Disney Memorabilia

Of the thousands of Disney character books that have been released since the early 1900’s, no variety is rarer than the original Disney Pop-Up books.  The first series of these novelty books appeared in 1933 with “The Pop-Up Mickey Mouse”.  Published by Blue Ribbon Press, the man behind the idea was premium marketer Sam Gold. 

Sam defined his career as a marketer by developing such widely used concepts as cereal prizes, direct mail leads, and point-of-sale advertising.  Mr. Gold is credited his success to appealing his ideas to children in a time when only their marketing influence was widely ignored.

In 1933, Sam approached arranged a licensing deal with Disney to use Mickey Mouse and other characters in a series of pop-up books.  He worked with original Disney artists and Disney guru Kay Kaman to create a quality product that appealed to both children and Disney executives.  Blue Ribbon Press experience incredible success with the new pop-up book line, and Sam later secured deals to license other popular cartoon characters.

Of the entire Disney pop-up book line released under Blue Ribbon Press, the original works draw the most attention and highest valuation.  Some examples are listed below.

1933 The Pop-Up Mickey Mouse - $600
1933 Mickey Mouse in King Arthur’s Court (dustjacket) - $1500
1933 The Pop-Up Minnie Mouse - $600
1934 The Pop-Up Mickey Mouse in Ye Golden Days - $800