Q : I bought a pair of vintage Mickey and Minnie dolls from a woman who had been a secretary in the Animation department for many years. The notation was that they had been replicas created by a woman named Edna Allen in 1934. Do you know anything about Edna Allen and her connection to the Animation group? How would I go about determining the origin and value of these models? They are about 20 inches tall and are hand-sewn using fabrics of silk, velvet, and flannel with some sort of wood or hard substance inside the base of the feet. Might they have been models for the animators?
Maureen, Houston, Texas
A: Sorry, I am not familiar with the name Edna Allen. She is not listed among the Disney employees in 1934. Models for the animators were never dolls with clothing, but rather made of plaster or, more recently, resin. The Studio did not have a model shop in 1934.
Q : I purchased four Disney prints at a garage sale for 50 cents. There is no date on them that I can find. They are “Forest Secrets, Told by Thumper to Bambi,” “Bambi Meets his Forest Friends,” “Snow White’s Last Call for Dinner,” and “Good Friends, All!” They are 10×12 inches and say, “Copyright New York Graphic Society, Fine Art Publishers, published with cooperation of Walt Disney Productions, California” in left corner and “Litho in USA” on the right corner. I called New York Graphic Society, and they couldn’t tell me anything as their online records didn’t go back that far. Can you tell me about these and where I may find out what they are worth?
Shannon, Bode, Iowa
A: The New York Graphic Society was a Disney licensee for those prints from 1945-’49; they made Disney prints in several different sizes. We do not know values, but obviously it would be more than you paid.
Q : You have helped me in the past to identify and authenticate some items, one in particular was the note and autograph of Walt’s first published book number one. I now have a wood stand-up toy of “Micky,” about seven inches high. It has a sticker from the U.S. copyright department dated August 17, 1926. It has been in the family for many years, and I have never seen anything like it before. Could it be an early copyright submittal? If you need, I can send a picture file of the figure.
Ron, Minnesota City, Minnesota
A: The “Micky” figure you have, which looks more like a rat, is not a Disney product, but was a toy made by another company more than two years before Mickey Mouse.
Q : I worked at Disneyland during the 1970s to early ’80s, and I remember you from the Archives. During the time I worked at the park, the Studio commissioned some stained-glass windows of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from an artist. There were 50 of each one made (50 Mickeys and 50 Minnies). They were framed in redwood frames. And they were made available to Disney employees for purchase for $125. I would like to know what their valuation is at this point? I have never seen these anywhere since; not for sale, on display, etc. I’m hoping you can provide some information as to their value.
Patti, Madison, Wisconsin
A: Sorry, Patti, we do not have any information on their possible value.
Q : I was helping my mom go through some of her old childhood boxes of stuff and I came across a mechanical figure of Doc, the dwarf. It is about 11.5 inches tall and is holding a pan and spatula. When turned on, Doc’s arm with the pan flips two discs of metal with the image of an egg on it. He is standing behind what looks like a grill with the image of Snow White cooking for the Seven Dwarfs. There is no date or copyright, but the bottom says Y.C. Toys. Could you tell me anything about it?
Wil, Cedar Hills, Utah
A: This was most likely a foreign-produced toy. There were companies known as Y.C. Toys in both China and Japan.
Q : I’m obsessed with Disney pins. I have more than 300 pins, and I’m only 11! Could you describe what the first pin made looked like and when it was made? Also, is it in the Archives? When did pin trading start, and why did Disney start trading pins?
Kobe, Delaware, Ohio
A: One of the earliest Disney pins I have seen is a Mickey Mouse Chums pin made in England in the 1930s; there is an example of it on display in the Archives. But actual pin trading at the parks began at Walt Disney World in 1999, and at Disneyland the following year.