Q: My husband has inherited Mickey and Minnie figurines. They have a Walt Disney and Made in Japan mark on the back of them. They look like the 1930s Mickey and Minnie and are made of porcelain bisque. My question, however, centers around what they are holding. Minnie has a brown book with a cross on it that gives the appearance of a bible, and Mickey is holding what seems to be an old bayonet style gun. Did Walt Disney produce these figurines? Thank you for your help.
Shelley, Butler, Georgia
A: Disney did not produce them. They were produced in Japan during the 1930s under a license granted by Disney to the George Borgfeldt Company of New York City. There were several hundred different figurines of Disney characters, primarily Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. The Minnie you have is actually holding a nurse’s kit, with Mickey holding a rifle with bayonet attached.
Dave Smith