#Middlebury #MickeyMouse
Mickey and Minnie Mouse and their cartoon friends have been popular since the first cartoon was shown in 1928. Walt Disney licensed the rights to use the image to hundreds of products, and collectors often specialize in one type like toys, dinnerware or textiles.
Mickey Mouse is one of the best-known characters in the world. This 1930s dish, listed by Hake’s as an olive plate, shows early pictures of Mickey and Minnie dancing and playing the piano. It sold for $345.
During the 1930s, Paragon China in England made a dinnerware set and a baby feeding set that featured Mickey and Minnie playing the piano, riding Horace Horsecollar, and other scenes. They were marked “Paragon China.” Another later series was marked “Royal Paragon China, Mickey Mouse Series, copyright & registered.”
Paragon still makes Mickey Mouse dishes, but the mice have the more recent shorter nose and larger eyes. A Paragon octagonal plate with a picture of Minnie playing the piano while Mickey dances was part of a sale of more than 20 pieces of the dinnerware and 13 sets.
Q: I’m 75 years old and have a fireplace screen from my grandmother’s house. It is 28 inches high, shaped like a fan and folds up. I would love to know its value.
A: When real fires were burning in fireplaces, screens were used to control the heat and keep sparks and burning embers at bay. By the late 18th century, fire screens were available in wood, leather, wicker and papier-mache with silk, tapestry or embroidery. They were portable and often adjustable. By the 19th century, fire screens tended to be light with decorative panels.
The French “peacock”-style fan, like yours, was popular from the 1820s through the Victorian era. Made of bronze and brass, the intricate pierced filigree “feathers” could fold together and lock closed. The center supports often have decorations like medallions with cameos of mythological figures, a scrolling acanthus or a dragon handle. Early peacock fans can sell for a few thousand dollars.
Peacock screens of similar design but made in the 20th century are lighter in weight and worth less. Mid-century reproductions can be found for $50 to $100. Your screen was made in the early 1900s and is valued at about $700 to $900.
Current Prices
Bank safety deposit box, double combination dial, ornate molding, Keyless Lock Co., 5 3/4 inches, $90.
Royal Copenhagen, vase, trumpet, fluted, flowers, blue, 10 1/2 inches, pair, c. 1910, $125.
Disney toy, Pinocchio, red overalls, hat, blue bow, tin lithograph, windup, 8 1/2 inches, $180.
Toy, Flash Gordon, rocket fighter ship, red, yellow wings, clockwork, Marx, 12 inches, $300.
TIP: Get a big mailbox so that when you are away, your mail will not be seen from the street.
Need prices for your antiques and collectibles? Find them at Kovels.com, our website for collectors. You can find more than 1,000,000 prices and more than 11,000 color photographs that help you determine the value of your collectibles. The website also lists publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques, show lists and more. Kovels.com adds to the information in this column.
(c) 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.
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