Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

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erdnasephile
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Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » September 19th, 2014, 9:04 pm

This is a very cool auction (especially for a magician who is also a Disney fan):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-Original-M ... 3ce87999b0

I worked in Merlin's as a teen, and I'd love to have this sign!

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby MManchester » September 19th, 2014, 9:29 pm

Do you think it's worth the asking price of $4500? I see there was an offer but it was declined.

I worked in Merlin's as a teen


Very jealous. How long did you work there? Any favourite stories that come to mind? I like to live vicariously through someone else's experience. I know it's unlikely, but by any chance is there a photograph of you actually working in the shop. I love that kind of stuff.
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » September 19th, 2014, 10:05 pm

I applied to work as a "merchandise host" at Disneyland, and was assigned to Fantasyland. They rotated us through a few shops, but one of my childhood dreams came true during the shifts I got to work at Merlin's over a couple of summers.

They had a couple magicians on staff there, but they weren't very friendly (and not terribly accomplished--they didn't even seem to like to perform--this was well past the glory years of JC Wagner, Steve Martin, Merv Taylor, etc.)

In fact, one dude specifically told me--""Don't do any tricks!" when he found out I was a magician. However, whenever he would go on a break, I'd just demo to my heart's content! :D

I did run into Dana Daniels (whom I knew from the Mystics) when he and Randy Pryor were in the park--they were very cool (and often ran around in various outfits). I shouldn't talk though: I had to dress at work in a goofy, frilly "Swiss" shirt with mustard yellow pants for a whole $3.25 per hour (less taxes and union dues).

The thing I remember most was just how it was such fun to work in a shop with such a cool atmosphere--inside the shop, it was a bit like a hidden castle--really perfect for what it was. It also used to carry some fairly decent stuff--stocked full of Johnson Product's latest (Interlude II was brand new, as I recall) and even some stage stuff. Didn't sell a whole lot of the good stuff--mostly rubber rocks (which we'd pretend were real while banging it on the counter with a metal nut in hand--you'd ditch the nut in a pull out servant as you hurled the rubber rock at an unsuspecting guest). We also sold a ton of those plastic headbands with the glitter balls atop two springs. (It used to puzzle me that people would pay so much for those things that cost just about 25 cents to make according to the invoice in the boxes).

The one time of night everybody liked was when the parade happened because everyone would rush out of the store. If you didn't have parade duty that night, you'd get a nice break in the store where you could just kick back for a while. This, of course, was followed by the mad post-parade rush into the shops (for some weird reason, people were drawn to stores right after the parade--like moths to a flame). Worst day of the summer was always July 4th. What a madhouse! They'd give you 30 minutes to go eat (inclusive), and you'd spend much of that fighting crowds just to get to one of the hidden employee cafeterias.

However, my absolute favorite memory was being the close-out cashier. I just loved this because that shift involved counting all the money and reconciling the register after the park closed. Then you got to take a huge sack of cash out the door to the vault. The cool part was: you had to walk quite a ways through the park to drop off the cash. This was after 11:00 p.m. and the park was always completely deserted, yet it was still lit up beautifully. As you walked, you could still hear the music from Sleeping Beauty's Castle--everything was so still and pretty. I used to just take my time getting there, just to savor the wonderful atmosphere and peace and quiet that gets lost when the park is full. I used to just pretend I owned the whole place and had it all to myself on those nights. It makes me smile just thinking of it!

All in all, it was a dream job for me, and I had a blast!
Last edited by erdnasephile on September 20th, 2014, 8:44 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Leonard Hevia » September 19th, 2014, 10:56 pm

That was a great post Erdnasephile!

Andy Greget used to work at Merlin's in Disneyland in the early 1970s and mentioned that Steve Martin had worked there a year or two before he arrived there. Martin would perform a simple but effective card transposition effect behind the counter utilizing the Downs Change. For a time Martin's effect stayed in the repertoires of the other counter magicians who subsequently followed him.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby MManchester » September 19th, 2014, 10:59 pm

Glad I asked. :D Thanks for taking the time.
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 19th, 2014, 11:14 pm

Generally, everything at Disneyland and other Disney parks was designed and constructed by WED or WDI, so the sign may be real, but unless someone posts a photo of the original sign so both can be studied side by side, I would be very wary of purchasing this. There is a thriving business in selling fake signs from Disney parks. It would be easy to get old wood, old metal, then construct the sign and age it further.
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Roger M. » September 20th, 2014, 12:31 am

This pic is from 1965.

Could be legit.

http://davelandweb.com/fantasyland/imag ... 5_N08B.jpg

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » September 20th, 2014, 1:04 am

Interestingly, the seller says they are the grandson (or granddaughter) of Merv Taylor.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 20th, 2014, 1:18 am

The far-right sides of the signs look different to me. But it is a two-sided sign and it could just be a different sign from what is in the park photo.
I'd like to think that it's real.

Image

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Roger M. » September 20th, 2014, 2:22 am

Here's the other side, and you're right Dustin - it's different on both sides from the eBay auction.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bananap ... B.jpg.html

It actually looks quite different once you've pointed it out.

If you look at the rest of the guys auctions in his store, all he sells is old Disney memorabilia, most of it still carded and looking quite authentic.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » September 20th, 2014, 8:32 am

Here is a third and fourth picture. The right side of the sign looks different here that in both of Dustin's pictures and there is script on the bottom of the sign:

Image
Image

For comparison, here is Roger's:

Image

In this case, the right side looks different too.


I wonder if there were several signs over the years?

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 20th, 2014, 8:52 am

Yes, there can be multiple versions of the sign that were actually used in the park, and the exact style of the flourishes in the lettering can also differ.

I own quite a few original Disney park signs, but have never paid more than a fraction of what this seller is asking.
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » September 20th, 2014, 9:01 am

That's really cool, Richard--may I ask: what signs do you own?

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 20th, 2014, 11:03 am

Many, but among the best are the exit sign to Splash Mountain from WDW, which is 6 feet long, of solid wood, and weighs over 50 pounds. I also have the sign from Spaceship Earth with the lenticular image of the ride vehicle in the middle: it changes as you walk by it (going up the ramp).

Certain signs you know can't be bootlegs, unlike the hundreds of "real" Haunted Mansion gate plagues sold on eBay. They're all poured resin. The real signs are now, I believe, made of fiberglass.

I have the prototype of the entrance sign from Alien Encounter in WDW, as well as the WDI maquette of the entrance sign for the Indy ride in Anaheim.

Really way too much to list. Older, hand-painted signs are worth more than machine-printed acrylic signs that are in use now.
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Bill Mullins » April 6th, 2015, 12:28 pm

Guess who ended up with the sign.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Doug Thornton » April 6th, 2015, 2:01 pm

(Scroll about 3/4 down to see the post from Monday, March 23, 2015.)
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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Brad Jeffers » April 6th, 2015, 3:03 pm

Image

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Leonard Hevia » April 6th, 2015, 3:17 pm

For a time in the late 60s, early 70s, Martin worked at the Merlin's shop demoing. The nostalgia must have been too hard for him to resist.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Bud.Scott » April 6th, 2015, 4:35 pm

Picture of Steve Martin looks Photoshopped to me, look at the hands and how straight his shoulders come down. Your arms would be further apart if you were actually holding a wooden sign of any weight.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby Davelandweb » April 7th, 2015, 12:32 pm

Not photoshopped; here's the retweet directly from Steve Martin's twitter account:

https://twitter.com/SteveMartinToGo/sta ... 6168895488

the people that sold the sign are from Merv Taylor's family; they were very gracious and showed me their cherished family memorabilia. There were two signs for the Fantasyland shop at Disneyland in different locations.

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby erdnasephile » April 7th, 2015, 8:05 pm

Dave: That's an awesome story--thanks for the post and the information!

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Re: Original sign for Merlin's Magic Shop on ebay

Postby jpbaker1 » May 24th, 2015, 10:04 pm

The signs at the Park were regularly repainted and changed looks over the years. I was the person who boxed up the shop when the store closed and the signs did not look like the one shown In Mr. MartinS hands.


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