Felix the Cat
Soft Toy
ca. 1920s (manufactured)
ca. 1920s (manufactured)
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character that was created in the silent film era, first appearing in a 1919 cartoon Feline Follies, although he didn't get his name until the third cartoon he appeared in. He was a massive success, bringing people into the cinema to see his new short cartoons, which were released every two weeks. The owner of the film studio, and copyright of the characters created by his animators, Pat Sullivan, made $100,000 from licensing the Felix character in 1923. His image was made into soft toys, such as this one, and graced objects such as ceramics, toy figures and postcards.
Felix's popularity began to wane with the coming of sound to cartoons, in the late 1920s. Mickey Mouse's sound films made the silent offerings of Sullivan, and animator Mesmer, seem outdated. He has had several comebacks over the years and remains an icon of popular culture.
Felix's popularity began to wane with the coming of sound to cartoons, in the late 1920s. Mickey Mouse's sound films made the silent offerings of Sullivan, and animator Mesmer, seem outdated. He has had several comebacks over the years and remains an icon of popular culture.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Felix the Cat (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Mohair, wire framing, sewn together and stuffed with excelsior |
| Brief description | Soft toy, mohair, 'Felix the Cat', ca. 1920s. |
| Physical description | Large mohair cat, standing on his hind legs, balanced by his long tail. It is based on the 1920s cartoon character, Felix the Cat. Its body is mostly black, with a white jaw, with black fabric to represent his open mouth, a black nose, and his eyes are two black discs on larger white discs. The wire framing of his body is exposed in several places. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Credit line | Given by R Pozzoli |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Felix the Cat is a cartoon character that was created in the silent film era, first appearing in a 1919 cartoon Feline Follies, although he didn't get his name until the third cartoon he appeared in. He was a massive success, bringing people into the cinema to see his new short cartoons, which were released every two weeks. The owner of the film studio, and copyright of the characters created by his animators, Pat Sullivan, made $100,000 from licensing the Felix character in 1923. His image was made into soft toys, such as this one, and graced objects such as ceramics, toy figures and postcards. Felix's popularity began to wane with the coming of sound to cartoons, in the late 1920s. Mickey Mouse's sound films made the silent offerings of Sullivan, and animator Mesmer, seem outdated. He has had several comebacks over the years and remains an icon of popular culture. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.611-2010 |
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| Record created | May 26, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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