Can anyone resist Pooh? I think not.
On the 14th of October 1926, Alan Alexander Milne’s iconic collection of children’s stories Winnie-the-Pooh was first published by Methuen in London. The story of the actual brown bear which inspired Milne’s cartoon teddy is a lot less known, even though it has been the subject of books, such as Real Winnie: A One-of-a-kind Bear (2003) by Val Shushkewich, or even Hollywood movies, such as Bear Named Winnie (2005), starring M. Fassbender.
“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.”
(From A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh)
In the movie, Fassbender played the role of Captain Harry Colebourn, the real discoverer of Winnie. Colebourn was a veterinary surgeon in the Canadian military, whose war-time diaries recorded the way he came across the bear. Born in Birmingham in 1887, Colebourn first came to Canada at the age of 18, worked in Toronto in the shipping industry to…
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11 comments
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15/10/2015 at 05:28
Lois Bryan
I didn’t know this … really enjoyed reading this bit of history!!! Thank you!!! : ))
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15/10/2015 at 13:19
First Night Design
Glad to hear that, Lois. Thank you for commenting.
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14/10/2015 at 17:18
janetweightreed10
I love Pooh and the beautiful line sketch on this post xx
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14/10/2015 at 16:56
hitandrun1964
🙂
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14/10/2015 at 16:22
olganm
I didn’t know the story. Thanks, Sarah.
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14/10/2015 at 16:52
First Night Design
My pleasure, Olga.
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14/10/2015 at 15:53
anhistorianabouttown
I am from Winnipeg, and Winnie-the-Pooh is tied with Paddington for my favourite literary character! If anyone ever happens to be in Winnipeg, our zoo has an absolutely lovely Winnie-the-Pooh statue 🙂 (There is also one at the zoo in London, but we have the original!)
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14/10/2015 at 16:18
First Night Design
Pooh beats Paddington for me! I’d no idea Winnipeg had the original statue. I’m flying over right now!
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14/10/2015 at 15:44
Lynz Real Cooking
Love pooh!
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14/10/2015 at 16:18
First Night Design
Of course!
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14/10/2015 at 16:18
Lynz Real Cooking
my nick name for years, lynniepooh, from my mom!!
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