Iconic bear began as child's play

"Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders."

So begins the first story of a bear that has become one of the most recognizable characters in children's literature.

Pooh has had a long and varied history that all began with a small stuffed bear. Said bear was given to Christopher Robin Milne in 1921. The bear was named Edward to begin with, but in time he acquired a new name, Winnie-the-Pooh.

Through the years, other toys — Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo and Tigger — joined Pooh in Christopher Robin's nursery. Christopher loved his toys and he invented names and personalities for them while playing with his mother.

For Christopher's father, A.A. Milne, this play was pure inspiration, and from it a world destined to become a classic was born.

Though Winnie-the-Pooh's official debut was in 1926 with the release of "Winnie-the Pooh," the name Pooh made a cameo in a book of Milne poems in 1924 called "When We Were Very Young," though not as a bear, but as a swan. The bear also had a walk-on role in the same book, appearing in the poem "Teddy Bear."

Illustrator Ernest H. Shepherd teamed up with Milne for "When We Were Very Young," creating the first images of the now-iconic, roly-poly bear.

"When We Were Young" was an immediate success, and Milne set to work on a collection of stories about his son and Pooh. Milne again paired with Shepherd and insisted he sketch the animals in person from Christopher Robin's toys. The images of Pooh, however, were initially based on Growler, a beloved Steiff teddy bear belonging to Shepherd's son, Graham.

Milne and Shepherd went on to collaborate on two more books — "Now We Are Six," another book of poetry for children, in 1927, and "The House at Pooh Corner" in 1928. The four books are considered the Pooh canon, though Pooh is the star of only two.

In 1930, Milne sold the North American merchandising rights to Stephen Slesinger, who in turn gave his rights to Stephen Slesinger Inc. In the 1960s the Walt Disney Co. acquired certain film rights and other rights to the characters, stories and trademarks from Stephen Slesinger Inc., Milne's family and Milne's estate.

Disney's early cartoons were based on several of Milne's original stories and Shepherd's distinctive images, starting with the featurette "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree."

Today, Pooh's popularity shows little signs of waning. He can be found in cookbooks, board books, toys, clothes, movies and television. And sales of Pooh titles worldwide have exceeded 50 million copies.

e-mail: jharrison@desnews.com