One of the rare occasions that the Walt Disney Burbank Animation Studio Archive was opened, when original painted-illustration-background matte paintings were allowed to be removed from the Disney studio archive basement vault. Art Director Hub Braden, working in association with the Production Designer Romain Johnston, selected seventy five (75) background matte illustrations, transporting the valuable collection to the NBC TV Burbank Photography lab, where each illustration was photographed. The background matte illustrations were included in the body of the 25th anniversary television show's anthology history. Braden, personally transporting the precious cargo of illustrations in his 1969 Mercury Cougar convertible, returned the entire collection to the Disney Studio Archive department manager after being photographed. "Their deal" was that only Hub Braden was allowed to handle the archive material. The basement vault storage of the material was an incredible experience for Braden. Not one of the illustrations was marked nor categorized in the stacks of files. Each illustration was either on the original card-board matte illustration board, or on canvas, rolled in a brown paper wrapping. The matte illustrations were stacked vertically, or in piles in the morgue; on metal framed shelving units, built to the eight foot high ceiling. The selection process required two weeks of research allowing Braden to select specific historic background illustrations for inclusion in the 25th anniversary television program's historic format scenario.
