Q: We have a Donald Duck rocker that has been in my wife’s family for many generations. The outside is marked “Walt Disney Enterprises” Ths inside is marked “Mengel Playthings.” Can you tell me when it was made and how much it is worth?

A: Donald Duck appeared in his first Walt Disney “short” in 1934. Mengel Playthings was a line of wooden toys made by C.C. Mengel & Brothers Co. of Louisville, Kentucky. They made several different types of rockers featuring Disney characters. The company was founded by C. Mengel in the late 1800s and taken over by C.C.Mengel Jr. and C.R. Mengel c.1900. Furniture, boxes, toys, and other wooden items were made in the early years, and doors, windows, and wooden subassemblies used by car manufacturers were made later. The company was bought by Kroehler Manufacturing Co. in 1956. Your rocker was probably made in the late 1930s or 1940s and is worth $200-$300 in good condition.