New Delhi: A century after Winnie the Pooh first appeared in print, Britain is celebrating the beloved bear with commemorative stamps, anniversary editions and Lego sets. But one thing is missing from the festivities: the original stuffed bear, along with Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and Kanga, remains thousands of kilometres away, behind glass at the New York Public Library.
As A.A. Milne’s beloved children’s book turns 100 on 14 October, British admirers are renewing their calls to bring the five toys back home, or at least arrange a visit to Britain. The campaign has reached the highest levels of government and royalty, with Queen Camilla among those who have sought to secure an anniversary trip for the century-old toys.
The real toys behind the Hundred Acre Wood
The original Winnie-the-Pooh is a 20-inch Farnell teddy bear bought at London department store Harrods in 1921 for Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, on his first birthday. The bear inspired the fictional character whose adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood became a childhood staple after the first collection of stories was published in 1926.
The toys were neither stolen nor sold to collectors. In 1947, Milne gave them to his American publisher for a publicity tour. The publisher donated them to the New York Public Library in 1987, and they have been part of its Treasures collection ever since, alongside other historic literary artefacts.
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A transatlantic tug-of-war
Their presence in New York has long frustrated Pooh’s British fans. In 1998, Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody compared the campaign to Greece’s demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles, urging the British government to intervene, the Washington Post reports.
The appeal triggered a transatlantic tussle involving then-prime minister Tony Blair, US President Bill Clinton, Congress and New York’s mayor at the time, Rudy Giuliani.
Subsequent efforts have proved equally unsuccessful. During a meeting between then-prime minister David Cameron and Barack Obama, an aide reportedly asked the library whether the toys could be sent home as part of an announcement by the two leaders. The library’s president, Anthony Marx, refused.
Queen Camilla’s invitation
More recently, author Gyles Brandreth, an author and a friend of Christopher Robin Milne, approached the library on behalf of Queen Camilla to explore the possibility of an anniversary visit.
The library declined, citing the toys’ age and their popularity with tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The royal family has since offered Winnie and his friends a room at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle whenever they wish to visit. Brandreth insists the latest effort is not a campaign but an invitation.
For now, the original Pooh and his companions remain in New York, even as Britain marks a century of stories built around a bear who once belonged to a little boy.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)