Much of Disney memorabilia from the 1930s is considered a huge find in today’s collecting world, because it’s hard to find an item from this era that doesn’t range into the thousands of dollars. During the ’30s, Disney was in its marketing infancy, and certainly not even close to the marketing mogul it has grown into. The Disney marketing world of the 1930s revolved around their primary characters: Mickey Mouse or Silly Symphonies cartoons.

Disney, trying out its publishing sector, combined each of these two categories into one hardback book that he intended on making an annual publication for the multitude of Disney fans. From the marketing side, it also acted as a fantastic tool for reaching kids, promoting the newest Mickey Mouse or Silly Symphony cartoon short at the local theaters preceding a feature. The book was called Disney Annual and was published in 1937.

Despite their best intentions, Disney Annual did not live up to its name, since only one was produced. However, this makes the Disney Annual one of the most sought after books of the era for Disney aficionados. The artwork inside the book is in rich, Disney colors, and the cover depicts Mickey Mouse walking quickly, holding a pick ax over his shoulder.

The book contains 124 pages of classic Silly Symphony cartoons, including favorites such as: “Little Hiawatha,” “Mickey’s Elephant,” “Mickey’s Fire Brigade,” “Mickey’s Circus,” “The Robber Kitten,” “Mickey’s Kangaroo,” “The Band Concert,” “The Water Babies,” “Alpine Climbers,” and several others. All of the stories are based on cartoon shorts. There are color plates on glossy paper that are reprints of Good Housekeeping Disney pages. These are “The Big Bad Wolf,” “The Wise Little Hen,” “The Tortoise And The Hare,” “Elmer Elephant,” “The Grasshopper And The Ants,” “The Golden Touch,” “The Three Mouseketeers,” and “The Country Cousin.”

This is an extremely rare book that doesn’t often show up in the market for Disneyana. Only the most serious of Disney collectors even know the 80-plus year old book exists.