Winnie-the-Pooh’s arrival as it appeared in the December 24, 1925 issue of the London Evening News.
It was on this day in 1926 that the world was first introduced in book form to everybody’s favorite teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh. To celebrate here is a sampling of A.A. Milne’s most famous creation.
Here’s an interesting fact about the book. We all know the character of Pooh has been a big player in the Disney Universe since the early 1960’s but did you know that in 1930 a gentleman named Stephen Slesinger purchased the U.S. and Canadian merchandising, television, recording and other trade rights to the “Winnie-the-Pooh” works from Milne which in effect creating the modern licensing industry?
Slesinger them went on, a few yeas later, to do the same with the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan character.
Winnie-the-Pooh. With Decorations by Ernest H. Shepard. The first edition, published by London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1926. Buy.
The First American edition, large paper issue. Published by Dutton in 1926. One of 200 copies signed by both A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard. Buy.
The First Limited edition with the illustration in color. Publishd by Methuen Children’s Books, 1973.
One of 300 deluxe copies, numbered and signed by E. H. Shepard and hand bound in full leather by Zaehnsdorf of London. Shepard colored his own line illustrations throughout the book for this edition: Buy.
Winnie-The-Pooh Jig-Saw Puzzle. Published by Harborne Chad Valley Co. Ltd circa (1930). Buy.
Winnie-the-Pooh and Eeyore’s Tail; a pop-up picture book. Published by Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1953. Four color pop-up pictures and colour plates incorporating the text throughout adapted by A. Schenk from the originals by E.H. Shepard. Buy.
Color lithograph of A.A. Milne at Christmas in 1927, at the height of his creative output, as part of the Bookman Portfolio illustrated by Spy Jr., the penname of Hungarian caricaturist Imre Laszlo Unvardy. Buy.
More on the history of the book at Wikipedia.