The Case:
Popular history has it that Mickey Mouse was born from a drawing sketched on a napkin by Walt Disney during a train ride from New York to Los Angeles in 1928.
Disney's wife detested the mouse's original name "Mortimer" and suggested "Mickey."
Mickey Mouse became the biggest fictional character moneymaker in the world, bringing in over $5.8 billion annually.
A San Francisco toy collector, however, believes his small mouse figurine may turn the legend of Mickey on its ears.
With a red label on its chest that reads "Micky" and a patent label on the bottom of one foot that says "Pat. Aug. 17, 1926," the figure appears to have been produced two years before Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse.
History Detectives heads to California, New York and Pennsylvania to trace the ancestry of America's most famous mouse and shed light on the bare-knuckle business fights in the toy industry.
Season 3, Episode 2
Season 4, Episode 4
Detective:
Elyse Luray
Detective:
Wes Cowan
Location:San Francisco, California
Related Content
Technique:
Feature:
Related Links
Explore
-
Also in Emerging Modern America: 1890-1930
Birth Control Box
Could this unusual wooden box be an early contraceptive device?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Wartime Baseball
Is this baseball evidence of an unusual ballgame that took place during segregation?
-
Also with Elyse Luray
Lost Gold Ship
Is this wreck in Alaska the remains of a steamship carrying miners to the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1897?
-
Also with Wes Cowan
Lafitte's Spyglass
Did this spyglass really belong to a fearless cutthroat pirate?
-
Also in this episode
Calhoun Books
Are these the books of the famed intellectual architect of the Confederacy?
-
Also in Emerging Modern America: 1890-1930
Rogue Book
Who did this book of rogue characters belong to?
Comments
This is a place for opinions, comments, questions and discussion; a place where viewers of History Detectives can express their points of view and connect with others who value history. We ask that posters be polite and respectful of all opinions. History Detectives reserves the right to delete comments that don’t conform to this conduct. We will not respond to every post, but will do our best to answer specific questions, or address an error.