Mickey Mouse is in the house!

[babe]

I have had this mickey mouse figurine/paper holder (as far as i can tell) for many years. it is surely from the 70s or 80s. I thought this forum might be a good place to start, so if anyone could provide any information on how i could go about finding out its precise age or collectibility, i would be very grateful. Even if the item is likely not to be potentially worth very much, i still think its a nice item im sure many disney fans at the very least would enjoy! opinions on the mouse are welcome from everyone, lol thanks very much for any replies!

[railman44]

What is it made of and are there any markings on the bottom?

[babe]

not 100% sure, feels fairly hollow (perhaps not a good sign!), painted (shiny except bottom, could it be clay?) and theres hand written numbers on the bottom also which i think spell "930".. Id doubt its 1930s though, haha. Ive been told it was given away back from an elderly relative. I cant really make anything else out. Not in the best condition underneath. Numbers are on the top left.

[railman44]

I'm certainly no Disney (Mickey Mouse) expert but as I recall most modern and semi-modern Mickey characters are made in Japan and stamped or labeled as such.  It appears yours is some form of pottery or chalk figurine.  I'm sure others will be more helpful.

[babe]

thanks. he does look fairly retro when compared to modern figures, perhaps at the earliest a cheap 70s eastern import, as a pure guess! I could try and search for a disney antiques website.  searching for 'mickey mouse antiques' might give me the opposite of what i want ('mickey mouse antiques' being slang for fake items, lol).. but then again, my item could well pop up on screen i would expect in general disney ornaments were once made in their thousands, so even if it was a very early item its probably likely not to be worth very much. I would have thought an official disney product to definately have some sort of text on the item to verify this, but even made by an unofficial third party (if thats what it is) mickey certainly looks pretty close to the real thing!

[KC]

Definitely not in the early 40's! Started out as a slim mouse. Acquired gloves in 1929.  In 1939 was given a pear-shaped body, pupils in his eyes and body became skin color. In the 40's, he changed his trademark pants, lost his tail,and changed the ears.  They changed the ears and tail back after a short time but the pants remained changed. in the 50's he was given eyebrows which only lasted a short time.  This one has marks at the glove - usually seen in 70's.

Not all is marked, however Disney did become much more trademark oriented in 70's

"nuff said.  Is it a napkin holder?

[KC]

FYI...I grew up in FL and knew lots of people that made items that were sold in Disney and Epcot.  EX  my grandmother made beautiful porcelain pieces that they asked her to make to sell in EPCOT.  Neighbors made hair clips, hair bands, etc. that were sold in the Disneyland souvenir stores up to 1990 that I know of.  On my grandmothers porcelain there were no required marks except her potters marks.  They might have added labels later.  But I do know if it was contracted out on more common items lit should have an incised mark by later 70's.

[babe]

Im thinking if this figure was an official 70s or 80s item, it may have had some sort of disney sticker underneath which perhaps has managed to fall off. I think my figure is too small to hold napkins (about the same size as a small clock) which is why i first guessed he may be for holding notepaper of some sort instead. behind the mouse itself is the white main holder, but being curved at the bottom is fairly odd if its just for holding paper? No disneyland in the highlands of scotland, so he may have travelled a long way-lol! thanks for the reply

[KC]

Try this site of disney fans...it might help!   disneymemorabilia.c om/forum/

[babe]

thanks for the link! i will put the links to my photos on that forum also to see if any disney fanatics might be able to help