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…
View original post 495 more words
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]
Advert from The Graphics Fairy](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/e286blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Vintage Pettit’s Eye Salve")
![Venetian Rose Water © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/e257blog1.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Venetian Rose Water © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/e221blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Bring up the Curtain")
![Butterflies from China, Japan, and Corea: “Biodiversity Library”:http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45490916
Texture: “Kerstin Frank”:https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerstinfrank-design/9181048645/in/photostream/
Flowers: “Rijksmuseum”:https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/150967--sarah-vernon/mijn-eerste-verzameling/objecten#/SK-A-3899,0
Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/e309blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "‘Happiness is a Butterfly’")
![Bird on the Beam © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/e254blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Bird on the Beam © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![Gabrielle d'Estrees and one of her sisters [unknown]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/ma015frame.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "ma015frame")
![Photograph from the ex-Mrs FND
Photograph from Unsplash
Texture 2LO Ancient times 2
Clock created for Behind Time
Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/e353blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Beating the Blues")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/photorehabcovermakeoveraugust.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "#photorehabcovermakeoverAugust")
![Romance in Stone [framed] © Sarah Vernon](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/romanceinstoneframed.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "romanceinstoneframed")
![The Boat House Tote Bag © Sarah Vernon [Fine Art England]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/totebagfae.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "totebagfae")
![Yacht: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zakhark/572331622/in/faves-83665426@N05/
Texture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerstinfrank-design/19581317079/in/faves-83665426@N05/
Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/e303blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Sailing to the Moon")
![Butterfly Cascade © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/e250blog1.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Butterfly Cascade © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![Artful Pumpkins © Sarah Vernon [Redbubble]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/hl008blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Artful Pumpkins © Sarah Vernon [Redbubble]")
![Photo Unsplash
Texture - 2LO Haunting 14 & 2LO Haunting 23 - “2 Lil’ Owls”:http://2lilowls.com.
Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/e285blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Night Landings © Sarah Vernon")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]
Vintage Henry Irving and Ellen Terry as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing from The Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97514042/
The background is a blend of the interior of The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851 from an old encyclopaedia — the venue was originally built in Hyde Park and the exhibition was organised by Prince Albert and Henry Cole — and textures from “2 Lil’ Owls”:http://2lilowls.com.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/g/great-exhibition/](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/e284blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "Beatrice and Benedick")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]
Photograph by “Nicolai Bernsten”:DJ;KGH; at “Unsplash”:http://unsplash.com
Textures “2LO Confetti 17 and 2LO Distressed 12 from”:http://2lilowls.com](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/e289blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "The Boat House")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/ma077blog.jpg?w=84&h=84&crop=1 "The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (")
11 comments
Comments feed for this article
15/10/2015 at 05:28
Lois Bryan
I didn’t know this … really enjoyed reading this bit of history!!! Thank you!!! : ))
LikeLiked by 1 person
15/10/2015 at 13:19
First Night Design
Glad to hear that, Lois. Thank you for commenting.
LikeLike
14/10/2015 at 17:18
janetweightreed10
I love Pooh and the beautiful line sketch on this post xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 16:56
hitandrun1964
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 16:22
olganm
I didn’t know the story. Thanks, Sarah.
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 16:52
First Night Design
My pleasure, Olga.
LikeLike
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!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
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!
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 15:44
Lynz Real Cooking
Love pooh!
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 16:18
First Night Design
Of course!
LikeLiked by 1 person
14/10/2015 at 16:18
Lynz Real Cooking
my nick name for years, lynniepooh, from my mom!!
LikeLiked by 1 person