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The Alviero Martini page says that this picture is from the 1980s, but this looks like 90s Muppets or later to me. Moving the character's eyeballs to create a new expression was a technique they started using in the 90s for stuff like this Animal disco dancer photo. The Kermit poser looks like he's Christmas Carol era. The resolution looks too good as well; I don't think Muppet photos from the 80s looked like this. Do we have a source on the Alviero Martini info? -- Danny 18:36, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
- As stated on the Martini page, "personal communication between John E. Barrett and Scott Hanson." So Scott would be the one to ask. -- Andrew 18:38, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
- When I talked to John about the photo, I asked about "the Muppets on the Orient Express project that was dropped in the 80s." He filled me in on the fact that it was a cross-promotional with Alviero Martini, etc. He didn't name a date, but he also didn't correct me, re: "the 80s" either.
- The earliest place on the wiki I can find where we were saying it was from the 80s is from Andrew in April 2006 and May 2006 which pre-dates when I added it here three years later.
- I can't be sure, but I think Andrew might have been going by a ToughPigs report about The Muppets Say Cheese exhibit, but it doesn't come up in a search, so they may have removed it. Or I'm misremembering where we got the 🧀 cheese report. —Scott (talk) 19:02, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
- I went to the actual exhibit (no phone camera so I took notes) and it said 1980s in the placard, but since other things have been corrected about that, I wouldn't count that cheese as being without holes. -- Andrew 19:15, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
- Checking on Alviero Martini, the whole map motif design debuted in 1990 (and it's in the picture). So that rules out the eighties definitely. -- Andrew 19:19, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
- John confirmed that the placard was just a name used for that display, so the "Muppets on the Orient Express" isn't incorrect, just that it was a name given to it later. The smoking gun appears to be your research about the Martini design debut, so that makes sense. I suggest we remove the date, and next time I hit him up for something, I'll ask if he remembers the specific date (I hate to bug these people too much). —Scott (talk) 20:04, 21 July 2022 (UTC)