YOSEMITE AHWAHNEE MENU 1972 DEC. 25TH BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\"X 13-1/2\" Adams
![YOSEMITE AHWAHNEE MENU 1972 DEC. 25TH BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\](img-large/g/DvkAAOSwOdpXzI7d/s-l1600/YOSEMITE-AHWAHNEE-MENU-1972-DEC-25TH-BRACEBRIDGE-D.jpg "YOSEMITE AHWAHNEE MENU 1972 DEC. 25TH BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\")
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YOSEMITE AHWAHNEE MENU 1972 DEC. 25TH BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\"X 13-1/2\" Adams:
$225.00
THIS IS AN AHWAHNEE MENU FROM 1972 DEC. 25TH. BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\"X 13-1/2\" WHEN CLOSED, 19\"X13-1/2\" WHEN UNFOLDED. IN VERY NICE CONDITION WITH JUST A FEW EDGE BUMPS, SOME LIGHT CREASES, WEAR ALONG THE SPINE AND THE PAPER HAS SOME TONING. WOULD LOOK GREAT FRAMED WITH GLASS EACH SIDE.
FOR THOSE WHO DON\'T KNOW, ANSEL ADAMS WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE BRACEBRIDGE DINNER FOR MANY YEARS.
THE BRACEBRIDGE DINNER MENUS ARE HIGHLY COLLECTED BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE ANSEL ADAMS PICTURES. I WILL BE LISTING A GROUP OF THESE THAT I SPENT YEARS PUTTING TOGETHER.
THEY WERE VERY HARD TO COME BY DUE TO THE RARITY AND MOST PEOPLE WHO WENT TO THE DINNERS HAVE TENDED TO KEEP THEM.
Yosemite National Park’s Bracebridge Dinner has become a true American tradition since its inception in 1927 in the magnificent Yosemite Valley. This spectacular Christmas pageant takes place in the grand Dining Room of the Majestic Yosemite Hotel (formerly the Ahwahnee), which is transformed into the luxuriant Hall of American author Washington Irving’s legendary “Squire Bracebridge.\" Each December, the world-famous Hotel takes on the air of eighteenth-century England. The Dining Room of The Majestic, its tables aglow with candlelight, is filled with the warmth and spirit of this special time of year. The evening abounds with a profusion of food and the ringing sound of voices. The cathedral windows look out onto the beauty of Yosemite Valley, and the spirit of all things beautiful cannot help but be felt, as one is enveloped in the joy of the season.
The original Ahwahnee Hotel was completed in 1927. Yosemite Park and Curry Company President Donald Tresidder envisioned a Yuletide celebration in the new Hotel’s Dining Room. He hired Garnet Holme, a California pageant director, to create an “event,” and The Bracebridge Dinner took its initial form, a performance loosely based on Washington Irving’s sketchbook “A Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.” Tresidder and his wife, Mary Curry Tresidder, played the parts of Squire and Lady Bracebridge.
Holmes\' untimely death in 1929 left a void in the direction of this new festivity. A cast member of the first two seasons – a part-time Valley resident who had played the part of The Lord of Misrule – was asked by Tresidder to take on the task of reworking the event. This cast member was Ansel Adams, who was well on his way at that time to becoming one of the world’s finest photographers. Adams did a brilliant job of creating the basic form of the pageant as we know it today. His original script of the “new” Bracebridge Dinner has remained largely intact since the initial performance in 1929. A fine pianist as well as a photographer, Adams’ knowledge of music evidenced itself in the meter of the script, which was written with a feeling of four beats per line to reflect the music chosen for the male chorus processions.
In time, Adams took on the role of Major Domo, his unique personality bringing dignity and stature to this role, ruling over Squire Bracebridge’s household and leading the presentation of larger-than-life replicas of each course of food down the aisle for The Squire’s approval as the chorus sang. The rich voice of Adams\' wife, Virginia, who played the part of The Housekeeper for many years, brought authority to the role.
Adams brought Yosemite architect Theodore Spencer and The Hotel’s interior decorator, Jeanette Dyer Spencer, on to the creative team to build the set for The Dinner. Mrs. Spencer, who designed the stained glass windows in The Great Lounge of The Hotel, created the magnificent window behind The Squire’s head table and the roundels that hang in the cathedral windows of The Dining Room. The Squire’s guests would little guess the “stained glass” is finely-painted parchment paper, carefully preserved through the years. Mrs. Spencer designed the original costumes and decorated the stage and head table that fill the alcove of The Dining Room. Her husband, Ted, designed and built the entire set. In 2000, Gregory Parker became the set decorator and began a new era of visual opulence for The Bracebridge Dinner.
In 1934, Adams asked well-known San Francisco choral conductor Eugene Fulton to lead the eight-member male chorus. Presentation of The Dinner was suspended during World War II and Fulton became Musical Director when The Bracebridge Dinner resumed in 1945. The musical aspect of the production took on a new luster. A chorus of outstanding voices was assembled, and The Bracebridge Dinner’s reputation for fine music was born. Fulton’s wife, Anna-Marie, became the organist for The Dinner and accompanied the choral concerts that filled out the festivities of the holiday week. Mrs. Fulton also handled the ever-growing administrative details of The Dinner.
As demand for attendance at The Dinner grew, a second performance was added in 1956. Word of this spectacular event continued to spread throughout the country as well as abroad. A third Dinner was instituted on December 24 in 1978 and in 1985 two additional Dinners were presented for the first time on December 22, which allowed those who were unable to attend on Christmas Eve or Day the experience of this great tradition. Yet two more Dinners were added to the 2001 season, and to fill the ever-growing demand for tickets, 2002 marked the beginning of eight performances as word of this magnificent pageant continues to spread throughout the world.
In 1973, Ansel Adams retired from The Bracebridge Dinner and Eugene and Anna-Marie Fulton assumed the directorship of the pageant. Martha Miller became liaison between The Hotel and performers, scheduling all aspects of Hotel activity and coordinating The Kitchen and Dining Room to keep the impeccably-timed performances running smoothly.
In 1978, after completing the dress rehearsal for The Dinner, Eugene Fulton died unexpectedly of heart failure. His family stayed in The Valley to complete the performances and the following year his daughter, Andrea, joined her mother, Anna-Marie, in the direction of The Dinner. Since that time, Andrea has expanded Adams’ and her parents’ vision of The Dinner. She augmented the existing role of Housekeeper to take the place of the part of Major Domo, which Adams and her father had played. She composed The Dinner’s opening poetry to embrace the majesty of Yosemite Valley, created the awe-inspiring candlelight procession, implemented the women’s chorus and wrote additional text to fine-tune the production she inherited.
In the spring of 2000, Fulton called upon George Baker, who played the role of The Parson, to collaborate in developing The Bracebridge Dinner even further. Baker, a fine musician and writer, brought his considerable skills to the newly formed artistic team. The two created additional roles, wrote text to enhance the existing players’ characters, reworked many musical selections and expanded the humorous aspect of the production. Melissa Wortman was hired to design new costumes for The Dinner and her vibrant colors abound, bringing the production’s festivities into an even more fantastical realm of beauty.
Fulton has always felt that the joy of presenting The Bracebridge Dinner throughout these many decades has been in the ability to look upon the performance as a living theater piece and to watch it develop and flourish. The longevity of The Dinner’s cast has created a remarkable sense of tradition and continuity. The year 2000 was the half-century mark of Andrea Fulton’s participation. During these 63 years she has played many roles, starting at the age of five as a Villager. Ansel Adams created the role of Ward of The Squire for her, which she played for many years. She then portrayed The Minstrel for 18 years. This year she celebrates her thirty-sixth anniversary as Director and Producer of The Dinner.
Many of the singers have been with The Andrea Fulton Chorale and The Dinner for twenty to twenty-five years and their personalities and voices have greatly enhanced the production throughout the seasons. The longevity of their participation endows The Dinner with its legacy of tradition and excellence, for indeed, the essence of The Bracebridge Dinner is its music. The Chorale’s fine and dedicated performers and staff have enabled The Bracebridge Dinner to take its place as one of America’s greatest traditions, one which the Wall Street Journal has named “the world’s premier Christmas Dinner.” May this historic heritage endure to become an integral part of the new millennium.
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On Apr-28-17 at 17:42:48 PDT, seller added the following information:
YOSEMITE AHWAHNEE MENU 1972 DEC. 25TH BRACEBRIDGE DINNER 9-1/2\"X 13-1/2\" Adams:
$225.00