Winnie-the-Pooh, the bear created by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, has turned 100 years old. The character first appeared in print on 14 October 1926, and the book sold 150,000 copies in the United States by the end of that year alone.
The centenary has been marked with a week of special programmes on Radio 4, introduced by the queen, a set of commemorative Royal Mail stamps, and a Google doodle.
Milne based the character partly on a toy bear from Harrods, and wrote the stories in the aftermath of the First World War, having served at the Somme. The books introduced readers to the Hundred Acre Wood and its residents, including Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo, Rabbit and Tigger.
In the final chapter of Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner, Christopher Robin tells his bear: “Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever. Not even when I’m a hundred.”
A Bear Among Bears
Commentary marking the anniversary has drawn comparisons between Pooh and another well-known British bear, Paddington. Both characters emerged from wartime Britain — Milne’s Pooh from the First World War, and Michael Bond’s Paddington, inspired by wartime evacuees, from the Second. Pooh’s origins trace to a Harrods toy, while Paddington was based on a lone teddy bear Bond found in a toyshop on Christmas Eve. Pooh’s world is the rural Hundred Acre Wood, while Paddington arrives into a busy postwar London train station. Both bears have ties to Buckingham Palace, though it was Paddington who was invited to tea with Queen Elizabeth II during her platinum jubilee.
Still Appearing on Screen
Pooh’s story has continued well past the original four books. In 2018, the film Christopher Robin starred Ewan McGregor as a grown-up Christopher Robin reunited with his childhood friends. Pooh remained true to his original character in the film — a self-described bear of very little brain who still delivers moments of unexpected wisdom, including the line: “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.”
A century after his debut, Winnie-the-Pooh remains in print, in circulation, and in the public imagination, marked this week by official tribute from British broadcasting, the postal service, and beyond.
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