Ward Kimball Autograph on First Day Cover

Ward Kimball (1914 - 2002) embodied for me what an animator should look like. He had style galore, and it shone through his work. He was one of Walt's Nine Old Men, those key animators who created the classic Disney films. His most famous creation was Jiminy Cricket for "Pinocchio", but he had many others. He directed the cartoon short "Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom" which won an Academy Award, and a series of programs on space travel for the "Disneyland" television show that was credited for boosting support for the start of the US space program. He was the founder of the jazz band "The Firehouse Five Plus Two", a group of artists and animators (including Frank Thomas) who produced 7 records and toured the country and made occasional appearances in Disneyland. One of their records features a live performance at The Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland. Ward was one of several Disney animators who deeply shared Walt's fondness for railroads, and built his own full-size railroad called "Grizzly Flats Railroad" in his backyard. He autographed this August 16, 1988 First Day Cover for the Railroad Mail Car commemorative US postage stamp with the Grizzly Flats Railroad stamp on the envelope, making it a true cross-collectible.