Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Peruvian Migration X Station Adoption: A Bear Called Paddington

* text taken from the official site of Paddington Bear

Creator

Michael Bond

Michael Bond - Paddington Bear

 

Why Paddington?

"I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956.

I saw it left on a shelf in a London store and

felt sorry for it.

I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and

named it Paddington as

we were living near Paddington Station at the time.”

 

Then

“After ten days I found that

I had a book on my hands.

It wasn’t written specifically for children,

but I think I put into it

the kind things I liked reading about when I was young."

 

Michael Bond sent the book to

his agent, Harvey Unna,

who liked it and

after sending to to several publishers

it was eventually accepted by

William Collins & Sons (now Harper Collins).

 

 

Publication

The publishers commissioned

an illustrator, Peggy Fortnum, and

the very first Paddington book

"A Bear Called Paddington" was published on

13th October 1958.

A Bear Called Paddington - 1958 first copy

 


Paddington’s Look

duffle coat X Wellington boots x P.B. suitcase

(I used to call them Paddington coat & rain boots)

Paddington Bear in duffle coat, suitcase and wellington boots

 

Origins

he originally came from Darkest Peru where

he was brought up by his Aunt Lucy after

he was orphaned following an earthquake when

he was just a few weeks old.

Paddington bear and his Aunt Lucy

 

Aunt Lucy went to live in the Home for Retired Bears

Eventually, Paddington arrived on

Paddington Station in London which is

where the very first story begins with the words:

Paddington Station

Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on

a railway platform.

In fact, that was how he came to

have such an unusual name for

a bear for Paddington was the name of the station.

 

The Browns were at the station to

meet their daughter Judy when

Mr. Brown spotted a bear sitting all alone on a suitcase,

behind a pile of mail bags,

close to the lost property office.

Paddington (1975) meeting Mr & Mrs Brown

 

Please Look After This Bear

The bear was wearing nothing but

a hat and he had a label round his neck

bearing the words Please Look After This Bear.

Thank You.

A Bear Called Paddington - 1958 chapter one please look after this bear

Adoption

Unable to resist such a simple request,

Mr. and Mrs. Brown took Paddington home to

live with them at 32 Windsor Gardens

32 Winsor Garden, home of Browns and Paddington Bear

 

with

their two children, Jonathan and Judy and

their housekeeper, Mrs. Bird.

Paddington Bear and the Browns

The Browns decided to name

their new member of the family Paddington,

after the place where he was found,

although we later learn that

in Peru his name was Pastuso.

 

Birthday

When he was found,

Paddington wasn’t too sure

how old he was so the Browns decided to

start again at one.

They also decided that he should have

two birthdays a year (just like the Queen!) and

so he celebrates these on

25th June and 25th December.

Paddington Bear, Happy Birthday

 

Favourite Food

Paddington’s favourite food is marmalade.

He always carries a jar in his suitcase and

he often has a marmalade sandwich

tucked under his hat 'in case of emergencies'.

Paddington bear eats marmalade sandwich

 

Treasured Possession

One of Paddington’s most important possessions is

his scrapbook where

he likes to write about all his adventures.

It is also full of mementoes and

the regular postcards which

he receives from his Aunt Lucy in Peru.

 

Different Looks for Paddington

changing faces of Paddington bear

 

1958 – A Bear Called Paddington – novel

illustration by Peggy Fortnum

01 Paddington Bear by Peggy Fortnum

 

1972 – series for younger reader

illustration by Fred Banbery

02 Paddington Bear by Fred Banbery

 

1975 – appearance on TV

by FilmFair

03 Paddington Bear on TV 1975, by FilmFair

 

1970’s - comic in newspaper

by Ivor Wood

04 Paddington Bear comic by Ivor Wood

 

1980’s – another series of picture books for young one

illustration by  David McKee

05 Paddington Bear by David McKee

 

1990’s

by R.W. Alley

06 Paddington Bear by R.W. Alley

 

for some prints and older production

by Barry Macey, in-house artist with Paddington & Co

07 Paddington Bear by Barry Macey

 

1997 – TV animation

by Cinar, a Canadian production

08 Paddington Bear TV animation 1997

 

Merchandise bear

merchandising Paddington bear

 


The books

the very first Paddington book was

"A Bear Called Paddington"

There are eleven further titles in this series:

 

Paddington Races Ahead, 2012

 

* text taken from the official site of Paddington Bear