Collectibles
Off To The Movies
S
ometimes movies affect what we buy. So we predict an upsurge in interest in certain bears and toys this fall. Why? Because movie tie-ins affect doll and toy sales, and because there is a new Winne-the-Pooh movie coming next month. Steiff, Merrythought, R John Wright and many others have been inspired to do themed editions on different interpretations of this story. Some are shown here. Just a little research will show how an item – including a doll or toy becomes super-desirable because it is associated with a household name brand. The classic example for this is the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, which belongs to Disney. The well beloved chronicles of Pooh were written by AA Milne in the 192Os, creating a Pooh legacy that keeps on giving all around the world up to this day. A. A. Milne wrote his children’s stories and created characters beginning in 1923 in England. He named the central character Winnie-the-Pooh after a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, who was the basis for the character Christopher Robin. Christopher Robin’s toy bear is now on display at the Main Branch of the New York Public Library in New York City. Christopher Milne had named his toy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear he often saw at London Zoo, and “Pooh”, a swan they had met while on holiday. In the books, Christopher Robin’s teddy bear, Edward, is also called Pooh Bear. (The teddy bear made his character début in A. A. Milne’s poem, “Teddy Bear” in the edition of 13 February 1924 of Punch, and the same poem was published in Milne’s book of children’s verse When We Were Very Young in November 1924) The rest of Christopher Robin Milne’s toys, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger also were incorporated into Milne’s stories.Two more characters, Owl and Rabbit, were created by Milne’s imagination, while Gopher was added to the Disney version. The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in the book Winnie-the-Pooh. The Evening News Christmas story reappeared as the first chapter of the book. At the beginning, it explained that Pooh was in fact Christopher Robin’s Edward Bear, who had been renamed by the boy after a black bear at London Zoo called Winnie who got her name from the fact that her owner had come from Winnipeg, Canada. That book was published in October 1926 by the publisher of Milne’s earlier children’s work. It turns out everyone related to this character. In the Milne books, Pooh is naive and slow-witted, but he is also friendly, thoughtful, and steadfast. Although he and his friends agree that he “has no Brain”, Pooh is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. These include riding in Christopher Robin’s umbrella to
Disney’s Christopher Robin movie coming soon.
Pooh in an illustration by E. H. Shepard
RJohn Wright Christopher Robin and Friends
Edward, Christopher Robin’s Teddy Bear by Merrythought
Steiff Miniature Pooh
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Antique DOLL Collector
collectibles-aug.indd 18
August 2018
7/16/18 10:55 AM