Mickey Mouse - Ben Cooper - Tru-type Mask #114 (1949)

Offered here is an original Ben Cooper Tru-Type mask of Mickey Mouse, catalog #114, dating to 1949. This was part of the earliest wave of paper masks produced by Ben Cooper, just before the company would go on to dominate the Halloween costume market of the 1950s–1970s.

The mask showcases Mickey in his classic late-1940s look, with bold colors and simple punch-out eye holes. Printed directly on thin card stock, the Tru-Type series was marketed as inexpensive party favors and children’s dress-up items. Many were quickly used and discarded, making original survivors quite scarce today.

Ben Cooper’s licensing partnership with Walt Disney Productions was still relatively fresh at this time, and these early masks mark the beginning of a long collaboration that brought Disney characters into homes, schools, and Halloween parades across America for decades.

Date: 1949
Maker: Ben Cooper, Inc. (New York)
Series: Tru-Type Mask, #114
Size: 10" x 9.5"
Rarity: Scarce; most did not survive beyond their initial use