If you were an arcade operator 45 years ago, your first look at a game that would change the history of the medium came in the form of a humble sales flyer. On the front was a detailed cartoon illustration that envisioned the game’s premise: an ape throwing barrels down scaffolding, a terrified damsel in distress posing behind it, and a smug, mustachioed man in overalls posed to indicated that he was going to take that mad monkey down. It’s among the first images of Donkey Kong, the first appearance of Mario, and the game that propelled Nintendo to international success.
That now-legendary artwork, made to sell the game cabinet to skeptical arcade owners, was among a host of Nintendo memorabilia that went up for auction today — and it sold for almost $330,000, more than doubling its estimated final bid price.
The Donkey Kong flyer artwork, done by legendary illustrator Leslie Carbaga, is of significant historical importance. It would go on to make numerous appearances across Donkey Kong-related merchandise over the decades and help establish the initial appearance of Mario and DK in early media like the Saturday Supercade cartoon. But, according to former Nintendo advertising director Donna Darbous — whose collection this piece comes from — it was originally slated for a dumpster when a storage room was being cleaned out to make office space. Recognizing the value of this and other art being stored, Darbous took it home and stored it away, only uncovering it again recently.
This isn’t the only noteworthy piece from the auctions, either. The materials Darbous saved include an image of Mario as Santa commissioned for an early company Christmas card, some Disney-themed artwork for early licensed Game & Watch titles, a promotional Punch-Out boxing glove signed by Mike Tyson, rare “black box” NES games, and all manner of company promotional material and internal documentation. The entire set of auctions — as well as what everything went for — can be viewed online at Landry Pop Auctions.
The fact that this artwork could have been destroyed is shocking, but more common than you think: Companies often throw out a lot of old material when moving or restructuring. It’s only recently that the value of such work has come to be acknowledged. This isn’t the first — and likely won’t be the last — time that important, valuable pieces of gaming history are rescued from oblivion by bystanders who recognize their value.
