![]() ![]() This task proved to be far more challenging than expected, with more than a year spent in creating multiple sample dolls followed by pointed correspondence from Roy Disney who, with Walt, was adamant in expressing concern over any deviation from the integrity of the doll they required.Įarly in 1931, Clark was also producing a Minnie Mouse doll, which Borgfeldt was asked to include in his efforts to manufacture a line of Mickey dolls. To better meet the demand for Mickey Mouse dolls, George Borgfeldt, following the arrangements stipulated in his licensing agreement, was instructed to identify a manufacturer who could create dolls at an increased rate but maintain the specific quality and design of those being produced by Charlotte Clark. By November 1930, production reached three to four hundred dolls per week at the “Doll House,” the small rented house Walt set up near the studio for the exclusive production of these handmade Mickey Mouse dolls, which originally were given out to business acquaintances, select studio visitors, and family friends. While Charlotte Clark’s Mickey Mouse dolls provided the exemplar model of product quality and character likeness that satisfied Walt and Roy/s high expectations, there were limits to the quantity that could be produced by Clark and the small team assembled to create the dolls. Not only were the Disney brothers pleased with Charlotte Clark’s doll, they set it as the standard against which all subsequent Mickey Mouse dolls were soon to be measured. Charlotte and Bob created the first doll, and on the advice of Bob’s father, sought the approval from Walt and Roy to produce and sell their Mickey Mouse doll creations. ![]() Not having any reference material handy, Bob grabbed his sketch pad and went to the Alexander Theater in Glendale, California, to sketch Mickey in action from one of the Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts being screened there. ![]() One of the items that Walt and Roy were most focused on was the production of a Mickey Mouse stuffed doll.Ī successful example of a Mickey Mouse doll had already been created by an enterprising seamstress in Los Angeles, Charlotte Clark (née Carolyn Geis), who in January 1930 had asked her then 16-year-old nephew and aspiring young artist, Bob Clampett, to come up with sketches of Mickey Mouse on which she could base her doll design. the responsibility to manage the licensing of Disney product to manufacturers in the U.S. The first merchandise contract was signed in February 1930, granting Geo. As the popularity of Mickey Mouse began to soar in the early 1930s, Walt and Roy were confronted with the challenge of meeting the explosive demand for engaging consumer products, while sustaining the creative integrity and consistent quality of their character merchandise. ![]()
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