Here's a little game...no mention was made in the auction listing as to who Ivener was. I recognized her name instantly...do you recognize her name?
Ruth Ivener was the Vice-President of Kay Kamen Ltd. She worked out of Kamen's upscale art deco offices in New York's Rockefeller Center on Sixth Avenue.
Herman "Kay" Kamen was the sole representative of Walt Disney Enterprises' merchandise division. He held that position from 1932, until he was killed in an airplane crash in 1949. Kamen published several special Christmas Promotion manuals which instructed retail toy department managers on how to mount impressive Disney-themed displays. Kamen also published several great merchandise catalogs.
An interesting bit of trivia: according to the October 21, 1933 issue of The New Yorker magazine, if you dialed Kamen's switchboard at Bryant 9-1990, "a lady with a schoolgirl inflection says, 'Mickey Mouse'."
The photo sold for under $600.
2 comments:
This is a great portrait, and with nice provenance. I always worry about counterfeit signatures (particularly on ebay), supposedly Walt Disney's autograph is one of the most commonly faked (presumably because it an fetch such a high price). And of course there are the Hank Porter and other artist versions of the "Walt Disney" signature to make matters more confusing.
I agree, although I do believe this one was real. The seller that sold this item on eBay has been in business a very long time and has a great reputation.
I was surprised though the seller made no mention of the connection to Kay Kamen.
If I would have had the extra money at the time, I would have bid.
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