While many Disney fans would surely have a hard time parting ways with collectible Mickey Mouse merchandise, not everyone feels the same way. And in the case of a recent garbage pickup by contractors in Monmouthshire county in Wales, one person’s trash will indeed become a treasure for others when a rare Mickey Mouse toy is cleaned up and displayed at a local museum.
BBC News reports that contractors found the toy at a landfill after a morning trash pickup where it would have gone on to have been destroyed. In true Toy Story 3 (2010) fashion, the toy was saved from ultimate demise and will now be put on display for people from all over the world to enjoy.
Earlier this month, contractors saved the from their recycling and waste site and had historians from the Abergavenny Museum weigh in on the relevance of the item. The expert conclusion was that the was an authentic Disney souvenir from the 1930s and that it was actually made very close to where it was thrown out at the old Dean’s Factory just a county or two away in Torfaen.
The has since been donated to the Pontypool Museum where conservators will soon have the items cleaned up, restored, and ready for display. As for the ‘s manufacturing site, Dean’s Factory was the first manufacturing company in the UK to create licensed Disney items in the 1930s. While Wales’ manufacturing dates back to the 18th century, manufacturing in general in Wales has declined in recent years. Still, the locality of this rare find makes for a truly unique and interesting Welsh story for visitors when the eventually goes on display in the museum.
While researching the history of this early , experts discovered that the is very similar to the ones that debuted shortly after the release of ‘s (1928), placing the ‘s manufacturing date to this time period. A confirmed is part of the collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, too. Auctions appear to indicate that similar have sold for about £300 (approximately $406) but we cannot be sure of the authenticity of other dolls or of how many from this time period still exist today.
Pontypool Museum Curator Caitlin Gingell told BBC , “Dean’s factory, where Mickey was made, has been an important strand of Pontypool’s history and it is lovely to be bringing him back to his hometown.” Though not in , at least when it was found, the is sure to excite and families visiting the museum when it is placed on display later this year.
The was certainly a fun find for contractors and the local communities who will soon see on display close by to a piece of Wales’ manufacturing history.
