10:30am Monday 8th March 2010
PADDINGTON Bear and his creator are being celebrated in a special exhibition opening in Reading this month.
Reading Museum is honouring the famous bear in a blue duffel coat and his creator Michael Bond in The Life and Times of Paddington Bear.
The exhibition, which opens on March 27 and is running until July 4, plots the story from Bond’s very first book A Bear Called Paddington, published in 1958, to the most recent title in the series Paddington Here and Now published 50 years later, in 2008.
Visitors will learn how the idea for Paddington began on Christmas Eve in 1956, and discover how the various illustrators, from Peggy Fortnum to RW Alley, developed the way he looks in books and on television.
The exhibition is also a chance to see some of Bond’s unique personal belongings and some interesting memorabilia from Paddington’s television career.
Karen Jankel, Bond’s daughter, said: “Paddington first arrived on our bookshelves two months after I was born, which means we grew up together.
“He has always been an important member of our family and so I’m particularly excited about this exhibition.”
The author, who grew up in Reading, serving in the armed forces during the Second World War, and returned to Reading to work at the Monitoring Services in Caversham. Later, he became a BBC cameraman and it was then that he began to write his first Paddington book.
The adventures of the marmalade-loving bear have sold more than 35 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 40 languages.
Their success and longevity were acknowledged in 2007 when the University of Reading gave Bond an honorary degree.
The museum, at Reading Town Hall, in Blagrave Street, is also running a number of talks and family activities to coincide with the exhibition.
More information is available by calling 01189 399800 or by going to readingmuseum.org.uk.
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