Description:

Disney Walt 1901 - 1966 Disney inscribes a photo of himself in Argentina on a horse, in full gaucho dress, to his frequent polo opponent Bill Branch Photograph Signed "To Bill Branch / With My / Best Wishes / Walt Disney." Black & white, 9.5" x 7.5". Slight nick in upper left corner. Mounting remnants on verso. Fine condition. Disney is apparently seated on a horse holding on to the u-shaped horn of a saddle while in Argentina on his 1941 goodwill mission to South America.


On August 17, 1941, Walt Disney and 15 of his studio staff (Dubbed "El Groupo") embarked on a goodwill and moviemaking tour to South America at the urging of the U.S. Government. The result was the ultimate release of two wartime feature cartoons, ‘Saludos Amigos' (1943) and ‘The Three Caballeros' (1945). They returned to America on October 20, 1941. "The New York Times" reported that upon his arrival by ship in New York City, Disney said he "was treated well" on his South American tour. "He said that although he had never visited South America before, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck had made introductions for him. ‘They are great favorites in South America,' Mr. Disney said. ‘The people down there are good audiences.'" Disney "declared that he would bring to Hollywood voice and musical artists from South America to give greater authenticity to the cartoon films based on South American characters."

In Argentina, Disney was in full gaucho dress at an event hosted by the Cartoonists Association of Argentina. He even rode a horse as would a traditional gaucho horseman. This was most probably the event at which the signed photograph here offered was taken. Inspired by his love of polo, in 1936, he had produced "Mickey's Polo Team," an animated short featuring a game of polo played between four Disney characters, led by Mickey Mouse, and four cartoon versions of real-life movie stars. Actually, Walt Disney captained his own team against other California teams. The October 28, 1936 "Los Angeles Times" reported a recent charity polo match at the Will Rogers Memorial Field: "The teams are the Mickey Mouse four led by Walt Disney and the Uplifters quartet captained by Dr. Bill Branch…"

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