Free exhibit and 3,000-book giveaway mark Pooh’s 100th anniversary

The British Embassy in Washington said Thursday that Winnie-the-Pooh and the stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne’s children’s books are staying at the New York Public Library, dispelling rumors that a campaign was under way to return the collection to the United Kingdom. The library is preparing a centennial exhibit that it says the public can attend for free.

Embassy clarification and collection history

The embassy posted on social media that Pooh and his companions remain in what it described as excellent hands. “There’s an open invite if Pooh ever wants to make a temporary visit to the UK, but we have no doubt that Pooh and his pals are in excellent hands with the New York Public Library,” the embassy said in the post. The statement left open the possibility of a temporary trip to Britain without endorsing a permanent transfer.

Rumors began swirling after The Washington Post reported last week about a push to bring the bear back home as the character turns 100 this year. The toys were owned by English author A.A. Milne’s son — the real-life Christopher Robin — in the 1920s and served as the inspiration for the characters in the writer’s children’s books.

Milne bought Pooh for his son’s first birthday in 1921 from Harrods department store in London. Decades later, the collection of dolls came to the United States for a national tour before publisher Dutton Children’s Books donated them to the library in 1987.

Earlier return efforts and reactions

The Washington Post reported that Gyles Brandreth, an author and friend of the late Christopher Robin Milne, went to New York two years ago for Queen Camilla to try to bring Pooh to Buckingham Palace. Brandreth said the library was not interested.

Queen Camilla visited the library in April and delivered a new Roo doll to add to the library’s collection, which also includes Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Kanga. In the books, Roo is a small brown kangaroo and the son of Kanga.

This is far from the first time there has been talk of relocation. In the late 1990s, then Labour Party lawmaker Gwyneth Dunwoody introduced a question in Parliament to ask what plans Britain’s culture secretary had to arrange for the collection’s return. “Just like the Greeks want their Elgin Marbles back — so we want our Winnie-the-Pooh back, along with all his splendid friends,” she told a reporter.

A New York congresswoman introduced a resolution condemning the attempt to remove the bear. “The Brits have their head in a honey jar if they think they are taking Pooh out of New York City,” then U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey said.

The Associated Press reported that, unlike plundered antiquities, there was no doubt Pooh and his friends had been freely given to the library. The donation history did not resolve the dispute over whether the collection should remain in New York. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who reposted the embassy’s statement Friday, put it more bluntly: “You come at the bear, you best not miss.”

Public anniversary programming

Melissa Grace, director of communications at the library, said the institution is excited to celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s anniversary and invite the public to its exhibit for free. “Christopher Robin’s childhood toys are a cornerstone of our renowned children’s literature collection,” Grace said in a statement, adding that the library has plenty planned for the anniversary, including giving away 3,000 copies of the books.

The announcement leaves the collection in New York as the character turns 100 this year, while the library’s free centennial exhibit and giveaway of 3,000 copies of the books mark the anniversary for the public.