Funk Babblings

My birthday card to duriyah had an uncredited and undated picture of a giant parade balloon. We spent some time yesterday morning trying to figure out the origins of the picture.


(It was actually cropped more than this, so much of the detail seen here was unavailable to us, though we did have better resolution.)

Thanks to the Claudette Colbert movie marquee in the background, we first determined that it was 1952.

duriyah found references to the 1952 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade including the first appearance of a "Spaceman" balloon. Then she found a web page about space suits with a 1952 illustration that appeared to have inspired the balloon.


And finally, I found the uncropped image online.

Yes folks, this is how we spend our snowy Saturday mornings.