studio. Today an almost obsolete art form, the craft of cutting profile likenesses found its roots in the mid-18th century. Étienne Silhouette, a French finance minister, originated the commercial production of the craft. During that time, the privilege of personal portraiture was reserved for the very elite, and Étienne began his campaign to generate the production of the "poor man's" portrait…the Silhouette. Eventually this innovative art form caught on even in the wealthy circles and became one of the most popular portrait devices in Europe.



The invention of the camera cast a lasting shadow over the art of silhouette creation, and today only about 25 full-time silhouette artists exist in this country. Harry Brice is Disneyland's artist in residence, and tells an interesting tale of how he came to be an artist of such rare talents. "I was being interviewd by Disneyland's former artist lessee, and he asked me if I'd had any experience with silhouette portraits. I didn't even know what a silhouette portrait WAS, but told my interviewer that I was experienced int he field. Within a week, I had taught myself the craft, and was working in the Sihouette Shop."



Since that time over 10 years ago, Harry has become an accomplished duplicator of Disneyland guest profiles. 60,000 silhouettes were created by Harry last year alone, and it's been estimated that he's the "fastest snip in the West"…and the world at 30 seconds per portrait. Harry has scissored some unusual profiles, as horses, cats and dogs are now a part of his repertoire. One of his most memorable portraits is a silhouette of a departed husband, described th Harry by the man's widow.



Although Harry is the shop's full-time artist, Laurie Myers and Bonnie Elliot share the responsibility on party nights and during the summer and peak seasons. A Silhouette Cart in New Orleans Square relieves some of the pressure during the busier periods.

More than artistic talent, however, is required to be a creative silhouette cutter. Showmanship, patience and an infinite sense of humor are prerequisites to the success of the craft. And in every aspect of this art, Harry and his staff of artists are a difficult group to over-shadow.



Apparently, Bonnie is still working in the shop, racking up 38 years of employment at the park. Next time you are on Main Street, be sure to take advantage of this almost lost art of portrait making. You'll be glad you did!

See more vintage and current Silhouette Studio photos on my Silhouette Studio web page.