A Captain Hook Christmas

Because I'm a grownup and I can celebrate the way I want to.

Although he needs a hook rather than a right hand. I will probably paint one on once I have the time to do it correctly. Just beyond his left shoulder, on the tree, is a Disney Captain Hook ornament. (Really, it's amazing the collectibles that are out there.) "First on the tree," observed my husband. Well, yes, that's how it works around here. (And he did say that as he handed me the ornament, after all.)

Someday I would love to add a Steinbach Hook nutcracker to the collection:

But he's expensive. And, I hear, about to be discontinued, which will not likely make him less expensive. Ah well, perhaps someday.

Peter and the popular media

I don't remember a time when there weren't merchandise tie-ins--sometimes when I was growing up it seemed like every cartoon character appeared on a juice glass or in a Happy Meal--but I didn't realize how far back the practice went till I found this edition of Peter Pan released in conjunction with the 1924 silent film. It's printed with the 1911 copyright date of the original book, but as the movie was released in 1924, I suspect that may not be accurate. It does make it harder to track down a copy of the book, however.

Now with bonus Siamese! Owen says hi.

Let's try that again.

The book has eight illustrated plates from the film. Only one includes Captain Hook, though, you may as well know.

This Bonnie Television Book from 1953 isn't strictly a tie-in, although this line of books was no doubt printed to cash in on the new fad of television. The books originally came with a wheel mounted behind the cover that could be turned, in the manner of a pop-up book, to provide an illusion of a black and white TV show, as you can see below. Mine doesn't have the wheel, as I bought it for the art inside rather than spending three times as much for an intact copy.

In the middle of the book is a mystery:

This is Wendy, in the yellow nightgown she's wearing throughout the story. But there is not a cookie-baking scene in this book or any other interpretation I've found, or the play, or any of the movies that I can remember. Not in the beginning of the story, or in a game of imagination in Neverland. It seems like it must be an advertisement, but for what, I can't tell. Perhaps the secret lies in the missing cover feature, although given what I see of the "television" pictures in the image above, I am unconvinced. For now, I remain baffled.

Peter flies by mail

He's everywhere, our Peter, including on postage stamps. They're a nice way to find art on a small scale by some fine illustrators.

These 1991 stamps from the island of Jersey feature paintings by Edmund Blampied, originally created for a lavish 1939 art book edition of Peter and Wendy.

The British Royal Mail issued this series by artist Colin Shearing in 2002, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Great Ormond Street Hospital, to whom J.M. Barrie willed the proceeds of his book.

These beautiful 2010 stamps, issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of J.M. Barrie's birth, are by David Wyatt, who illustrated the cover of the UK edition Geraldine McCaughrean's "Peter Pan in Scarlet."

(The above two sets were also issued in alternate packages featuring other characters, as you see above. But I think by now you know what to expect when you visit this blog.)

New Zealand health stamps have been issued since 1929. A portion of each sale goes to seven social service agencies formerly known as Te Puna Whaiora Children's Health Camps, which in April 2013 changed their name to Stand Children's Services. This stamp, from 1945, depicts the statue of Peter Pan in London's Kensington Garden.

Unsurprisingly, most of these stamps were issued in the U.K. This gorgeous set, however, is from the Republic of Palau in Micronesia, issued in 2012 for the 75th anniversary of Barrie's death. (There are many excuses to put out Peter Pan stamps, I'm finding).

And there are many stamps from around the world that celebrate pirates and other nautical topics. I've avoiding collecting most of the Disney Peter Pan stamps for reasons we have already discussed, but these are all right. And the rest are very nice, besides.

Point of pride

This is my beloved Peter Pan collection and research trove. You may notice a lean to the bookcase and a bowing of the shelves. I believe these were issues before I designated the bookcase to my research, but I may be wrong. 

The first two shelves are various editions of Peter Pan with pictures by various illustrators, with a little space left for more additions plus a few books that wandered away before I took this picture. I may be creating a collection where individual items may not be of great monetary value individually, but which is significant as a whole. I'm not the only person to do this, of course (I'm not even the only person in Seattle-- more on that later), but I can't help taking some pride in watching it grow.

On the third shelf, the books to the left are other people's takes on Peter Pan, including those prequels that vex me so. And to the right, books that are inspired by the story, scholarly analyses of the play, the book, and children's literature in general, and a few non-Peter-related works by Barrie. The remaining two shelves are additional research materials, not just for The Stowaway, although a number of them are relevant--books on English history, tall ships, and the like.

And of course there are a few collectibles scattered throughout.

There is less space left on these shelves than I realized before I set out to write this. That third shelf in particular is going to have problems soon.

Two things I have learned from this process: One, it is not worth buying furniture made out of sawdust and glue, and I resolve never to do so again. The most dilapidated bookcase from the 1930s is going to serve its purpose far longer than a facsimile from Ikea.

And pop-up books should be purchased new. Used ones will have at least one pop-up that doesn't work, no matter how well they've been cared for, which is just disappointing.