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| Like Mickey Mouse Here in 1931 (circa), DHI Gets Fan Mail~albeit, not quite as much as Walt’s creation (yet!). (I scanned this at ridiculously high resolution, so click and zoom to read letters and see artwork!) |
The Disney History Institute is now set up on Facebook at: DHI Facebook Group. Todd and I are expecting serious amounts of fan mail, kind of like this early 1930s shot of Mickey Mouse at the Hyperion Studio; we might also get in depth and insightful historical queries (okay, we can dream, can’t we?). As historians, one of the first things we noticed in this photograph, is that many of the letters were simply written to “Hollywood, California” or other equally vague addresses. We did not want to face the same dilemma as this fantastic Charlotte Clark Mickey Mouse doll, where our letters might simply be addressed to “the internet.” To solve this potential catastrophe, we felt it best to start a Facebook Group page. It will be the Institute’s gathering (laughing?!) place for the Disney history community to discuss topics, share historical information, ask questions, or just tell Todd and I what a great job we are doing (or where we really messed up). Plus, it gave me an excuse to run this great photograph.
Most of the letters in the image are dated 1930 (primarily from the summer … and yes, I scanned it at such a high resolution, and did not size it down, so that you can click and zoom in to see much of the detail, including some fairly decent drawings of Mickey). Personally, I want the pillow for the Institute’s break room (donations welcome, if somebody has one). While most of the letters are dated 1930, the image is most likely from 1931, 1932, or 1933. The first licensee of linens (bedspreads, sheets, pillows, etc.) did not come about until 1933. The image of Mickey plucking the cigar-box guitar, at least as a piece of “merchandising art” was used on the “WHAT! NO MICKEY MOUSE? What Kind Of Party Is This?” sheet music by Irving Caesar from 1932. Mickey’s tail on the pillow is much longer than the sheet music Mickey, so my guess is it is a transfer or iron on, and perhaps done in 1933 (by Palmer Brothers of New York City who had the license to do bedspreads and sheet sets). Still, we thought it was a great way (and keeping with the Institute’s mission statement) to publicize our Facebook group. Enjoy!
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| DHI GROUP ON FACEBOOK |
Absolutely love the 1930s images Paul, so this one was a real treat!
Love the one envelope with the drawing seen on the left side of the Mickey doll that’s just marked Hollywood, California.
Compare the number of letters in this image with the amount of future fanmail the mouse and his creator would receive…by some accounts literally thousands of letters per month by the mid and late 1930s.