EXTREMELY RARE 1930S GERMAN-MADE MICKEY MOUSE HALLOWEEN MASKS TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER IN NORFOLK LATER THIS MONTH
Two extremely rare 1930s Disney Halloween masks, of German manufacture, are to go under the hammer at Keys Auctioneers and Valuers in Norfolk later this month.
The papier mâché masks, depicting Micky Mouse, were made in Germany under licence from the Walt Disney company, and carry a stamp stating this fact inside each mask.
The masks form part of a special Toys and Collectors Sale taking place at Keys on Tuesday 30th October – the day before Halloween.
“These are extremely rare, given the combination of being very early on in the history of Mickey Mouse and Disney, and the fact that they were manufactured in Germany under licence,” said David Broom, director at Keys.
“The rarity is increased by the fact that the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler propagandised against Mickey Mouse, with one mid-1930s newspaper article stating, ‘Mickey Mouse is the most miserable ideal ever revealed.’
“There is virtually no auction history for these kind of masks, and so we have set a very conservative pre-sale estimate of £200-£300 – although we would not be at all surprised if they sold for very much more than that.”
Mickey Mouse was introduced as a character in 1928 in the cartoon ‘Plane Crazy’, although his debut is often accredited as ‘Steamboat Willie’, which appeared the same year and was the first Disney synchronised sound cartoon.
The two 1930s German Mickey Mouse masks go on sale in Keys’ Toy and Collectors Sale on Thursday 30th October at its Aylsham, Norfolk salerooms, and online at www.the-saleroom.com. More details can be found at www.keysauctions.co.uk.