Customer Reviews

Collecting Disneyana (Identification & Values (Collector Books))

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Let me start right off by saying that "Collecting Disneyana" is by no means a definitive guide on the hobby. Such a book, in one existed, would have to be beyond massive. There has been so much Disney merchandise produced over the past 80 plus years that it would be an impossible feat to catalog it all. Disney was a company who was at the forefront of marketing its characters and as such, there is simply a voluminous amount of material out there. What the book does do very effectively is give a sampling of Disneyana from the past eight decades although its main thrust is with the Golden Age of Disney from the 1930's.

Geared towards the novice or intermediate collector, even long time fans and collectors will find a lot to enjoy in the book, beginning with the hundreds of brilliant, full color photos of rare Disney collectibles. In today's era where things tend to be overly merchandised, you get a good idea of just how popular Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and the rest of the characters were back in the 30's. Their images could be seen everywhere...toys, books, salt & pepper shakers, figurines, radios, even on packaging for Noma Christmas lights.

The first 115 pages of the 240 page book are dedicated to these early years. Now this not a typical price guide listing. This isn't about long pages of tiny, hard to read text. There are typically three to five pictures per page and pricing information is provided for each item shown. These include the manufacturer and year (if known) and the value range. The items are enough to make the most seasoned collector drool...there's a Lionel Circus Train, a Mickey bandleader doll by Knickerbocker, a Disney windup balloon vendor toy, and some of the earliest Mickey Mouse watches.

The next chapter deals with characters other than the usual suspects. These include items that bare the image of Oswald the Rabbit, Ferdinand the Bull, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and others.

The final two chapters cover the television years of the 40's through the 60's and a look at modern Disney collectibles. Perhaps the most valuable part of the book, at least for new collectors, is the collector's guide, which contains valuable information about buying, selling, and collecting Disneyana. There's great stuff about how best to store your items, buying on the Internet, and more.

WRITTEN BY TIM JANSON

David Longest's COLLECTING DISNEYANA: IDENTIFICATION & VALUE GUIDE will prove an exciting, popular pick for any library catering to Disney collectors. Color photos pack a survey of early to later Disney items, from films and books to figurines, packing in notes on collectible items and their prices.

As the author of this book, I would like to first respond by telling readers that this book is, indeed, MAINLY about vintage Disneyana collectibles. A previous reviewer regarded the Disney "antiques" presented in the book as junk...I would take exception to that statement as I, along with thousands of other collectors around the world, VALUE old Disneyana as the "Cadillacs" of the comic character collecting world.
This book was a labor of love written from the perspective of both the advanced and the novice collector...however, the book IS about vintage Disneyana. It is NOT a book about new Disney items, although a chapter in the book is devoted to newer collectibles. If you are a vintage Disney toy lover...I wrote this book for YOU!

We are Disney collectors, and this book will be a big help in identifying collectibles we find during our rummaging through shops.

This book is a waste of space.
It shows only old junk pieces of Disneyana and is of no use to a new collector trying to find out what is hot to collect.
No wonder the price is so low.