It was Christmas Eve in 1956 when Michael Bond bought a lonely-looking stuffed bear from a London shop. He took it home as a present for his wife, and they named the bear Paddington, after the nearby railway station. Working as a BBC cameraman at the time, Bond began writing a story about the bear. But it wasn’t long before he realized the gift was as much for him and perhaps the world as his wife.
"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 of things I liked reading about when I was young," he was reported as saying. Bond penned the story of a marmalade-loving bear from Darkest Peru, and when William Collins published it in 1958, A Bear Called Paddington found a place in children's literary history.
The world-famous, globally-loved Paddington Bear turns 60 this year and to celebrate, the first Paddington Bear exhibition in the United States will be on display at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts through October. The exhibition—Paddington Comes to America—is supported by HarperCollins Children's Books, global publisher of the Paddington Bear books since 1958, and YOTTOY Productions, toy partner of Paddington in the United States since 2005.
Bond went on to write 15 Paddington novels; and numerous picture books, compilations and gift editions have been published since. Today, more than 35 million Paddington books have been sold worldwide. The books have been translated into 40 different languages, including Latin. In 2015, in recognition of Paddington's extraordinary popularity and success, Bond was made a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to children's literature.
For the last 37 years of his life, Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where it all began. He continued to write until shortly before his death in June 2017 at the age of 91, when he left behind a legacy of one of the best loved children's characters in the world.
Paddington Comes to America features copies of Bond's notebooks, his typewriter, first edition books, memorabilia and 70 original illustrations by six artists, including a black-and-white line drawing by Peggy Fortnum, the first artist to create a visual image of Paddington. Fortnum said she prepared for the task with a visit to the London Zoo to sketch and photograph bears. Fortnum's illustrations, matching the warmth of Bond's story, made the idea of a talking bear from Peru seem perfectly reasonable.
Several illustrators worked on various Paddington projects in the 1970s and 1980s, and in 1972, Bond wrote the first in a series of books for younger readers. These picture books required a more detailed illustrative style than the novels, and Fred Banbery was hired as the artist. Banbery illustrated six Paddington picture books. His watercolors from Paddington at the Seaside are also featured in the exhibition.
Illustrator and animator, Ivor Wood, designed the puppet for the original Paddington television series in 1975. He also developed a cartoon strip of Paddington that was published in the London Evening News in the late 1970s.
Seven of David McKee's paintings from Paddington at the Zoo are showcased in the exhibition. In the 1980s, McKee—who was already known for writing and illustrating his own books, including King Rollo, Elmer, and Mr. Benn—was hired as the new artist for Paddington.
Barry Macey, who was an in-house artist with Paddington & Co., Ltd., created the artwork for much of the older products and some of the prints. His illustrations from Paddington in the Hot Seat, Paddington Passes Through and Paddington Takes a Cut are on display.
Paddington Comes to America also features the work of New England artist and current Paddington illustrator, R. W. Alley. In 1997, Alley was commissioned to illustrate a new series of Paddington picture books by HarperCollins for an American audience. Alley worked closely with Bond to develop the visual look of each story. Alley noted Bond’s openness to change: “Bond insisted the first book be re-illustrated to reflect a major renovation at Paddington Station,” he said. “And although Paddington never ages, he is always relevant for the time.” Alley's art from more than 20 Paddington picture books is on exhibit, along with some of his preliminary sketches and dummy books.
Alley said he believes that one of the reasons Paddington has endured for six decades is the “intergenerational appeal of the bear. Paddington is both a young child, experiencing a new environment, and an old soul, with adult observations to make on the world he finds,” Alley said. “Even though London is his world, with occasional side trips to France, his reactions to what he discovers about human behavior have a universal outlook. He is kind and generous and welcoming, and not at all averse to sticking to these principles even in the face of bad behavior from the humans he encounters. Some, he will turn to his point of view. Others, he will not. The great advantage of having a bear as a central character is that he can combine the innocence of a child with the sophistication of an adult.”
Alley said, as a baby boomer himself, he can relate to Paddington “because his is the optimistic world I was raised to hope for. In my boomer world, protest ended an undirected war, popular culture celebrated love and peace and understanding. Desegregation was implemented. I remember ‘colored’ water fountains and entrances, when we lived three years in South Carolina, and how they vanished. Scholarship and science were celebrated enabling humans to go the moon.”
Alley said the Internet is alright, but “if I had to choose, I'd rather go to the moon, end wars, end racism and poverty, and read a book.”
Recently YOTTOY hosted a special “Bringing Paddington Bear to Life” workshop where Alley visited the company’s studio to show a group of local kids how to draw Paddington. The toymakers at YOTTOY then showed the kids how the company brings his captivating drawings to life as a Paddington Bear toy.
Also in the exhibition are copies of stills from the 1970s stop-motion television series as well as images from the two recent Paddington movies. Paddington's adventures have been adapted several times for television, and at the end of 2014, the bear made his debut onto the big screen. The movie, produced by StudioCanal—part of the international content and media group Vivendi—is the best-selling non-Hollywood family movie ever released. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, launched in the United States in January 2018.
A display of limited-edition plush bears in the exhibition includes a Gabrielle bear. Gabrielle was the first company to create a Paddington bear and was responsible for giving Paddington his Wellington boots to help him stand up.
Paddington Comes to America also features a recreated double-decker bus. Guests are invited to board the "hop on/hop off" bus, which also doubles as a reading area. Young visitors will receive special Paddington London Bus Passes and will be encouraged to learn more about the famous sites in London featured around the gallery while having their passes stamped at each location.
Ellen Keiter, chief curator at The Eric Carle, said she recalls reading Paddington books and watching the stop-motion animated series on television when she was a child. “We’re thrilled to be the first venue in the United States to welcome Paddington to this side of the Atlantic. He’s an iconic character in children’s literature, so it’s only fitting that he ‘visit’ The Carle.”
Keiter said the exhibition is a great opportunity for both old and young to come together with books. “Picture books bring people together and Paddington is no exception. He evokes nostalgia for grandparents and parents who enjoy introducing their childhood friend to the next generation,” she said. “Paddington is distinctly British, but the things that he deals with, the little mishaps and adventures he goes on, are universal to everyone. It’s about navigating your way in the world and the joy of discovering new things.”
Housing more than 11,000 objects, including 7,300 permanent collection illustrations, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. The Carle collects, preserves, presents and celebrates picture books and picture-book illustrations from around the world.
Eric Carle and his wife, the late Barbara Carle, co-founded the Museum in November 2002. Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since opening, the 43,000-square foot facility has served more than 750,000 visitors, including 50,000 schoolchildren. The Carle has three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators and schoolchildren.
YOTTOY Productions, Inc. is Paddington’s permanent home in America when he isn’t visiting The Carle. Privately held and New York-based since its founding in 1995, YOTTOY (pronounced yàht * toy)—“toy” spelled backwards and forwards—evolves brands into exclusive product lines that encourage a special interaction between adults and children, as seen with Saks Fifth Avenue's celebrated Yeti, Lady Gaga's Workshop at Barneys NY, and Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline at the New-York Historical Society. The company's current collection features over 150 styles of beloved book and entertainment properties ranging from timeless classics, including Paddington Bear, Babar, Madeline, and The Little Prince, to contemporary favorites such as Mo Willems, Poodlena, and Little Blue Truck.
As the home of Paddington Bear toys in the U.S., and special to the exhibition, YOTTOY is featuring a display of limited-edition plush bears as part of the exhibition itself.
“YOTTOY is thrilled to be a sponsor of this special exhibition and offer both classic and contemporary Paddington Bears to those who can’t resist to ‘look after this bear’ as his famous tag encourages," said YOTTOY Founder and President Kate Clark. "Paddington Bear is a perfect example of YOTTOY’s mission to bring generations together through shared reading and meaningful play experiences.”
For more information on The Carle and the exhibition, visit www.carlemuseum.org. For more information on Paddington toys, visit YOTTOY.com, or follow YOTTOY on Twitter at @iloveYOTTOYs, and on Facebook and Instagram @YottoyProductions. Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear or like Paddington's Facebook page.
