Broken Toy

Book excerpt: Was there a toy mouse before Walt Disney's "Mickey?" If there was, what happened to it? During the 1920s two men, one from the world of toys and one from the burgeoning world of moving pictures produced very unique toy characters. The history of these two visionaries and how their characters occurred at nearly the same time provides a unique mystery about which speculation lives vibrantly to this day. In tracing the struggle of the toy company's steadfast president, Torrence Dietz, this absorbing book covers the history of the toy company, its wondrous toys, and why people think of Walt Disney when they see the toy company's enigmatic wooden mouse named, "MICKY." Since the question of whether these men crossed paths in the marketplace is a key element to the mystery, the author has tried to objectively address the questions of how, when and why an encounter should have ever happened. The development of Torrence's career and the growth the toy company are reconstructed and intertwined with world events. In the quest to explain the toy company mystery the author has brought together documents and history never before assembled in one place. The in-depth documentation of the wooden toys manufactured by the Performo-Toy Company makes this book a valued reference for collectors and, from a historical sense a valued resource. The book presents numerous toy pictures, toys now considered collectibles, as well as patent and trademarks related to cartoon and toy characters of the late 1920s and early 1930s. The reader interested in the history of Walt Disney and in particular, the formative period of "Mickey Mouse" will find rare background information.