I’ve ended up with quite an extensive collection of collector plates, and for a middle-aged man, I’m not sure how to feel about that. What’s next, thimbles? Actually, I have a couple of those…

But this vintage Disneyland large ceramic Pictorial Plate is just gorgeous, Dah-ling! I mean, just look at it:

Who could resist the old-timey look of the painted images, each depicting a Land, radiating off the hub in Disneyland? Let’s take a closer look at these inspiring images:

Now that we have familiarized ourselves with the images, let’s see if we can date this wonderful souvenir: First, as you’ll see in the final image below, this is trademarked ‘Walt Disney Productions’, so it was produced before 1986.

Second, we see the Matterhorn attraction behind Tomorrowland, which was added in the big 1959 expansion. So it likely wouldn’t have been sold before 1960.

Third, online research shows various sellers claiming anywhere from the late 1960’s to the late 1970’s. I would postulate that it would not be from any later, like the 1980’s, due to the style of the imagery. The online estimates could be correct, as Disney tends to maintain stock on popular items over a long period of time.

Conclusion: The only thing we can say with certainty is that it was sold between 1960-1986.

An example of this plate was sold by Van Eaton Galleries and Auctions for $150.00 US about five years ago as of this posting. I paid $40.00 CAN through a private transaction.

If you look closely, you’ll see two holes in the bottom rimming of the plate. This would have been so that the plate could hung on a wall without a plate frame or bracket. It would have originally come with a string attached, like this example. This is missing the string and has no vintage price tag affixed.

As is always the case when an item is reproduced over a number of years, you can find examples of this plate with more vibrant colours and images that look more like photographs. But I feel the more vintage look of this plate with its painted depictions of the park is by far more desirable!