Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas! One Hour in Wonderland Advertising Poster

This is one of those things I had known existed for a long time, but never thought I'd own.  This is the in-store advertising poster for One Hour in Wonderland, sponsored by Coca Cola.
 This was distributed to Coca Cola retailers in the weeks leading up to Christmas for display, usually on windows judging by the adhesive tabs present on the front of the poster.

I first learned of this poster when my friend Paul over at the Disney History Institute saw one in a shop about 20 years ago.  He took a photo of it for me.   About 5 years ago I managed to acquire two in a lot, this being one of them.  It is about 16x24 and very colorful.  I am also aware of another version of this poster, much larger, 41x59.  I do not have that one, but as the image is exactly the same, I'm not that concerned.  Well, ok, I do want it, being the ultimate completist, but having the small one does alleviate my suffering somewhat.

This poster is quite rare, which is a little surprising to me.  Coca Cola advertising has always been avidly collected, and this being both Coke and Disney, I would have thought lots more would have been saved over the years and made available on the collector market, but such is definitely not the case.  I have only see four of the small posters in the last 22 years, and two of the large - I'm not even sure if the two large posters I saw were not the same poster.  Compared to other 1950s Coca Cola advertising posters, that is ridiculously rare.

Merry Christmas to all my readers, may your holidays be filled with cool Alice stuff!

8 comments:

Brian Sibley said...

Thanks for posting this and the other OHiW materials. I've never seen this poster before and so was very intrigued. Is any artist credited? It has an Al Dempster look to my eye...

Check out my decidedly disney on New Year's Day, it has an image you might enjoy and which I am happy to share with your readers. (Here's a sneak peak, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't re-post until after it has appeared on my blog!)

Happy Christmas!

Matt said...

@Brian - no artist credited, but I agree it does have that Al Dempster feel to it. That photo is AMAZING, did it actually get produced? I look forward to seeing it live and in person on your blog!

Hayley said...

Oh, my dear completist. Remember, it's exhausting to want everything. I applaud your restraint.

Major Pepperidge said...

What a fantastic poster!

I'm sorry my Christmas wishes are late, but I can still wish you a Happy New Year!

Steven Hartley said...

Hi, I noticed your blog and I think it's great! Some amazing collection here ;)

Oh, if you are interested - I've actually posted the entire mosaics for each sequence to Alice in Wonderland. I thought you may be interested and see:

http://blabbingonartsandculture.blogspot.com/search/label/Alice%20in%20Wonderland

Matt said...

@H - restraint is what you make of it, or what finances make of you :)

@Major - Happy New Year to you as well, it is never too late for holiday greetings, or presents!

@Steven - I came across your mosaics via Hans' blog, and have linked them in my sidebar already. Great stuff!

jedblau said...

That is a gorgeous poster. I don't collect Alice, but I would proudly display this in my home. Happy New Year!

Matt said...

@Jed - everyone needs a little bit of Alice in their home. Happy New Year to you and your family!