After A.A. Milne

First edition of this remarkably intact large-format Winnie the Pooh paper doll set, depicting the characters from the stories in a style much closer to the original stuffed animals that inspired the stories.

• After A.A. Milne (English).
• New York: Stephen Slesinger, 1935.
• [6] leaves of doll outfits to cut out, printed one side only.
• Bound in original color pictorial wrappers with perforated punch-outs.

The characters of the Hundred Acre Wood have a long and fascinating merchandising history, even before the brand-conscious Disney adaptation. A.A. Milne sold the US trade rights for the characters to literary agent and licensing pioneer Stephen Slesinger in 1930. With Slesinger's marketing prowess, "Pooh [became] an industry in the thirties," writes Ann Thwaite; by that time, "Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet and the rest were on their way to being lodged permanently... in the folk-memories of the English-speaking people, part of our common language and frame of reference." (Slesinger's widow in turn licensed Pooh to Disney in 1961.)

This paper doll book is an excellent example of Slesinger's merchandising prowess: Christopher Robin's design reflects the style and stance of a boy from the thirties. Exceedingly rare complete in this original edition, put into perspective by the much later facsimile more commonly seen. Ann Thwaite, Goodbye Christopher Robin.