Post by That Duckfan on May 13, 2020 21:40:07 GMT
This week I've been going through my old Mickey Magazines. Mickey Magazine is the Belgian weekly that was published between 1950 and 1959, and it has all the trappings of the period. Much like the Dutch weekly at the time, the magazine was heavily editorialized, every issue starting with a short notice from "Mickey" (in Belgium) or "Donald" (in Holland). These are very quaint to read now, full of old-fashioned vocabulary and august moralizing. I think they're charming, with all the 'general knowledge' and quiz sections sprinkled throughout.
I want to share with you a particular 'letter from the editor' that I came across, from Mickey Magazine (Flanders) #433, dated 22 January 1959. It harkens back to the days when people still had pen pals. It also features some early contact between Disney fans of different countries -- a kind of embryonic fandom, in a way. I've translated the text down below.
Mickey calling...
Hello, hello, dear boys and girls.
Do you remember? Starting in July [1958, ed.], we published the names of little Italian friends looking to write, under the header "Correspondence with Italy". These names were given to us by the Italian equivalent of Mickey Magazine -- Topolino.
Of course, this correspondence hasn't simply and solely come about from the Italian side. Our boys and girls have also given us their names and addresses to start a correspondence with a friend from across the Alps.
The results have been astounding. There was so much response from Italy that I felt obligated to request the publisher of Topolino not to print any more names for the time being. Almost all the candidates received anywhere from fifty to one hundred letters from Italy. They'd need hire a secretary to be able to keep up with amount of mail!
All this proves that people from all over the world don't just want to discover one another through books and so on, but that they also want to tighten the bonds of friendship between humankind by personally getting in touch with people from other nations.
However, it proves even more: if I have requested the publisher of Topolino to stop the publication of names for the time being, then this is because several Mickey readers have asked me to. Seeing how it's impossible for them to respond to this torrent of letters in person, they'd like to avoid being seen as rude, and especially when the sender is from another country.
I honestly have to say, my dear friends, that such an attitude fills me with joy. You will rarely be instructed to be polite, but it is a distinguished element in human life nonetheless. It does me an unspeakable pleasure to find this virtue among so many of you.
Mickey
I want to share with you a particular 'letter from the editor' that I came across, from Mickey Magazine (Flanders) #433, dated 22 January 1959. It harkens back to the days when people still had pen pals. It also features some early contact between Disney fans of different countries -- a kind of embryonic fandom, in a way. I've translated the text down below.
Mickey calling...
Hello, hello, dear boys and girls.
Do you remember? Starting in July [1958, ed.], we published the names of little Italian friends looking to write, under the header "Correspondence with Italy". These names were given to us by the Italian equivalent of Mickey Magazine -- Topolino.
Of course, this correspondence hasn't simply and solely come about from the Italian side. Our boys and girls have also given us their names and addresses to start a correspondence with a friend from across the Alps.
The results have been astounding. There was so much response from Italy that I felt obligated to request the publisher of Topolino not to print any more names for the time being. Almost all the candidates received anywhere from fifty to one hundred letters from Italy. They'd need hire a secretary to be able to keep up with amount of mail!
All this proves that people from all over the world don't just want to discover one another through books and so on, but that they also want to tighten the bonds of friendship between humankind by personally getting in touch with people from other nations.
However, it proves even more: if I have requested the publisher of Topolino to stop the publication of names for the time being, then this is because several Mickey readers have asked me to. Seeing how it's impossible for them to respond to this torrent of letters in person, they'd like to avoid being seen as rude, and especially when the sender is from another country.
I honestly have to say, my dear friends, that such an attitude fills me with joy. You will rarely be instructed to be polite, but it is a distinguished element in human life nonetheless. It does me an unspeakable pleasure to find this virtue among so many of you.
Mickey