Felix
Dress Fabric
1924 (made)
1924 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dress fabric design, depicting an unusually passive Felix, is highly illustrative of the impact of the ‘Lucky Cat’ on the popular culture of the 20th century. The character was created by Otto Messner and the films produced in the New York studio of Pat Sullivan, but the first items of merchandise appeared, unofficially, in the United Kingdom.
Felix had all the hallmarks of the vaudeville tradition; his comic pantomiming and breaking of the fourth wall gave him a distinct personality. This, coupled with the ‘magical’ possibilities of animation and a prehensile tail, resulted in international fame and Felix’s appearance on over 200 items of merchandise.
His design changed several times, eventually gaining his famous rounder features (which inspired Walt Disney to create Mickey Mouse, among others) around 1926. This example from 1924 shows a fairly typical Felix from the earlier part of the decade.
Felix had all the hallmarks of the vaudeville tradition; his comic pantomiming and breaking of the fourth wall gave him a distinct personality. This, coupled with the ‘magical’ possibilities of animation and a prehensile tail, resulted in international fame and Felix’s appearance on over 200 items of merchandise.
His design changed several times, eventually gaining his famous rounder features (which inspired Walt Disney to create Mickey Mouse, among others) around 1926. This example from 1924 shows a fairly typical Felix from the earlier part of the decade.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Felix (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed cotton |
| Brief description | Dress fabric of printed cotton 'Felix', made by Calico Printers' Association, Great Britain, 1924 |
| Physical description | Dress fabric of printed cotton. With a design of Felix the Cat and a mouse. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Manchester Design Registry |
| Object history | Registered File number 1974/3231. Registration number 196044. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This dress fabric design, depicting an unusually passive Felix, is highly illustrative of the impact of the ‘Lucky Cat’ on the popular culture of the 20th century. The character was created by Otto Messner and the films produced in the New York studio of Pat Sullivan, but the first items of merchandise appeared, unofficially, in the United Kingdom. Felix had all the hallmarks of the vaudeville tradition; his comic pantomiming and breaking of the fourth wall gave him a distinct personality. This, coupled with the ‘magical’ possibilities of animation and a prehensile tail, resulted in international fame and Felix’s appearance on over 200 items of merchandise. His design changed several times, eventually gaining his famous rounder features (which inspired Walt Disney to create Mickey Mouse, among others) around 1926. This example from 1924 shows a fairly typical Felix from the earlier part of the decade. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.225-1987 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
