Memorabilia of beloved bear

RUPERT Bear first appeared on the scene in 1920, created by Mary Tourtel in a bid by the Daily Express to win sales from The Daily Mail and Daily Mirror with a rival comic strip.

Rupert’s adventures appeared in the paper every day in one picture with a caption in rhyme and were so successful that they were reproduced in book form the following year. There then followed several Rupert adventure books, culminating in 1935 with the first Rupert Annual, written and illustrated by Alfred E Bestall.

Rupert always starts his adventures in Nutwell and goes off to a magical world of talking animals, magicians, flying saucers and the like. He has a group of friends, or “chums”, mainly talking animals in humanoid form, all much the same size irrespective of species. No matter how dangerous or daring his exploits, Rupert always returns safely to his cosy home and loving parents who only seem mildly anxious when he turns up late.

The Rupert Bear Annuals have continued to be popular and Rupert and his friends are produced as ceramic figurines by Royal Doulton, Wade and Beswick, among others, and as cuddly toys by Steiff and Merrythought.

A huge collection of Rupert memorabilia, including ceramic figurines and soft toys, will be sold by Eldreds Auctioneers & Valuers on Tuesday, April 27. Almost a complete run of Rupert books starts with the very scarce The Adventures

of Rupert, The Little Lost Bear, 1921, which is in incredibly good condition, considering its age. This one seems to have escaped the attentions of a budding juvenile artist and the illustrations are as neat and crisp as when it was first printed. Several of the annuals date from the war years and have soft covers reflecting the War Economy Standard of the times. Hard covers returned in the 1950’s, the heyday of Rupert’s popularity, with sales topping 1.7 million.

Eldreds Collectors’ Items sale on April 27 at 10.30am includes stamps, coins, medals and militaria, books, musical instruments, toys, model railway, diecasts, photographs and ephemera.

For more information call on 01752 721199 or visit eldreds.net.

> Part of the Rupert the Bear collection at auction