If, like me, you're enthralled with mid-century science and classic Disneyland, no doubt you've come across this odd 1950s Upjohn postcard for the Basic Cell display at the pharmacy on Main Street. Hardly anything has ever been written about this curious exhibit, so I think it's time to change that right now.
Head Cellsman, Will Burtin
German-born designer Will Burtin was a graphic designer for Fortune magazine and the Upjohn Company, specializing in "scientific visualization." He had designed Upjohn's entire product line of medicine bottles, ointment tubes and packaging - and even the company letterhead. In 1957, Burtin convinced Upjohn's president Jack Gauntlett and Dr. Garrard Macleod, director of special projects, to fund the construction of a large-scale scientific model, a human red blood cell 24 feet across and 12 feet high. It was so big, folks could enter and walk around inside...on carpet!
Built of plastic tubing, wires and colored lights, the soon-to-be-famous model would be a tactile representation of a virtual human cell. Not an actual representation of a cell, since too much was still unknown about cells, but a "giant, physical manifestation of a designer's vision" of how a cell functions.
The walk-thru model, one million times larger than life, was unveiled in September 1958 at the American Medical Association's meeting in San Francisco. It was a sensation, and would eventually pave the way for Burtin to create four more fantastic scientific models for Upjohn during his career.
cellular spectacular!
The full-sized Cell was an instant smash hit with scientists and non-scientists alike, but it was too huge to be easily moved, so Burtin designed a smaller version. The new Mark II model was 6-feet tall and made its debut at a special reception in the foyer of the Los Angeles County General Hospital on August 12, 1959. Like its larger predecessor, the new Cell was a marvel, described in a full page article in the Illustrated London News as "a glowing and mysterious hemisphere."
The Cell comes to Disneyland (1958)
For the opening of Disneyland in 1955, Burtin had designed the interior for the Upjohn Pharmacy on Main Street U.S.A. Burtin and his wife Hilda had spent months collecting antique medical paraphernalia, period glassware, patent medicine powders, weigh-scales, and pharmacological books to furnish Walt Disney's turn-of-the-century drugstore. Now Burtin's 6-foot "Basic Cell" would be added to the exhibit in a small room adjacent to the Pharmacy (today's jewelry counter in the rear of the Fortuosity Shoppe.)
Carol Burtin and the Cell (1958)
It's estimated that two million people saw Will Burtin's Six-Foot Human Cell during its brief stay at Disneyland. Certainly Upjohn must've felt they got their money's worth of publicity value, as visitors left the exhibit with pieces of Upjohn literature, including a color souvenir postcard of the model with Burtin's teenaged daughter Carol, by photographer Ezra Stoller.
Will Burtin (right) with Dr. A. Gerrard Macleod in the Cell exhibit
From Disneyland, the cell traveled to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, and pictures of it appeared in magazines, text books and science films throughout the 1960s and into the 70s. Will Burtin believed that designers had a responsibility in the age of science to attempt to make complex scientific problems easier to understand. In Burtin's mind the role of designer and teacher were interchangeable, and he hoped to inspire through his craft.
If you found this interesting, there is a wonderful new book available on Will Burtin's design work and his beautiful scientific models.
Design and Science, The Life and Work of Will Burtin by R. Remington and R. Fripp is available from Amazon. Order your copy
here now!
Today this blog is exactly two years old, and to mark the occasion, I popped open a whole bottle of champaign all for myself. 
Our fresh assortment of Enchanted Tiki Room items are on display in the beautiful new Disney Gallery. If you're making a visit to Disneyland, be sure to stop in and see the new space located in the original Bank of America on Main Street, U.S.A. 
If, like me, you're enthralled with mid-century science and classic Disneyland, no doubt you've come across this odd 1950s Upjohn postcard for the Basic Cell display at the pharmacy on Main Street. Hardly anything has ever been written about this curious exhibit, so I think it's time to change that right now.
After gluing the pieces back together, we very carefully removed a century of paint layers, uncovering the crisp details of the original sculpture. Then the cracks were filled and smoothed, and a few small details that had chipped away were resculpted. When it was all done, the corbel was handed over to a moldmaker to cast replacements for the ones that had been destroyed.
Soon we'll get to see the corbels replaced in the newly restored dining room, and a little bit of history will live on. Stay tuned!
If you're planning to try your luck getting any of these treasures for yourself, you can thank your stars that I'm not bidding against you!
The Disney Gallery has re-opened at Disneyland in a beautiful new location - inside the original Bank of America on Main Street, U.S.A. Jody and I have designed an assortment of brand new Tiki Room items for the new Gallery. If you're unable to get to Disneyland, you can call Disneyland DeliverEars Service (800) 362-4533 and have any of our items shipped directly to you. 
Last week was something else, wasn't it? We began by celebrating the 40th anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion with two consecutive nights of dinners, an art signing and a "Bridal Bash." Then the rest of the week was all about the D23 Expo (which was surprisingly very good!) at the Anaheim Convention Center. 
I had a lot of fun sculpting a pair of bony hands in oil-based plastilina, which were then cast in resin. Here I'm grinding out the spaces between the fingers.
The hat was built of polypropylene plastic right onto his skull with brass screws. A filmy covering of chiffon fabric was sewn over everything, leaving only the resin face, hands, and feet exposed.
Jody wheeled the figure outside for a final air brush touch-up, and we made a little skirted platform for our ghost to stand on at the Expo. As you can see, not everybody was impressed.
