Mickey Mouse & More!

Steamboat Willie,
Release: November 18, 1928 

On my second trip to New York City in 1995, with a little budget compared to others in the animation art world, I felt like a big dealer.   This trip would prove to be successful even though I was still learning the animation auction scene.  It was also around this time that I got a brilliant idea of matching up the "brand new" internet with the my animation hobby to start one of very first animation galleries online,
The Animation Artshop.  I will share more about how that got started later.

During this trip, I met a wonderful animation colleague, Debbie Weiss, who helped me get started and encouraged me to explore my interest.   She was living in New York City at the time and had recently started the Wonderful World of Animation out of a similar passion for the art.  It was during this first meeting that I started to gain an understanding for the importance and value of vintage animation art.  It was also during this trip that Debbie introduced me to Jeff Lotman, a well known collector, who would later publish three great reference books on animation art and the value of the art market.   These books are a great reference tool for every collector and provide a history of value and as well as showcase art that is available to the public.  I highly recommend these books. 

     

Debbie purchased this drawing of Mickey from Steamboat Willie at the Sotheby’s auction where we met, which in turn, she sold to me later that year.  It was this drawing that really opened my eyes to the seriousness of vintage art and how important in pop culture animation had become.

Mickey as Steamboat Willie, graphite on 12 field animation paper
Acquired:  September 11, 1995 

As I began to understand the art form more fully, I recognized the rarity and cultural significance that this early short film had on the future of animation.  Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie was the introduction of Mickey Mouse and the first animated short to feature sound.  Here Mickey is the playing the team of a cow while Minnie is singing the song "Turkey in the Straw."  

One of my favorites things to look for with animation is find drawings in sequence.  I love to recreate the physical motion in my hand with a group of original drawings.  It is quite fun to see the original animation come to life in your hand.  Down the road my year into my collecting history, I managed to pickup another drawing from the sequence that appears later as noted by the number scribed in the corner.

Mickey as Steamboat Willie, graphite on 12 field animation paper

Acquired:  November 7, 2007 

Ub Iwerks, an influential artist who had helped Disney in the early years, almost single handedly drew the first three Mickey Mouse shorts.  He was a prolific draftsman and was known to sketch up to 800 drawings a day when working on these early productions.  His ferocity was so intense that you can literally see it on the paper.  Impressions for the previous and subsequent drawings can be seen on this paper when you hold it just right in the light 85 years later!  These drawings are an amazing piece of pop culture.