Gebrüder Thiel and Mickey Mouse

 

During the 1930’s, Gebrüder Thiel GbmH supplied Thiel Regular pocket watches to Ingersoll, a British watch retailing company, which had the rights to produce the official Walt Disney Mickey Mouse watches in the United Kingdom. Mickey Mouse was at that time a very popular recent phenomena.

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at the Walt Disney Studio and appeared in his first animated cartoon “Steamboat Willie”. A whole series of further cartoons starring Mickey Mouse were made in the 1930s.

The photos above are courtesy of www.mickeymousewatches.co.uk

Note that the watches are marked Foreign. This was because following the Great War 1914-1918, German products would not have been popular in Great Britain and other European nations and would not have sold well if they had been marked Made in Germany.

Below is the Thiel produced English Mickey Mouse pocket watch from the 1930s. The dial is printed on celluloid with a card backing and mounted on a brass plate.

Thiel Ingersoll English Mickey Mouse Pocket Watch 1930s (1)

Thiel Ingersoll English Mickey Mouse Pocket Watch 1930s (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Further photos and examples of other Mickey Mouse watches can be found on www.mickeymousewatches.co.uk together with a wealth of interesting information.