Camera collecting mysteries don’t come much more mysterious than the great Mickey Mouse Camera Mystery. It began in 1995 when an unusual Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 box camera came up for auction in London. What made it different was the faceplate surrounding the lens. Instead of the usual black and silver Art Deco design, the faceplate was coloured yellow and green. Curved across the top of the lens were the words Mickey Mouse, and Mickey himself strode across the bottom beneath the lens. The lower left-hand corner bore the words Made in USA by Eastman Kodak Ltd and, in the lower right-hand corner, appeared the words © Special Permission Walt Disney Enterprises. The mystery was that neither Kodak nor Disney had any knowledge of the camera.
Auction staff, researching its authenticity, contacted Eastman Kodak Company, George Eastman House and the Disney Archives. None had any record of the camera. Three of the world’s top Kodak collectors who were also contacted confessed to knowing nothing about
