I need some help Sup Forums

I need some help Sup Forums
I bought a $2 puzzle at a thrift store today and inside it was a set of old Disney animation cels.
Can anyone identify the cartoons these are from? And also, what do I even do with these things? I'm worried touching them too much will damage them.
They came with a note inside that detailed who owned them, they were allegedly given to a Harriette Rees in 1945 by her cousin Brice Mack

Other urls found in this thread:

comics.ha.com/free-appraisals.s?ic=Tab-ToSell-FreeAuctionEvaluation-020916
vegalleries.com/we-buy-art
youtube.com/watch?v=S8u8al8vbPs
twitter.com/AnonBabble

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For starters, get some protective cases for them.

That's an insane find, OP. There should be a sheet over the cels so I wouldn't worry about damaging them too much, but make sure you put them into a portfolio or proper storage until you suss the situation out.

Can you transcribe the letter?

My cursive is terrible, so forgive me if I make any mistakes in this

>These four Disney "cels" were given to Harriette Rees in 1945 by cousin "Brice Mack." The son of "Aunt Hattie"(Harriet Cochrane Mack.) Sister of Tammie Cochrane Reese. Cousin Brice was an animator for Walt Disney Studios during the years 1940 to 1958 approx. His name is on the list of credits for background artists on the movie "Fantasia." Other movies include "Bambi," "Pinocchio", and many others. Brice went on to make commercials for the Ford Motor Co. His young son - age five, made a commercial about a bunny in his show for a ---- advertisement. He made 10,000 for his college fund ". Signed Harriette Reese Aglein August 13, 1993

That's the best I can do

Jesus Christ. You're a rich man.

Original Disney cells from that era range from 5000 to 150000 on collectors market usually. Those from cult cartoons can get up to 7 figs, I don't think this is the case.
Congrats OP.

Goödē jóbé õp!

They all look to be from different films. Is from 'Toby Tortoise Returns', a 1936 short. I could only find animation drawings for sale (no cels) but those few were selling for at least a few hundred.

These are old as fuck and look to be in surprisingly great condition despite the age. Get these into protected sleeves as soon as you can. And I think you're gonna have to consult some auctioneers or animation historians for price estimates

It sounds like she cared very deeply about them, but didn't have anyone to leave them to. She was probably worried they'd get thrown out by someone who didn't know what they were, so she hid them in a puzzle and donated it somewhere knowing that they sit on the shelves forever.

That's my only guess, why else would you write in detail them 48 years later

If anyone was curious, this was the puzzle I thought I was buying. My mother collects puzzles and it was going to be a birthday gift

That's a pretty creepy doll puzzle user. I'd be lying if I'd say that I'd pick that one up if I was looking for a puzzle for my mom. But hey, you just got thousands in old Disney cells so kudos to you and your creepy taste in puzzles.

She collects creepy dolls. Her house looks like a horror film

OP, if you want, I get in touch with a friend of mine who does the whole cell racket and see what he thinks about these. I don't know how deep he is into this kind of stuff, but I could ask. At the very least I think he has some auctioneer connections.

The part you can't read is
>Brice went on to make commercials for the Ford Motor Co. His youngest son- age five, made a commercial about a penny in his shoe for a bank advertisement. He made $10,000.00 for his college fund.

I'm guessing this was probably some low to no attention ad for a local bank or something. Maybe a contest.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't actually curious.

Whew, well this is one time where creepy is lucky af. Happy for your find user.

Please do, I need all the help I can get for these

>$2 puzzle turn around to a bunch of Disney animation cells

Return it and demand a replacement puzzle for free.

Holy shit OP. Are you gonna keep them or sell them? There might be some museums interested, but if you appreciate animation you could just keep them.

Wow dude, that's an amazing find.

Each cell is probably worth $4-5,000. The age is the real kicker here, these are in astonishing condition considering they date back to 1936. Collectors might be willing to pay more on that basis alone.

>1930's Mickey Mouse cell in basically mint condition

Jesus Christ. That's gonna be worth money.

Honestly, I don't know. I love the idea of owning old production art, even if I have no attachment to the cartoons there from(the Mickey one is definitely cool) but I know for a fact I would be terrible at preserving them, and in that basis alone I don't feel justified or deserving in keeping them
i also have no idea how to contact a museum. Who knows, should I see if I can contact Disney?

user, Disney might try to pull some legal shit. Museum would be a better choice if you want to donate them and not sell them.

>Finds tens of thousands of dollars of vintage Disney cells for $2 in a thrift store
>Has a room-temperature IQ and can't even manage to google for institutions and telephone numbers

Jesus Christ. Good thing you were apparently born lucky.

cum tribute the mickey cell

comics.ha.com/free-appraisals.s?ic=Tab-ToSell-FreeAuctionEvaluation-020916

vegalleries.com/we-buy-art

Try these.

If the were stolen in the 1940's, wouldn't the statute of limitations protect me?

Yeah, but it's Disney. They're cunts.

Just contact an animation art specialist or auction house. Google, nibba.

Mickey's Rival 1936

Holy shit, that's an unexpected and amazing find!

"Donald and Pluto" from 1936

"Mickey's Rival" from the same year

The Country Cousin, also from 1936

Did some digging, the son was a child actor originally who did several commercials before going into digital animation and winning an academy award. I contact him about the letter to see if i could get anymore information

Bitch, these are the lawyers keeping copyright on life support until the heat death of the universe. They wipe their ass with statutes of limitations.

There are museums specifically dedicated to film and animation. Try looking up one of them if you're thinking about donating. They'd love this shit, especially since it has an interesting backstory.

>OP has thousands of dollars of history he acquired for 2USD
>Doesn't even know what to do with it

This thread is gonna be like that time a /k/ommando found a gas shell and hit it with a shovel, isn't it?

I know a lot of /K/ stupidity, but I don't remember that one.
Unless OP destroys them, we should be fine

Or the time a /k/ommando tested out a gas mask by subjecting himself to some fucking chemicals

Ah, the chlorine /k/ommando, good times

What became of him? I was there for the thread as it happened but missed the outcome. Did he died?

Who knows. Some claim hoax, but he never posted again and I am unaware if there were any news stories about it

Do post the reply if tou get it

He did not, so far I have contacted two animation dealers though. One offered me $3400 on the spot, but also told me that Mickey alone could net $3000, and the other one hasn't gotten back to me since I sent the pictures. I will keep the thread updated with any news.
Part of me hopes the son offers to buy them just to get something his father stole back

I doubt that the lady donated them. She probably passed away and the people cleaning her apartment didn't check the box.

My guess, and I won't know if/until her cousin's son replies to my email, is that she felt she was going to die and wanted them to be recognized if someone opened the puzzle.
She got the cells in 1945 and wrote the letter in 1993, I'm not sure how old she was when she got them, but 48 years is a long time in genera,l, I'm guessing she was either in her 20's or late teens

That's pretty cool OP.

Cool find OP.

1. Get them in protective sleeves/however you preserve these things ASAP.

2. Consult a bunch of different people. I suggest making a post on reddit because even though they're a bunch of normies you need all the advice you can get.

3. Don't sell them to random people offering to buy them until you've established how much they're actually worth. It could be they're actually worthless. If I were in your position (I'm not particularly in need of money) I would also look into:

a) Trying to get in touch with family who know the people mentioned in the letter. There is a slim chance that this Harriete Reese is still alive, or she has immediate family. Just try to track them down first, maybe don't reveal you found the cels, just the letter and puzzle and want to find its owner.

b) Donating it to a foundation that specializes in preserving these sort of things (e.g. history of animation or whatnot). Maybe even contact Disney once you've exhausted every other option.

I found the son of Brice Mack, the guy who gave her the cells, and I emailed him. No reply yet.

My first appraiser said they could net $7k, but then emailed me again after our phone call saying $10k was more likely

Two other appraisers are looking into it, and I emailed the head of the film studies department at a local university to see if he has any expertise or connections to people who do.
Lastly, I found a museum that is dedicated to Disney and I gave them an email. Which subreddit should I go to?

Looks like The Worm Turns

youtube.com/watch?v=S8u8al8vbPs

I think any of the large subreddits like pics or askreddit to ensure as much people see it as possible. Anywhere really, if you post in a wrong sub people would probably steer you in the right direction.

It is Halloween after all. So it is appropriate.

Great job user! We now know the origin of all 5 cells
Toby Tortoise Returns(1936)
Mickey's Rival(1936)
Donald and Pluto(1936)
The Country Cousin(1936)
The Worm Turns(1937)

Yeah, you could post this in r/pics and probably gain tons of upboats and get jettisoned to the front page where SOMEONE who knows someone would see it.

>Go to ask reddit
>Make post
>Gets removed because I didn't put a question mark at the end of the title.

Fuck I hate reddit

The second company I contact got back to me with these values
1. Original Master set-up of Pluto with knives to retail @ $1200-$2500
2. Original Master set-up of Mickey Mouse from Mickey’s Rival to retail @ $6000-$10,000
3. Original Master set-up of a Fly to retail @ $1500-$2500
4. Original Master set-up of Max Hare from the Tortoise and the Hare to retail @ $2000-$5000
5. Original Master set-up of a cat to retail @ $1500-$2500

this thread is really interested in incredibly lucky. Gz op!

damn

>find 12,000+ worth of shit at a thrift store.

Jesus christ.

Nice

one thing I've noticed is that a lot of these appraisers treat you like a criminal when you bring it up. Everyone demands to know what city I'm in and how I obtained them in like the harshest tone imaginable

What a bunch of faggots

cause you have something they want. Be a bitch to them user, be a complete cunt. You're the one with the cells, you can sell to whoever, or whenever you want.

Fuck those degenerates right where it counts.

take them to antique road show!

does that show even still exist?

holy shit what an awesome find OP. this is so cool.

just imagine how easily someone could have thrown that puzzle box out into the trash thinking it was worthless.

you might even want to try to auction in on Ebay, you might get a little bit more of cash, but is a bigger gamble.

This is amazing. You're so lucky.

Can you take a picture with a timestamp

Please keep us updated OP.
Just remember that it is your choice what to do with them.

They're more than likely asking because odds are, if this lady hid five in a puzzle with a letter, there's more than likely more out there from the same lady that she donated or sent out to random thrift stores.

Honestly, just get them appraised and insured, get someone who knows what they're doing to frame them properly and stick them on a wall. Good conversation topic and, should anything actually happen to you monetarily, you have something to fall back on if need be or hell, pass them on to your kids if you ever have any.

My God. I don't possess them and I'm crying. Congrats OP.

What is your plan with the money might I ask?

I didn't even think about that

Nigga might have treasure all over his city RIGHT NOW

Now that I think about it, my head canon is that this old lady's probably dead. She realized her kids/grandkids were waiting for her to die, so she hid all of her valuable shit inside cheap shit she knew her kids would donate or sell to thrift stores or pawn shops for a quick buck, knowing they wouldn't check her creepy doll puzzle for 10-20k worth of animation cells. She figured someone at a thrift store would find them, read her letter, know they're valuable and either treasure them or, since they're shopping at a thrift store and probably are down on their luck, sell them to put their lives back on track.

She's rattling with laughter in her grave now, her skeleton giving the middle finger to her unworthy progeny.

It's because if the buy it from you and it turns out they were stolen the cops take the items from them with no compensation. So they're out the thousands they paid you. You get stung by that and it can kill a business if they are dealing in high value goods

>almost thought OP meant that had to solve some large puzzle box he bought that had the animation cels inside
The story is cool, but that would've been even cooler.

Also because Disney was tight as a drum back in the day when it came to production materials leaking into the public domain. Most cells in circulation pre-1950's were stolen from the company by employees and even board members.

Guess I should add to that: as such genuine original cells from early Disney are like fucking gold dust, hence that Mickey cell alone being worth in the region of $10k.

Congrats OP. Do your best to get these properly stored so they don't get damaged.

Keeping this thread alive, I'm interested in how this goes.

Also, OP, a word of warning, appraisal and insurance is one of the first things you should do, if you haven't done it already. There might be some people interested in claiming that they're fakes or of very little value.

That Mickey cell is so valuable that you might really find yourself in Disney's crosshairs if they know you have it. I'd be a bit leery about posting it on Reddit for that reason. If this shit makes the front page, you'll be getting a call from Disney's lawyers.

DAAAAAAMN!

Disney lets concept art circulate through the fine art market all the time. Fuck, one of the original drawings of Disneyland was just auctioned off for a couple million dollars.

Get em appraised and insured.

Don't contact a museum you fool. Get their value appraised and if they're real get them insured. After, they'll be a new asset for you and your family. Sell em for the right price. Be smart for yourself and don't throw money away.

Checked and yes. Do this OP!!!!!!!!

This pleases me and I'll believe it until I die

Op Here, no new updates tonight. I'll make a new thread tomorrow if it dies with new updates

I can't be salty that this wasn't me, because I don't like going into antique stores for fear of accidentally buying something cursed or possessed.

What are you a faggot?

Cursed and/or possessed item also sell for bank

Yeah, but one time I bought a golf club from an antique store, and when I woke up my ass hurt and I jizzed my pants in my sleep.

Fuck, I wouldn't have been able to tell things were different

>tfw I'm not joking
>tfw the friends that I've told think I'm joking
>tfw no one ever believes me

I'm flagging this as a potential hoax, or at least cooking up facts. A thrift store wouldn't just blindly put a puzzle box out there without checking the contents first. They're no doubt real cels and that's a real letter, but I highly doubt that they were purchased for $2 in a puzzle box.

Its real, I gain nothing from lying about this

timestamp pls

sharpie in pooper

Thrift Stores like the Salvation Army get their product through donation of items. They don't buy anything. The only things they check are electronic items to make sure they still work. They're actually a pretty decent place to go if you're looking for old oop tpb's and they're dirt cheap.