1961 "The Parent Trap" Birdcage Prop & Letter
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GUEST:
Well, in 1961, my mother was in charge of the crafts committee for a 4-H club up in Lincoln County, and as a family, we went to see "Parent Trap," which had just been released by the Walt Disney Studio. And Hayley Mills, who obviously was the star in that, came home to her grandmother in Boston with this. And my mother says, "I've got to learn how to make that." So she wrote to the Disney Studios and asked for some blueprints or whatever they had, and lo and behold, about two weeks later, this comes in the mail. Along with a letter saying, "Here's the one out of the movie, and you can have it."
APPRAISER:
This one is from the 1961 movie, "The Parent Trap."
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And it was that great scene when Hayley Mills' character first comes home to Boston and gives this wonderful birdcage to her grandmother, who's very prim and proper, upper-crust Boston.
GUEST:
Yes, yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
And kind of looked at it like, "What am I going to do with this... thing?"
GUEST:
Exactly.
APPRAISER:
And you've got a wonderful letter of provenance, and it's dated November 8, 1961, and it's from the property department at Disney. Not only does it talk about the prop itself, talks about "The Parent Trap," but it gives you all the details on the construction of it. Made from raffia and Good Humor sticks. You almost never get a Disney prop with that kind of provenance. This is Hollywood gold for a Disney collector.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
At auction, we'd give an estimate of between $5,000 and $8,000.
GUEST:
You're kidding. (laughter) Seriously? I think the insurance is going to go up on this a little bit. (laughter) That's wonderful! I mom... my mom's still alive, and she's going to just... yeah, she's going to have a trip on this one. It's been made fun of, and my mother's defended this thing for 50-plus years.
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