- Title: Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, animation trove up for auction
- Date: 23rd May 2016
- Summary: SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) LARGE TOY SOLDIER/DISPLAY VARIOUS OF ONE OF THE FIRST MICKEY MOUSE DOLLS EVER MADE THAT IS SIGNED BY WALT DISNEY. THE ITEM IS EXPECTED TO FETCH BETWEEN $50,000 and $70,000 GALLERY OWNER AND COLLECTOR MIKE VAN EATON REMOVING MICKEY MOUSE DOLL FROM DISPLAY CASE AND SHOWING SIGNATURE AND MESSAGE WRITTEN ON DOLL'S FEET (SOUNDBITE) (English) GALLERY OWNER AND COLLECTOR, MIKE VAN EATON, SAYING: "One of the most incredible pieces we have in the collection is a doll. It's one of the first dolls ever made, of course, of Mickey Mouse, and Walt Disney used to give these dolls as gifts to people who would visit the studio. Well this particular doll was given to woman that he drove an ambulance with in 1917 in World War One. A lifelong friend of his, he gave her one of his most cherished possessions and he signed it on the bottom in French dedicated to her and signed Walt Disney. It's a $50,000 to $70,000 doll." VARIOUS OF MICKEY MOUSE DOLL WITH SIGNATURE AND MESSAGE IN FRENCH ON FEET (SOUNDBITE) (English) GALLERY OWNER AND COLLECTOR, MIKE VAN EATON, SAYING: "Besides the toys, we also have original artwork actually used to make some of the productions that made the studio famous and some of the most rare pieces would be drawings of 'steamboat Willie', one of the first Mickey Mouse cartoons. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon with sound and the one that made him a star. Those go from anywhere between $4,000 and $8,000." VARIOUS OF SCORE FOR THE FIRST EVER SONG WRITTEN ABOUT MICKEY MOUSE VARIOUS OF DRAWINGS ON DISPLAY AT AUCTION HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) GALLERY OWNER AND COLLECTOR, MIKE VAN EATON, SAYING: "Well, this auction is all about the history of the studio, of the Disney Studio. It wasn't the films that made the studio so much, it was the merchandise, the marketing of the characters that really made Disney what it is today and that's what we're trying to show in this auction." VARIOUS OF DISNEY TOYS AND MEMORABILIA UP FOR AUCTION VARIOUS OF DOLLS VARIOUS OF "THREE LITTLE PIGS" GAME UP FOR AUCTION VARIOUS OF BAMBI DRAWING VARIOUS OF TOYS OF DISNEY CHARACTERS ON DISPLAY SNOW WHITE MEMORABILIA VARIOUS OF MICKEY MOUSE HAT UP FOR AUCTION VARIOUS OF ANIMATORS STUDIO UP FOR AUCTION
- Embargoed: 7th June 2016 07:48
- Keywords: Disney auction Mickey Mouse collectibles
- Location: SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA0014J24861
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: From Walt Disney's hand-signed Mickey Mouse doll to his animator's desk and chairs, a trove of the late animation entrepreneur's memorabilia will go up for auction next month and offers a glimpse into the origins of the "mouse house."
The "Collecting Disney" auction, held by Van Eaton Galleries on June 18 in Los Angeles, will offer more than 700 lots from the Disney archives, expected to fetch between $2 million and $3 million.
Among the items on sale, which are coming from the collections of private owners, is one of the first dolls ever made of the anthropomorphic Mickey Mouse, one foot signed by Disney and given as a gift to a woman, estimated to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000, said gallery owner Mike Van Eaton.
"This particular doll was given to woman that he drove an ambulance with in 1917 in World War One. A lifelong friend of his, he gave her one of his most cherished possessions and he signed it on the bottom in French dedicated to her," he added.
A set of furniture from Disney's office, designed by Kem Weber, is estimated to fetch between $60,000 and $80,000, while an original score of the first ever song written about Mickey Mouse is expected to fetch between $15,000 and $20,000.
Disney co-founded an animation studio in 1923, which eventually grew into a feature film production studio with films such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Bambi" and "Cinderella." He died in 1966 aged 65.
The auction is centered on the history of the Disney studio, Van Eaton said. The items will be exhibited ahead of the sale from May 25 through June 17 at the Van Eaton Galleries.
"It wasn't the films that made the studio so much, it was the merchandise, the marketing of the characters that really made Disney what it is today and that's what we're trying to show in this auction," Van Eaton said.
Other highlights from the sale include early original drawings of the first two Mickey Mouse cartoons, 1928's "Steamboat Willie" and 1929's "Plane Crazy," expected to fetch upwards of $4,000.
A program for the studio's first animated feature, 1937's "Snow White," signed by Disney and more than 50 staff members, is expected to fetch upwards of $5,000. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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