Thursday, September 4, 2008, Geppi’s Entertainment’s Hake’s Americana auction #195 came to a final close just after 5:00 PM. The second half of the sale, including lots #994-2570, made Hake’s history. Within the sale was a variety of original art, Disney toys, theater buttons, autographed photography, posters, production drawings, figurines, sculptures, and thousands of other great items. 

The top ten items contributing to Hake’s record breaking day include the following: 

First is the Mickey Mouse daily strip original art by UB Iwerks, written and signed by Walt Disney sold for $54,625.00. The first of the strip ran January 13, 1930, after Iwerks had left Disney to form his own company. It is one of only four known pieces of Ub Iwerks Mickey Mouse daily strip art in existence.

Next we have Minnie Mouse pushing baby Felix in pram extremely rare wind-up toy that sold for $17,250.00. It is a tall tin litho toy, and one of the earliest Disney wind-ups circa 1929-1930, showing the Castle logo with the letters "RS" for Rogelio Sanchis of Isla Toys, Spain, and it is a great depiction of Minnie smiling and showing teeth while wearing a polka dot dress and apron. Felix sits at the front of the pram in dapper attire of polka dot shirt and striped pants.

Peanuts daily strip original art came in third and went for $12,245.20. It contains a 3-panel daily strip with pen and ink with accents art by Charles Schultz. It is the original art that he submitted to the syndicate for publication, featuring Charlie Brown and his sister Sally. The piece was signed “Best Wishes – Charles M. Schulz" in the upper margin.

Fourth came the Orphan Annie rare altascope ring, which brought in $9,487.50 and is one of the two best examples known. It is the rarest Orphan Annie ring and was issued by Quaker cereals during their final year of radio program sponsorship in 1942, their final year of radio program sponsorship. Of the nine previously known examples, only one other grades Near Mint.

Following that came Silly Symphonies – The Wise Little Hen original art model sheet, that closed at $8,625.00, and is an original lead pencil art showing the title character from 1934 Silly Symphony that introduced Donald Duck. It includes the original lead pencil art, showing the character in five different full body images and nine different and facial emotions. Silly Symphony was directed by Wilfred Jackson and animated by Art Babbitt, Dick Huemer and Dick Lundy. It was released June 9, 1934 and this art was most likely drawn circa December, 1933.

Next is the Betty Boop early cartoon linen-mounted poster, that went for $7,475.00. The poster, was for a 1931 Paramount “Talkartoon” featuring images of Betty Boop, Bimbo, Bimbo’s baby brother Aloysius, and KoKo the Klown.

The Superman 1940 contest prize ring came in seventh, is among the top eight known, and brought in $6,555.00. It is the first ever Superman ring from 1940 issued by DC Comics and only 1,600 rings were awarded.

Next is the “Emerson” Mickey Mouse radio that sold for $6,325.00 and is a tall nicely designed lacquered wood radio from the 1930s. The underside of the radio is marked "Made In U.S.A. By Wm. Rogers & Son," indicating the noted company that made a wide variety of Disney silverware and related products. The internal parts are complete and has the original electric cord and plug. The two knobs are also original and the character images on the corner attachments remain distinct.

Not far behind was the velveteen Hoppy the Marvel Bunny doll, which is one of only two known examples. It went for $6,199.77 and is 100% complete. Composition hands and feet have been professionally restored to their original mint condition appearance. Rounding out the top ten came the Felix the Cat Laughs It Off cartoon poster that brought in $5,060.00. It is a linen-backed poster for the 1926 Pat Sullivan cartoon. 

All items include the buyer’s premium. To see a full list of Wednesday/Thursday items realized click here!