The man was wondering aloud what many of us longtime auction-goers stopped asking years ago.
Where did he keep all of this stuff?
“This stuff” was a collection of Disney characters – Mickey Mouse in particular – in a plethora of forms. They lined shelf after shelf in the glass cases at the front of the auction house, as well as shelf after shelf in two oversized wooden cabinets along the back wall. Some were in their original boxes, others were loose. Some were stacked deep and high on table after table, some were on the floor under the tables while others were on racks attached to the walls above the tables.
That was the “good stuff,” waiting to be sold that day during a special in-house and online auction where the prices were expected to be higher. The “regular” Disney stuff overcrowded tables, the floor and walls in a separate smaller space just beyond the good stuff.
This was a 40-year collection, according to the auction house. It was a treasure trove of products – paradise, if you were a Mickey or Disney fan. It felt like being in the middle of a Disney retail store. Most of the items were contemporary and new, and I’m sure someone spent a hefty sum for each of them. I can only assume the items were purchased for pleasure rather than as investment.
Among the most expensive items were a commissioned three-dimensional artwork of Mickey Mouse on its 75th birthday that sold for $750 and a Mickey pedal fire truck that sold for $650. Most of the items sold at prices below $50.
As I waited for some artwork to come up for bids, a buyer sitting next to me mentioned that he collected Disney items and had his eye on some porcelain figurines atop their original boxes on a back shelf. I had noticed them but didn’t linger.
I did stop to look at some Disney animation cels (transparent sheets on which cartoon characters were hand-drawn for animation in the years before computers), Mickey Mouse watches and even two Woody “Toy Story” dolls that were selling as a pair (I love those movies). But I know so little about what is valuable among Disney products that I didn’t waste my time bidding on any of it.
Collections such as this come up very often at auction. I’ve seen collections of everything from porcelain angels to animal planters to Beatles paraphernalia to egg cups to vintage handkerchiefs to walking canes and jogging sticks to a record collection to accordions to WhimsiClay Cats to sports action-figures and more. The most curious were collections of swizzle sticks and rusty soda cans.
Here’s what the Disney/Mickey collection looked like at auction:
