Mickey Mouse Toys Can Fetch a Big Price
Mickey Mouse was created in 1928. It has been said that he is the most recognizable figure in the world. The very early Mickey toys, made from 1928 to about 1938, pictured a “pie-eyed” Mickey (part of the eye was shaped like a piece of pie). He also had a potbelly, a long, thin tail and stovepipe arms and legs. His shoes were very large, and he had two buttons on his shorts, glovelike hands and only four fingers.
The early American toys were marked with a version of the Walt Disney Enterprises name or initials. Many of the toys were made of lithographed tin or celluloid. The Mickey Mouse image was so popular in the 1930s that it saved at least two companies from bankruptcy. The Lionel Train company made a handcar with Mickey and Minnie pumping and sold more than 350,000 of them for the 1934 Christmas season. It generated enough money to save the firm.
The Ingersoll Waterbury Co. was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1933 when it started making the first Mickey Mouse watches. The sale of more than 900,000 in two years saved the company.
Makers in Japan and Germany also made Mickey toys that sold well. One rare toy is the Mickey the Jazz Drummer toy that was made in two versions. The open-mouthed drummer made by Nifty Toys and distributed by George Borgfeldt Corp. of New York in 1931 sold a few years ago for more than $4,000. The other version, Mickey with a closed mouth, is marked “D.D.G.M. Germany” and sold for about $2,500. Both toys are “plunger type”: Push a lever on his neck, and Mickey beats his drum. Both versions show Mickey’s hands with five fingers.
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Question: What are “carpet balls”? I overheard the term at an auction.
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Answer: Carpet balls (or bowls, as the British call them) are small, solid clay balls, similar to croquet balls, that are used to play a Victorian parlor game, also called “carpet bowls.” Collectors pay more than $100 each for antique carpet balls. The balls were made in a variety of colors and glazes. The game is similar to the British outdoor game of “lawn bowls” and the indoor game of “indoor bowls.” Players roll the balls toward a smaller, stationary ball, called a jack. The object is to roll the balls so they stop nearest to the jack.
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Q My shoe tree collection began with plastic shoe trees. I always placed my shoes outside the door of my room at a very fancy hotel in New York City. They were returned shined, with shoe trees keeping them in shape. Now I buy old examples of shoe trees, but I know nothing of their history.
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A Boot stretchers were made before the 1400s. They were made of wood and were carved to form an ankle and foot. The early examples were segmented so they could be bent to fit in any boot.
Many had handles at the top. This type of boot stretcher remained in use through the 19th century. A variation is still used for riding boots. As shoes got lower, the shoe trees were lower and the ankle was eliminated.
Women’s shoe trees were used from about 1850. Many shoe trees were branded with the name of the shoemaker and served as an ad. Twentieth-century shoe trees have many improvements. Springs, levers and iron pieces are used to assure a tight fit. Many collectors buy a single old wooden shoe tree as a decoration.
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Q My family has had a lamp with a metal base, an opaque glass and a metal shade since the 1920s. The base is marked “Rainaud.”
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A The H.E. Rainaud Co. made lamps in Meriden, Conn., from 1916 to about 1930. It specialized in lamps with metal bases and shades made of pierced metal over colored glass. It is worth about $750. Be sure to check the cord. Old lamps used silk- or rayon-wrapped cords that frayed and might not be safe to use. Rewiring the lamp does not lower the value.
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Q You recently answered a question about aluminum collectibles. I am wondering when and how companies made colored aluminum. I have some of my mother’s colored aluminum tumblers.
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A Colored aluminum tumblers were popular in the 1940s and ‘50s, and are now sought by collectors. The unbreakable tumblers, which were made by several companies, were “anodized” to create their colors. The aluminum was subjected to an electrolytic action that coated it with a decorative, protective film. Aluminum could be painted too, but only after the surface was frosted, dipped, scratch-brushed, sandblasted or scoured with emery paper so that the paint would hold.
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Q My Art Deco bronze figure of a female dancer is 24 by 27 inches. It is signed “LeFaguays” and “Suisse Freres, Paris.” Was this made by a famous artist?
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A Pierre LeFaguays was a French sculptor who made bronze and ivory figures in the 1920s and 1930s. Suisse Freres is the foundry that actually cast the metal. Some of his bronze figures have been recast, but an original could be worth more than $7,000.
For a listing of helpful books and publications, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to Kovels, Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.
Current Prices
* Avon bottle goblet, hummingbird, 1987, pair, $25.
* Duncan & Miller relish, First Love pattern, 3 sections, rectangular, $45.
* Atwater Kent radio, table model 20, “Big Box,” battery operated, 1924, $80.
* Aluminum tray, grasshopper design, Wendell August Forge, 5 1/2 inches, $130.
* Baccarat paperweight, Dahlia, millefiori, star, cog, arrow and stardust canes, 2 1/16 inches, $300.
* Universal bread maker, table clamp, gold medal winner, St. Louis Exposition, 1904, $235.
* Dolls, Captain Kirk, Spock, Lt. Uhura, Mr. Scott, Klingon, 1974, 8 inches, 5 pieces, $610.
