DS, signed twice, "Walt Disney," four pages, 8.5 x 11, March 25, 1953. Minutes of a special meeting of the board of directors of Walt Disney Incorporated, regarding a licensing agreement with Walt Disney Productions "to use his (Walter E. Disney's) name in connection with the merchandising licenses for fanciful characters granted by Walt Disney Productions to third parties." For that license, Walt Disney Productions is to pay royalties of $50,000 per year for a period of ten years. For his part, Walt Disney would receive $150,000 worth of stock in Walt Disney Incorporated. The first section is signed by Walt Disney and William Hyland, and the second section, waiving notice of the special meeting, is signed by board members Walt Disney, Lloyd Wright, William H. D. Cottrell, Nathan Winecoff, and William Hyland. In fine condition.
Walt Disney formed Walt Disney, Inc. on December 16, 1952, in order to fund and oversee the development of Disneyland; later in 1953, he changed the firm's name to WED Enterprises, using his initials rather than his full name to avoid confusion with his film production company-a beneficial change, seeing as the present document, regarding an agreement between "Walt Disney Incorporated," "Walt Disney Productions," and "Walter E. Disney" himself, is somewhat difficult to parse. Disney provided the startup money for the park from his own personal fortune, funneled through WED Enterprises. Since it was a separate entity from the Walt Disney Company, the development of the park could be conducted in secret and without disclosure to shareholders. Disneyland would open on July 17, 1955.
Equally significant is this document's concern with the commercial exploitation of Disney's "fanciful characters." On top of its iconic films and amusement parks, the Disney company is famed for its remarkably successful merchandising and retail operations. From t-shirts and wristwatches to children's toys, Disney paraphernalia continues to be bought and sold all over the world.
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