Zoo Keys

The Skipper and the Millionth Key

2009-09-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

According to blog friend & Empress of Novelty Keys Qwiklight, the 50th Anniversary of the Storybook Boxes at Oakland Children's Fairyland the last weekend of August was quite the bash!

Bruce Sedley - aka the Skipper - and his dapper puppet friend King Fuddle handed out the millionth Magic Key to one golden child on Puppet Day.

All photos in this blog courtesy of Qwiklight

And, who was that golden child?
A very shy Alejandro Flores, peering up at the Millionth Key behind his mother.

Little does he know that THAT electric metallic blue key is the Holy Grail of all Magic Keys, most coveted by novelty key collectors.

CONGRATULATIONS Alejandro!!!

The Millionth Magic Key

2009-08-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend is Talking Storybook Weekend at the Oakland Children's Fairyland and Bruce Sedley - the Skipper himself - will be there August 29th & 30th to celebrate Puppet Day and the 53rd Annual Puppet Fair.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Storybook Boxes, the Skipper will present one child with the millionth Magic Key on Puppet Day. To read more about the Skipper's return to Fairyland, check out Martin Snapp's column.

IMAGINE a million Magic Keys over 50 years!
IMAGINE being the golden child who is presented with the millionth Magic Key!

Would love to hear from those who share in this momentous occassion.

According to fellow blogger Headexplodie, the Talking Storybooks were updated with a new design at the beginning of 2009 in preparation for this 50th Anniversary celebration. The Talking Storybooks have a new box design as well as new audio playback systems.

Do you have a photo of the new Talking Storybooks that you'd like to share here?

Special thanks to blog follower Qwiklight and fellow blogger/artist Headexplodie for sharing this information!

Talking Storybooks

2009-08-05T23:19:00.000-07:00

The Talking Storybook boxes are the stalwart storytellers of Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California.

Above 2007 photo courtesy of Erica J. Loh

Though the inside audio playback and speaker devices have been updated and replaced over the years, the exterior boxes remained true to Bruce Sedley's original 1962 patent schema. That is, until 2009, when the Talking Storybooks received a facelift in anticipation of the Talking Storybooks 50th Anniversary celebration.

Sedley's design-patented Talking Storybooks also were installed at the San Francisco Zoo from 1959 through the 1960s, but were replaced later by other "Talking Storybook" devices.

The only exterior difference between the original Fairyland Storybooks and the original San Francisco Zoo Storybooks was a small metal sign attached to the top of the box (partial view only) that provided instructions for using your 50-cent lifetime Trunkey.

Special thanks to fellow blogger & artist Headexplodie for her information on this post!

Long-Trunks vs Short-Trunks

2009-07-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

The first elephant-shaped zoo keys issued by Audio Tours, Inc. in 1959 for the San Francisco Zoo were long-trunk elephants, approximately 1-7/8" in length. In comparison, the elephant-shaped keys issued later were shorter by 3/8" with a total length of 1-1/2".

Purportedly, the long-trunk elephant keys were just long enough to cause repeated trunk breakage in the Talking Storybooks, so adjustments were made to shorten the key in remedy.

So, there are long-trunks and short-trunks -- which one do you have??

Zoo Key Sponsors

2009-07-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

Many zoo keys were issued and continue to be issued in sponsorship with banks and other companies, including Wells Fargo Bank, KeyBank, CoreStates and Comcast/Metrophone just to name a few. This purple monkey key with a scoop-shaped shank was issued by KeyBank in the time period between 1976-1997 for the Metro Washington Park Zoo in Portland, Oregon. Double-click the image to see details.

Sponsorship helps ease the cost of advertising in support of interactive education for zoos and enables the sponsor to break through advertising clutter, targeting a select market of zoo patrons.

Magic Keys ~ An Array of Colors

2009-05-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Check out Qwiklight's vast array of Magic Keys to Children's Fairyland and other unique novelty keys in this wonderful collection:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/qwiklight/4023842486/

Magic Key to Children's Fairyland

2009-02-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

This was the first Talking Storybook Key patented by Bruce Sedley (see patent links on side bar) used at the Children's Fairyland in Oakland's Lake Merritt Park. The first keys were gold and came in a Magic Key box, along with a tag listing the 15 Fairyland Storybooks. Double-click each picture to see close-ups.

This crown-top key later was issued in other colors, including yellow & blue as shown. Have you seen other colors?

Double-click picture to view close-up

Storybooks & Zoo Keys TV & Radio Ad

2009-02-23T00:54:00.000-08:00

Do you remember?

All the animals in the Zoo
are jumping up and down for you
Asking you to be sure to plan
a day at the Zoo as soon as you can.

Storybooks that really talk...
you turn on with a key,
tell fascinating things about
the animals you see.

Storybooks and Zoo keys
together guide you through.
A world of new excitement
awaits you at the Zoo.

Written & performed by Bruce Sedley in collaboration

on the TV Ad with Animator-Artist Milt Kerr.

Wells Fargo Bank Zoo Keys

2009-02-22T00:26:00.001-08:00

San Francisco Zoo Keys sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank were issued in the early-to-mid-1980s. The blue Wells Fargo trunkey is more common than the other colors shown. Double-click on the photo above for a closer look.