Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. 

I really wanted to buy those Swedish bottle labels from the 1930s but I lost the auction this weekend. I had never seen them before and I have a feeling some of you will enjoy discovering them.

SWEDISH DISNEY HISTORIAN NEEDED

In 2013, Are Myklebust and Jan Stale Engaas wrote a great book about the history of Disney in Norway (which they updated a few years later). That same year Jukka Vesterinen released a similar book about Disney in Finland.

The question is: who will do the same in Denmark and especially in Sweden? 

The history of Disney in Sweden in the 1930s is particularly rich, with one of the best Mickey Mouse magazines (Musse Pigg Tidningen) released in that country.

Are there any Swedish Disney historians or early-Disneyana collectors reading this? If so, could you please email me at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I have some ideas about how to approach the research, but you need to be based in Sweden (ideally in Stockholm) to get access to the proper resources.
 

And to conclude our pre-WWII unauthorized series from Japan, here are a few more items that I spotted online and that you may enjoy.

 

One last batch of pre-WWII Japanese postcards for your enjoyment.

 

More of those great 1930s postcards from Japan! Apparently some of these "art deco" ones may have been drawn by artist Takahashi Shunka.

 

Thanks to some of you, over recent days I have become aware of the fascinating world of early Japanese Disney postcards (unauthorized). 

I will be posting some of my favorite ones over the next few days. I wish I could locate a big collector who could scan some of the originals for me.

 

Do any of you have access to a large amount of 1930s issues of the rare magazine Playthings? 

If so, could you send me a note at didier.ghez@gmail.com? I need your help with some research. Many thanks in advance.

In a cafe in Lucca, my good friend Matteo Moriconi discovered this music sheet from 1933 owned by collector Piero Caniparoli. The music of "Topolino va soldato" was composed in 1933 by Carlo Alberto Pizzini.

According to a site about the composer, Walt Disney heard the music played in Rome on Saturday, July 20, 1935 during the special gala evening in his honor that he attended at the Roman Barberini film theater.

You can listen to a recording of the music at this link.

In the new Hake's auction there is a also an item that I had never seen before: a pre-WWII pig from Spain by the company Ernesto Cahn. By looking for more online, I found the three pigs in their original box. I will now have to try and find more info about Ernesto Cahn...

This extremely rare French poster from the 1930s will soon be sold by Heritage Auctions. I have to admit that I love it.

 

This just in from Gunnar Andreassen:

 

[Enclosed is a great poster with Musse Pigg (Mickey Mouse), made in connection with the Childrens Days in September 1937 - and a boat race in Stockholm.  I found a small version of it on the web, but with the help of Lasse Emanuelsson - who bought the last copy of the exhibition catalog with this poster they had at the Royal Library in Stockholm, I got a high resolution version.

 

Musse is standing on top of Stadshuset (The Town Hall) in Stockholm.  See also photo of the building.]

 A few more Swedish cards from the '30s.