Friday, January 23, 2009

Souvenir Friday- Early Disneyland Name Badges

Well, they really are not name badges but rather identification badges. The first name badges did not have names on them, rather the badges had employee numbers. The earliest were made out of brass and quite heavy. The early one from 1955 is numbered 268 which is quite a low number. The back of the badge is marked for the LA Stamp and Stationary company, the company which made many badges for police and fire departments over the years. The second badge is made out of aluminum and quite a bit lighter. The only cast members with names on their badges during this time period were the supervisors and managers. I have seen only a couple of those throughout the years.

7 comments:

Katella Gate said...

Very interesting post today about the brass nameless name tags... I wonder if Walt got badge No. 1?

Major Pepperidge said...

I think that on the 10th anniversary special, Walt mentions that he is employee #1.

Wow, these are so cool, every time I see an employee wearing one in an old photo, I wish I had one!!

jedblau said...

Is is possible to track down an employee log to discover to whom this once belonged?

Nametag Museum said...

If dreams really do come true, maybe one day I will have one of these for my very own!

Andrew Culture said...

Am I the only person that thinks they look a bit sinister?


Andrew Culture

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CoxPilot said...

My badge number is 2364, and has a lower number than your pic on the left. However; mine is very shiny, has better blue enamle, and seems a lot better made than your two examples. Badges were collected and re-issued as needed, so the number is NOT and employee number. However; the number was recorded on the hire-in forms and expected to be returned. I have mine because it was issued to me by mistake. As a lessee, I was not to receive one, but they were in a rush to get me processed. Lessees did not have a "checkout" process, so the badge was never returned. I have my I.D. card too. These can be seen on Daveland.

CoxPilot said...

Also; Just wanted to further comment about Walt. I worked at the Park for 6 1/2 years, saw Walt many times through the years, and never saw a badge on him. He may have had badge #1, but I don't believe he ever worn one.

ps: The backside of my badge looks like the one on the right.