Pelham Puppets
 During the early 1950's, Pelham Puppets were very popular, if not rather expensive, toys and almost every household would have had a puppet of one type or another. There were puppet groups in schools and every Christmas through the 1950's saw Pelham Puppets amongst the best selling toys. My hobby started when I was given two 'Simple Dancing' Puppets, am L.S. Girl and Sailor in the early 1950's. These were closely followed by the very first version of Mickey Mouse together with Noddy and Big Ears. The collection grew and in 1954 I wrote to Bob Pelham and he made me a special Type SS 'Pianist' - the cost was 27/6d. He was dressed in an evening suit with tails and a relative made an incredibly detailed grand piano and stool. The case for the piano was made with the same attention to detail and carried stickers from all the main capitols of the world. Obviously my Uncle must have had great foresight, as we have since been lucky enough to have played or been to most of these places. Towards the end of the 1950's I was trying to make my own puppets and ended up giving many of the Pelham Puppets away to a children's home (I hope these are now being looked after in someone's collection) but kept several which were to remain hidden in a trunk for over almost thirty years. After leaving school I joined an Insurance Company but after four and a half years decided that this was not the career I wanted so decided to give Puppetry a try. The year was 1963 and I devised a string puppet act - The Roger Stevenson Marionettes - and went into the clubs in Liverpool. At this time I was making all my own puppets but asked Bob Pelham to make me a large 30'" Disjointing skeleton for the act based on the skeleton he introduced in 1952 and which had been so successful in the shows for Sunday schools etc. (a note for collectors here: the early skeleton had wooden beads for eyes - later versions had the eyes moulded into the sockets). He also made me a large Hippo and both these puppets, long since retired from my shows, are treasured items in my collection. I was always aware of Pelham Puppets through the 1960's and '70's but it was not until one day in 1989, when I decided to redesign the hall of my home that I thought of having some in a display cabinet. Then the hunt was on for the Pelham Puppets last seen in the late 1950's. In a storage bay in one of the workshops, I came across the trunk, unopened for so many years and discovered that I had not given all the puppets away and that the Pianist, McBoozle, Mickey Mouse, Big Ears, Tuff, Bengo and a few more had remained in excellent condition. It was like travelling back in time seeing the Puppets and so from then on almost all my spare time was spent in finding puppets and discovering all the various characters from all those years ago. During the process of finding these puppets I have made many new friends both in this country and overseas and have also been able to find interesting and unusual items for many of them, who in turn send me surprises? With my childhood a long way behind me, the magic is still there when the postman delivers a long shaped package and a brown box with the Pelham label is revealed. Just what puppet I will find beneath the faded white tissue paper is always exiting and, as I have discovered many times, is not always the character whose name is printed on the box. Bob Pelham's influence on my life through having his "Pelham Puppets' has been immeasurable and I am so lucky to have a career that was based on a hobby that grew into my 'life'. I would never have thought that when, as a child in the 1950's wearing short trousers, working the small Pelham Skeleton at a Children's' party, that over fifty years later I would still be working a skeleton puppet, albeit much more complex, appearing on Royal Variety Shows from the London Palladium before members of our Royal Family. Happy Collecting to everyone and enjoy all the memories of yesteryear that the puppets bring you and treasure the new friendships that you make on this path to the past. Click to enlarge:
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