How old is Winnie the Pooh? It is a quirky question, given that literary figures (or literary bears in this case) are not exactly “born.” Neither do they age. In most minds, I think it fair to say, Pooh remains eternally young. Age, however, can refer not to birth but to the time of initial publication. And so, we ask, when did Pooh first appear in print?
There is a Latin edition of Pooh, entitled Winnie ille Pu. Perhaps Pooh first surfaced in ancient Rome? Not exactly. “Winnie ille Pu” is a translation into Latin from the English, published in 1958. Not as old as one must have assumed, but notable in its own way. Translated by Alexander Lenard, it was the first foreign language book to make the New York Times bestseller list.
The original Pooh was published in English. This is not surprising, given that the author, A. A. Milne was English. The first collection of Pooh stories appeared in 1926, in the book Winnie the Pooh. So, does this mean Pooh’s literary debut occurred that year? Once again, not exactly. In 1924, a character named “Mr. Edward Bear” appeared in Punch magazine. This was the bear’s first appearance in print, but his familiar name of Winnie the Pooh only appeared the following year, in 1925, in the Evening News in London.
The precise date of this newspaper article was Dec. 24, 1925, and this is of particular significance to me (and perhaps only me), because that was the day my mother was born. I like to think of Winnie the Pooh, or at least the name Pooh, as being as old as my mum, or vice versa. There is another interesting twist to this, at least to me. Christopher Robin had renamed Edward after a bear at the London Zoo called Winnie. My mother’s middle name was Winifred. Another connection?
When I was pastor at a church in Cincinnati, there was a woman in the congregation who was also born on Dec. 24, 1925. Once we had established this, I would comment to her on occasion that she looked old enough to be my mother. For some strange reason, this bothered her, so I stopped doing it, though I had meant it as a compliment.
As I write this, Winnie the Pooh is 97 years old. It is not long till he turns 100. What a wonderful bear he is!
What a well-written, delightful piece about a bear who never grows old.. Pooh and Paddington are both English creations! That is just one of many reasons I love England!