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CLEARWATER (Bay News 9) -- A $3 drawing picked up at a New York thrift store 20 years ago could be a priceless treasure for a Clearwater man.
Drawing owner Steve Stein said there's a film clip somewhere out there that shows Walt Disney drawing the mouse in his drawing.
"Does anyone have it?" Stein said. "I'm offering a $250,000 reward for a 30 second film clip."
He believes it is an authentic early prototype of Mickey Mouse.
"It has all the earmarks of the drawings of Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney -- the nose, the mouth," Stein said.
Stein said he has had the experts look over the paper, the ink and the style. He also issued appraisals on paper, and all the tests have pointed to it being an original.
"I've had the ink test dated for the mid 1920s," he said. "The paper's not of modern manufacture."
So far, Disney has not been all ears.
"The Disney corporation has to admit what this is one way or another," Stein said. "We're either going to court or we're not. It's really up to them now."
Stein is considering donating the drawing to the Smithsonian or even selling it back to Disney for an undetermined price.
Bay News 9 called Disney corporation communications. They passed the message onto a communications manager who is supposed to return our call within three days. The person who answered the phone for the office said, "We don't ever have a comment on his claim."
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