Mickey Mouse in The Netherlands, 1931

[Daniel van Eijmeren]

GERD SYLLWASSCHY to me, 19-06-2003:

>> I don't know if this 1931 Dutch illustration may be of any importance 
>> in the European/Dutch Disney history, but I was surprised to see this 
>> early Mickey appearance. [Herman Nijgh] must have seen Mickey Mouse 
>> before, at least. And if [Herman] didn't see Mickey in a Dutch 
>> publication, then maybe his time in Berlin may have been of influence? 
>> I'm very curious.

> Maybe a more likely source is the cinema, not print publications. 
> Mickey Mouse cartoons were regularly shown in German cinemas in 1931 
> and earlier. And I would not be surprised if the same is true for the
> Netherlands.

Is there any information available on the earliest history of Mickey 
Mouse in The Netherlands? Did Mickey Mouse directly come from the USA, 
or was he imported via Germany, for example?

Though my scanner has flaws in its quality, I've made a scan of the 
illustration. As reference. I haven't checked if any technical flaws 
are visible this time (the dot-quality is taken from the publication), 
but people can contact me if they want to use a better scan. 

http://www.tobia.nl/hd011222_tekening.jpg
(full size, greyscale, 1.848 kB)

http://www.tobia.nl/hd011222_tekening_1.jpg
(shrunk, greyscale, 171 kB)

http://www.tobia.nl/hd011222_mickey.jpg
(detail with Mickey, greyscale, 56 kB)

BTW. As far as I see, Mickey seems to have four fingers on each hand.
Was this typical Disney-method already well-known at the time?

This (non-Disney) illustration was first published in the December 24, 
1931 Christmas-attachment of Dutch newspaper "Leidsch Dagblad". The 
scan is taken from a reprint in December 22, 2001 Christmas-attachment 
of Dutch newspaper "Haarlems Dagblad".

For more information, see my earlier email about this subject:
http://stp.ling.uu.se/pipermail/dcml/2003-June/023396.html

--- Daniël