Walt Disney 1953 PHOTO French Cross of Knight Legion of Honor Cannes France

Description

Walt Disney 1953 PHOTO French Cross of Knight Legion of Honor Cannes France
Walt Disney 1953 PHOTO French Cross of Knight Legion of Honor Cannes France
Historic Walt Disney Auctions by Saturday's Toys presents...
a rarely seen photo featuring Walt Disney as he is awarded for the second time as Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honor (April 19, 1953).
Walt was visiting Cannes (on the French Riviera) as his newest animated film, "Peter Pan" (1953), had been entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival.  While in attendance, Walt was honored again with this prestigious award, "La Croix de Chevalier dans l'ordre national
la Légion d'Honneur" (aka The French Legion of Honor).  This was the second occasion on which he received the award.
Bringing together a multitude of Hollywood's featured actors and actresses, including Kirk Douglas, Brigette Bardot, Orson Welles, Anne Baxter and Edward G. Robinson, the sixth film festival was held in Cannes from April 15 thru April 29, 1953. When the curtain was raised to award the prizes, Walt Disney received his the Jury's Special Award (with rosette ribbon) as pinned to Walt's lapel by Emile Hugues, French Secretary of State for Information, and in the presence of Mr. Jacques Flaud, Director of the Cinema Center.
When the first presentation of the award was confirmed in late 1935 by French President Albert Lebrun, that award would be later be delivered to the Walt Disney Studio on Hyperion Avenue.  It was formally presented to Walt on January 8, 1936 in a ceremony at the studio
by Jean Joseph (J.J.) Viala, French Consul of Los Angeles.  In context, that award followed Walt's 1935 summer visit to Europe and an acclaimed Paris reception hosted by the President's wife, Mme. Albert Lebrun.  That occasion was attended by none other than the noted pioneer of modern cinema exhibition,
Louis Lumière
(1864 - 1948).
The 1953 event captured in this photo also coincided with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Colony Theatre debut of Mickey Mouse.  While the award at the Cannes Film Festival was reportedly bestowed for the body of work during Walt's film career (Disneyland was still secretly on the drawing boards), it would be a hard sell to think they would be allowed to forget "...that it all started with a mouse."  Also interesting to note that this award follows by only two weeks a significant contract re-negotiation with Walt over the future use of his name for projects beyond the scope of his work at Walt Disney Productions.  The result... was the rapid expansion of  Disneyland Inc., WED Enterprises and RETLAW Inc.
The 5" x 7.25" glossy black and white photograph is vintage; as originally issued in 1953; and still includes the original text bulletin as adhered to the back of the photo.  Includes remnants of rubber stamp copyright information from United Press (later known as United Press International / UPI).
The photograph apparently once had tape applied that was later removed, lifting some of the surface paper (not impacting the photo image) along with the ink that would have been placed by the rubber stamp.  In addition, the paper is torn from the bottom margin; though most of the text is still legible.   (watermark not present on actual photo)
Also of note, the paper dates the award to April 19, 1953... while most other online references state that the award was presented on April 20.
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Saturday’s Toys and Disneyana Auctions
was founded in 1994 by Southern California author and Disney historian, Dave Mason. Soon after eBay's launch the following year, Saturday's Toys was among the first Disneyana specialists to strategize in embracing this rapidly developing technology. Having delivered over 10,000 coveted Disney treasures since then, Saturday's Toys is pleased to partner with researchers, collectors and friends throughout the world with a shared interest in the preservation of authentic and accurate Disney history.
Today, online offerings of archival Disneyana keepsakes are presented in celebration of the extended times that allow for family, friends and neighbors to join in memorable gatherings that nurture the strong connections that bind a community together. These treasures are affectionately known as "Saturday's Toys." In that light we present our adopted motto (with a tip of the cap to the Sherman Brothers):
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