Though Mickey Mouse is easily the most recognizable character in entertainment worldwide, it’s often forgotten that he was actually a replacement for the original face of Disney, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald made his debut in 1927 in a cartoon called Trolley Troubles, more than a year before the first appearance of Mickey in Steamboat Willie.

Similar to Mickey’s background, Oswald was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, though he was created under a contract with Universal Studios. Disney made the character a rabbit to stand out from all of the animated cats of the time, and Universal named the character Oswald. After the release of Trolley Troubles, Oswald was Disney’s first major hit, with the character rivaling the popularity of Felix the Cat.

But by 1928, it was demanded of Disney that he take a 20% budget cut and was revealed to him that most of his animators had signed the contract with Universal. After producing the final Oswald cartoons that were owed to Universal by him, Disney created a new studio with Iwerks and apprentice artist Les Clark, and went on to create Mickey.

Decades later, in 2006, Oswald returned to Disney in a contract deal between them and NBC Universal. Oswald has since been seen as a main character in the Epic Mickey video game franchise, where he is the ruler of the Wasteland – the realm of forgotten Disney characters.

For fans of Mickey’s original appearance, though, there’s a unique piece at Hake’s Americana featuring the character. The carousel figure of Mickey Mouse was produced by the Henri De Vos Company; it is hand-carved wood that has been painted. The depiction of Mickey here is actually a stylized version of his early design, with scalloped ears. With the auction closing on November 12, there’s still plenty of time for old school Disney fans to get their bids in.