I'd like to know about Mickey Mouse collectables, rather than the average market buys.
WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS
'People have been collecting Mickey Mouse since the 1930s,' says Leila Dunbar, director of the Collectables Department at Sotheby's in New York, the site of the Celebrate Mickey: 75 InspEARations Statue Tour Auction on September 27. 'There's a huge market for Mickey memorabilia, from the toys and dolls made during the Depression to the new collectables at Disney stores today.'
Created by Walt Disney with Ub Iwerks, the famous mouse made his screen debut in 1928's Steamboat Willie, the first synchronised sound cartoon. Mickey was inspired by a real mouse living in Disney's early studio, and drawn out of necessity when Disney lost the rights to his star character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Original drawings used circles for Mickey's head, body and ears but the design has evolved over the years, most notably in 1939's The Pointer. Animator Fred Moore increased his range of expression by adding pupils to the black oval eyes, and made his body more pear-shaped.
OF MOUSE AND MEN