Last Updated on 01/13/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
This rare Mickey Mouse Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 is definitely not one of those toy cameras.
Kodak Brownie cameras have become vintage collectibles on their own, and some rare versions occasionally pop up for sale online. Case in point is this Mickey Mouse edition of the Target Six-20 Brownie that was recently listed on ebay for US $7,500.
Anything “Mickey Mouse” on a camera usually points to a toy camera (not that it’s bad, we actually thought this Pokemon toy camera was cool!). But this Kodak Brownie is definitely not one of them, if the hefty price tag is any indication. It’s a 1930s relic!
The ebay listing doesn’t provide many details about the Mickey Mouse Kodak Brownie Target Six-20. But luckily for curious collectors and vintage camera fans, we can still piece together some bits of information about this historic piece. Poking around auction and collectibles websites, we’ve found some interesting details from the George Eastman House Technology archive.
First, existence of the camera was unknown until 1995, when some antique dealers began offering a few of them. The Mickey Mouse drawing and the Disney company name are pre-war, which suggests it might have been in development in the early 1930s. The Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 was later introduced post-war, in 1946. However, this Mickey Mouse edition was reportedly shelved for an unknown reason. The only six known, finished items are considered prototypes and were never seen again until five decades later.
With a camera this rare, it’s not going to be out there for the price of the regular Kodak Brownies. Ten years ago, one of these Mickey Mouse editions garnered a winning bid of $1,150. With less and less of these relics going around, we can say sellers have been taking advantage and listing them for jacked up prices.
Still interested in this rare Mickey Mouse Kodak Brownie Target Six-20? Looks like it didn’t get sold, so save up and watch out for possible relisting by ebay seller pacificrimcamera!
