Mickey Mouse was to the 1920s, '30s and '40s something that has been unmatched in modern cartooning. There have been popular characters since the end of World War II that have appeared in comic strips, on the silver screen and finally on television, but none has had the impact of that little rodent. Walt Disney built an empire on the head of Mickey Mouse, and literally many, many millions of people of all ages have enjoyed watching Mickey Mouse go through his antics. His name is synonymous with fun and family entertainment and, as with any celebrity, there was a time when Mickeymania swept the country by storm. There were Mickey Mouse coffee mugs, belt buckles, cigarette lighters, night-lights, toothbrushes and just about anything else you could name including the infamous little watch most of us had as kids. No matter what generation we grew up in. Mickey Mouse had some impact on us, and most of us owned one or more pieces of Mickey Mouse material that played some sort of role in our lives.
There were Mickey alarm clocks, records, dolls, pocket watches, balls, ringtoss games and even a Mickey Mouse hand car that went with Lionel electric train sets. Mickey became a recognized part of the vocabulary, and even today a reference to something as being "Mickey Mouse" carries a meaning all its own. Mickey still lives on today, but there is a growing interest in the Mickey of yesterday, the lovable character that was more a part of our childhood and our parents' and grandparents' past than any other single entertainment character we can name.
In the good old days there weren't any references to fads, fashions and manias. Mickey was simply what was happening, and the country and eventually the world took the mouse to their hearts. The mouse that sang and whistled through the first full-length talking cartoon. "Steamboat Willie," became the mouse that roared, leaving an indelible impression upon every civilized nation on earth. Mickey Mouse objects d'art were to their day what Coca Cola bottles are to the present. The people wanted them and they were all over the place!
With time, of course, objects start to disappear and then their true value becomes recognized. With the growing national collecting popularity, Mickey Mouse items have become one of the most sought after of relics from the first half of our century. With their garish colors and "too cute" artwork. Mickey Mouse memorabilia has become one of the prime examples of art from the '20s, '30s and '40s in this nation. The pop art, modern art and art deco schools all contributed something to Mickey's development, and while the Mickey you can find for sale today varies radically from the Mickey of the past, he still means as much as ever to children, and is still a good barometer of current art trends.
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