When I was a young boy one of the first presents I always looked for on Christmas morning was a Rupert Bear annual. I can still remember the excitement of taking it out of its wrapping paper, the colourful cover seemed magical, promising exciting adventures within the pages. I can see now the characters who accompanied Rupert on his escapades, they were called his 'chums', Edward Trunk, Bill Badger, Podgy Pig, Tiger Liley, and as I turned the pages they became my chums too, as I lived every adventure with them. Writing this article about Rupert and his chums brings back into vivid focus those happy hours spent in Nutwood, as I was transported out of the real world and into a young boys world of fantasy. Here is a brief history of Rupert Bear, one of the best loved characters in children's literature.Rupert Bear was created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the daily Express newspaper on 8 November 1920. In 1935, Alfred Bestall, previously an illustrator for Punch, became the Rupert artist and storyteller, and worked on Rupert artwork and stories into his 90s.
The first Rupert annual was released in 1936 and are still published today, often featuring fantastic and magical adventures in faraway lands.
Rupert is a bear who lives with his parents in a house in Nutwood. He always wears a red jumper and bright yellow checked trousers. He usually sets out on an errand for his mother or to visit his friends, but always ends up in a fantastic adventure.
It was Bestall who developed the classic Rupert story format, where the illustration had below it both a two-lined verse and and running prose. Bestall drew Rupert until he retired in 1973. His successor was Alex Cubie who created annual artwork between 1974 and 1977. Cubie's work is recognizable by the use of more vibrant colours and a thicker black outline around the characters.
Between 1978-2007 his new adventures were illustrated by John Harrold, from this point on they were taken over by Stuart Trotter.
Even during World War II, when there was a paper shortage, the annual continued to be released.
Rupert went on to have his own television series, and also appeared in Paul McCartney's music video entitled 'We All Stand Together'. The Rupert Bear Museum, part of the Museum of Canterbury, has collections that cover much of the history of Rupert and his friends, including Tourtel and other illustrators.
