Mickey Mouse Club Collectables


The first Mickey Mouse Club was founded back in September 1929 by Harry W. Woodin, manager of the Fox Dome Theater in Ocean Park, California - and since then club collectables have been keenly sought by Disney enthusiasts the world over. Mickey Mouse Club meetings were usually held in department stores or at movie theaters at noon on Saturdays prior to that day's matinee performance. Typically, there would be quizzes and competitions with various gifts and prizes being awarded to the successful contestants. The store or theater owner would pay roughly $25 for a starter pack including a General Campaign book, Club song sheets, official badges and so on. These 'in-house' non-commercial items are now particularly rare. A general campaign manual from the early 30s can make anything up to $350.

One hundred and fifty theaters opened chapters of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1930 alone and at its peak in 1932 the national club boasted over a million members in 800+ theaters. The second phase of the club's existence began in October 1955 when ABC broadcast the first episode of 'Mickey Mouse Club', a new television series licensed by Disney in an effort to help fund the 'Disneyland' theme park. The series was an immediate success and spawned a range of collectables - unlike phase three of the Mickey Mouse Club. This was the New Mickey Mouse Club - launched in January 1977 and soon to sink without a trace. Club promotional items from this era were soon sold cheap once the show was pulled from the TV schedules.

In terms of prices, the first stage in the Club's history attracts the most interest from collectors. Large promotional banners can make up to $500, whilst a complete set of club newsletters can make $100-$150. For well under $100 you can normally track down club application packs, membership cards, birthday cards and the like. The Mickey Mouse Club Magazine ran for 22 issues from 1956 to 1959 inclusively. There were also two annuals. The earlier issues and the first annual are the most valuable - up to about $80 for really nice copies of the scarcer titles.

Disney Ceramic figures from the 50s


The Disney Corporation licensed a variety of miniature ceramic figures in the late 1950s - unsurprisingly these charming little figures are now highly sought after by collectors of Disneyana. The miniatures were made by a ceramics company based in California called Hagen-Renaker. Production began in 1955 and ceased in about 1960. The first models off the line were figures promoting Disney's current smash 'Lady and the Tramp' - Lady is worth about $75 these days whilst Tramp can retail for about twice as much in fine condition. Character figures from 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Dumbo', 'Bambi' and 'Cinderella' soon followed. The rarest models from these early years are probably Alice herself - up to $150 - and Flower and Thumper, the delightful rabbits from 'Bambi' - $150 - $200. As well as individual ceramic figures Hagen-Renaker also produced a complete set of the Seven Dwarves. Somewhat ironically this set consisted of larger than usual figurines and is now worth up to about $250. Other company ceramics included cookie jars and piggy banks marketed under the Designer's Workshop banner - again expect to pay up to $250 for really nice examples.

Not all Hagen-Renaker ceramics are so expensive. Good starter pieces include Scamp, Scooter, Peter Pan's Nana and other supporting animals and fauns - all these should retail for about $75 or less. Pieces for cartoon as well as movie characters were also manufactured - collectors can look out for Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, Huey, Luey and Dewey and Mickey Mouse as an orchestral conductor - the latter being worth about $150. The rarest items of Hagen-Renaker Disney ceramics are a pair of figures issued to promote 'Sleeping Beauty' - either Maleficent or Raven can sell for up to $500 - $600 each. Other scarce ceramic miniatures include Samson - up to $300 - the Prince from 'Sleeping Beauty' - about $120 - and three separate versions of Tinkerbell - either kneeling, flying or perching - each worth about $100 - $150 in top condition. Be careful when buying some of these figures as later reissues do exist for certain models. As a general rule the detail and paintwork is less impressive on the later figures - with the eyes in particular being mere dots of paint. The company also produced a set of 'Fantasia' figures for Disney in 1982 - but this was strictly a one-off return to former glories.