1930s MICKEY MOUSE Chocolaterie Rubis Verviers #1 Complete Set of 60 MINT - VHTF

Description

🦎
1930s Mickey Mouse Rubis Chocolaterie card
Verviers Belgium
Complete Set of 60 Cards
PSA Graded
Updated: 11/20/23
59 MINT grade 9s
1 NM - graded 8 none higher
Only 1 10 grade exists and that was last seen prior to the registry formation
With Mickey's 100th right around the corner I've decided to place these out for others to learn
about and
appreciate
them the way I do.
Most sets of the era play off a movie or shows where this one is unique showing Mickey as a down to earth relatable person in his day to day and doing various things that would be popular with people of the era.
It is a  beautiful rendered and colorful sets of it's age the
Mickey Rubis collection is a highly sought after.
There are 5 cards that are currently 1 of 1 none higher. The registry has a current highest possible 10.10. This set sits at 10.05, that is currently .05 from best possible on record.
I've sat at #1 for many years now and can pass that record on to you if you wish to take over the account? Or you can start your own history with them.
Posted in photos is last years pin award for "best of registry" for the year with PSA.
These are from my personal collection which has taken years to accumulate all the grades at this level.
Collecting these cards has been a obsessive passion for me for almost a decade. I've talked to people from all over the world and acquired them whenever where ever possible. Vast majority of mine came out for France and Belgium. The registry I requested with PSA as I wanted to document and showcase my set way back then. I even help assist in confirming the exact 60 card count along with verifiable images of each card for proper translations as there wasn't a complete set at the time on record or the few that were the translations were improper. Which is why if you look at the set there are more than 60. A few language translation variations within PSA at the time created a pop with more than 60 cards.
Cards themselves are written in Dutch and French with 'Verviers' on the back. Verviers Belgium is where the factory originally was located. So with that here are the bits I know about the cards and their history.
Company History
Rubis was an artisanal chocolate confectionery company. Which was run by the Bonjean brothers. Henri Bonjean was the Administrative Director who was the central Pillar of the Company. Hubert Bonjean Sales Director, and Félicien Bonjean the manufacturing director. The factory was not very large as they never employed more than 50 people.
On April 22, 1922, Mr. Bonhomme joined forces with the Bonjean brothers, who already sold products under the RUBIS brand, and they set up the company on rue Pisseroule 57 in Dison. When the workshops became too cramped, the firm moved in 1930, rue Tranchée 48 in Verviers. Like all chocolate factories, Rubis also inserts into its sticks small images intended to be pasted into albums.
In July 1964 Henri Bonjean, the elder brother died at 75 years of age. Upon his death the brothers Hubert and Félicien decided to stop all activities of the company. Then in 1965 the Rubis brand and some product recipes were sold to Léonard Hardy chocolatier in Andrimont.
‘Great warehouse find’
In the early 1990s a large cache of cards was discovered. Many that I have spoken with about the series, say they discovered them at trade shows across the US or Europe around this time. Or their parents found them and they had no clue how or where. So it sounds like from the initial find there was a mass explosion of these into the market which crossed hands via trade shows pre internet days. The cards from this find landed mostly in Europe, the UK and here in the US.
What we are witnessing at the moment is a new generation of appreciation for the Rubis Mickey cards as they re-emerge back out to the market. As the original owners pluck them out of the private collection to sell or simply pass them down to their kin who puts them out into the market.
Cards themselves
Now ‘Verviers’ as written on the back of the cards is the city in Belgium which the factory was operating from. So since we know the factory moved to Verviers in 1930 that is our start date for their possible creation or release. Some have speculated that since there is no album they must be unlicensed cards. While this is interesting that an album hasn’t surfaced to date nor a ‘Disney/Mickey’ Rubis wrapper has been found. It doesn't tell us if they made it to the general public. I have spoken with others who have said they never made it to gen pop which is why so many are in still good condition for their age.
Personally I’ve not heard of a Disney card/sticker album prior to 1935. Which would make sense since that is shortly after 1933 the year Disney licensing effort was in full swing that all depictions of Mickey had to appear ‘on model’. So when we look at known licensed and popular ‘albums’ for Mickey/Disney such as. 1935 Gum Cards, 1935 Mickey Recipe Bread, 1936 Elah FIGURINE PREMIO TOPOLINO, 1937 French C.P.G.M Concours Vignettes Mickey. We know after 1933-35 Disney was in full legal action with their licensing of said productions and marketing. Prior to that there was an endless amount of unlicensed items out there with Mickey on them.
If they were endorsed by Disney they should have that written on them as do most licensed Disney items of the era had this to some degree. So at best with this knowledge my guess is they are pre 1930 -1935 if they are unlicensed. – Speculation on the age via my part 100% but it’s logical knowing what I know about Disney, the company etc.
Card actions
The vast majority of the cards are Mickey doing various things like listening to the radio, painting, working on pluto's dog house to sports related items like Boxing, lifting weights, Football (soccer), Olympic disc throwing, Fencing, target practice, or horse back riding. There are a series of him riding a bicycle, flying a plane and riding a motorcycle. Another series of him with musical instruments like Drums, guitar, or playing an accordion.
The phone, radio talking and listening to the radio are all using equipment from the period as well. The rest are Mickey goofing around doing day to day things.
The only other characters to make an appearance in the series are Minnie from the back and Pluto getting a bath. One other cards mentions Mickey's love for Minnie that he buys her flowers. Aside from those few appearances or mentions they are mostly dedicated to Mickey.
Card Renderings
Mickey in many cards is very true to the era, however the lack of a model sheet is showing on many of the drawling of Mickey. Some are close to actual Disney drawn Mickeys where others have more than 3 fingers or the foreshortening is not quite correct. Still the artistry, ink work and printing are high quality on good stock and are a beautiful sight to behold.
Card Count
From what I know from talking to various collectors around the globe, if I were to guess how many exist in the market I would say it is around 4-6k in individual numbers. What I don’t know is are some cards deliberately printed less than others? Sure some are difficult to find atm, but a great deal of people have a whole set. This gives way to the idea that there were no deliberate limited versions of said cards in the series. However that still doesn't explain the shortage of certain cards in the series. Unless there was a deliberate limited number of a certain few which would be similar to many sets of the age.
Speculation and Rumor
There is a great deal of speculation and rumor around these cards. From the factory closed in WW2, told to me by someone in Belgium. To pistol toting Mickey was protested by parents and was pulled from the market, or there is a low distribution of said cards. Interesting enough if parents protested a card that means they were in the public light. But given the era I very much doubt anyone protested a particular card. That just wasn’t a concern in the 30s like it is now.
Coloration on the back of the cards?
Some have speculated or stated it was or is chocolate from being in bars, but from my experience the colors on the backs are most likely ink that has
transferred
from one print to another due to improper drying or more likely long storage with warm temps
transferring
inks between the cards as they sat.
Disney Archives
I currently have an open request with the Disney archives to see if there ever was communication between the two companies, it would make sense if there was a correspondence that the companies would have letterheads and dates upon which to help nail down a more definitive print date for these. However Disney Archives can be somewhat of a black hole. So no telling if I will ever hear back from them on the matter.
Color:
four colored prints on front & single color on the back
Individual Dimensions:
1 15/16 to 2" by 1" or 5cm x 2.5 cm.
Card Thickness:
C
ardstock with a thickness slightly less than your average modern trading card.
If I've missed anything on their history please feel free to chat with me I love to hear from fellow collectors and document their experiences with the cards and the history as it's recalled.
On the shipping costs, I would ignore what is here tbh, Ebay requires I put something. However if you're in the US I would probably meet in person and hand deliver them to you if you'd like, If you're elsewhere in the world or would prefer delivery via service we can talk about best most secure way to have them delivered to you and go from there.