Walt Disney Signed Contract Autographed Twice 1930 Mickey Mouse Comic Distribution King Features Syndicate Inc. – COA JSA

Description

There were many steps to Walt Disney’s success and journey that brought characters with inspirational imagination to the masses. One of the steps was to get his Mickey Mouse cartoon comic strip into the funny pages of newspapers across the United States. This seven-page contract which extended the partnership between King Features Syndicate Inc. and Walt Disney continued to put Disney’s cartoon Mickey Mouse comic strip into circulation for a year. The contract includes an execution page (dated February 3, 1930) and acceptance (dated October 30, 1930) page with the King Features Syndicate Inc. heading. It bears Walt Disney’s signature twice.  He signed it on those execution and acceptance pages in black steel tip pen (“9-10”) in his distinctive flowing with flourish manner. Note, the acceptage page has a mild tears at the folds that do not impact the overall quality of the document. The Walt Disney signature is one of the most desirable of all autographs, and these two dandies are from the early part of his career paving the way for his global empire.

William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers began syndicating material in 1895 after receiving requests from other newspapers. The first official Hearst syndicate was called Newspaper Feature Service, Inc., established in 1913. In 1914, Hearst and his manager Moses Koenigsberg consolidated all of Hearst’s syndication enterprises under one banner .Koenigsberg gave it his own name when he launched King Features Syndicate on November 16, 1915.

Hearst put hit after hit into newspapers as the years went by: Barney Google, Thimble Theatre (home-port of Popeye), Blondie, Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom, Prince Valiant, and many, many more. Hearst sought out premier talent and paid handsomely. Hearst brought Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse into the funny papers. While Hearst was a skilled businessman who understood the circulation-building powers of comics, he was also one of their biggest fans. Hearst loved the “funnies” and followed them faithfully.

Authentication: JSA Full Letter

Walt Disney Signed Contract