1,000 items from Disneyland’s earliest days to go to auction

Disneyland fans, you’ve got your annual pass and zillions of pins. But do you possess an original bird from the Tiki Room? Or an etched glass E-ticket sign that once hung at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride?

Now you can.

As Disneyland rolls out plans for its 60th year celebrations, more than 1,000 items from the theme park’s early days are going on the auction block in Sherman Oaks on Feb. 28. The collection is expected to take in $1 million at auction.

Members of the public can peruse items -- some of which date to Disneyland’s opening day on July 17, 1955 -- at Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks. It’s open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays from Feb. 7 to 27.

“The breadth of this vintage collection and the rarity of the memorabilia are a true testament to the genius of Walt Disney,” gallery founder and President Mike Van Eaton says in a statement. “It tells the story of Disneyland from the beginning like we have never seen before, and I am sure we won’t ever see again.”

The individual collection that includes costumes, employee badges, tickets and conceptual blueprints of the park has been amassed over 30 years. The collector lives in Southern California but has chosen to remain anonymous, according to the auction house.

Among the big-ticket items that will be for sale:

--original artwork of an early version of Tomorrowland by Bruce Bushman with an estimated value of $50,000 to $70,000;

--an original Pinocchio character head that dates to 1968, valued at $7,000 to $9,000; and

--a skeleton from the original Pirates of the Caribbean ride, expected to fetch $60,000 to $90,000

Other selections include a panel from the first park monorail, a doll from It’s a Small World, a cigar store Indian that once stood in Frontierland, and Disneyland’s first ticket book, which has never been used.

And that glass E-ticket sign is one of only two made. It’s estimated to go for $15,000 to $20,000. (The E here doesn’t refer to electronic tickets; it signified a coupon for the most popular, top-tier rides at Disneyland.)

The auction, live and online, starts at 11 a.m. Feb. 28 with a second session at 11 a.m. March 1.

Info: Van Eaton Galleries, (818) 788-2357