The 1973 book is one of only 12 printed that year showing the much-loved children's character with a brown face on the cover - making it ultra rare and causing a stir among collectors across the world, ahead of the auction at Dominic Winter auctioneers in South Cerney. He said: "It's a bit like the stamp or coin market where, due to a printing mistake, the withdrawn and rarer mistake is worth far more than the genuine article." Half a million copies of the 1973 white-faced Rupert annual were printed - compared to only 12 brown-faced annuals.

Sheridan, Simon (2004). The A-Z of Classic Children's Television: From Alberto Frog to Zebedee. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. pp.32–35. ISBN 1903111277. To auctioneer and expert Chris Albury's knowledge, only four of these have ever come to light - making this lot up for auction at Dominic Winter, as he says, "the holy grail of any Rupert collection". Unlike most modern comic strips, Rupert Bear has always been produced in the original form of strip with illustrations accompanying text, called " text comics", as opposed to text being incorporated directly into the art; for example, within speech balloons.Stories: The 1939 annual included stories such as “Rupert and the Old Umbrella,”“Rupert and the Sea Serpent,” and “Rupert and the Goblin’s Cave.” Rupert's unspectacular introduction was in a single panel, the first of 36 episodes of the story "Little Lost Bear" written and drawn by Tourtel. Dimbleby, Jonathan (9 June 2021). " "Is there anything you consider indecent"? Felix Dennis at the OZ trial from the NS archive". New Statesman. The Daily Express newspaper started publishing Rupert's adventures in 1920 and printed both comic strips and annuals.

BFI | Film & TV Database | RUPERT". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012 . Retrieved 4 May 2013. From 1941, the covers comprised a piece of "wrap-around" artwork and each annual from 1950 had endpapers of equally beautiful artwork. Origami was introduced to the annuals in 1946 and became a regular feature for many years. In 1960, magic painting pictures were introduced. These appeared until 1968. Stories: Bestall continued to contribute his charming illustrations and imaginative stories during this period, creating classics like “Rupert and the Gremlin,”“Rupert and the Magic Whistle,” and “Rupert and the Glass Mountain.”

Stories: Recent annuals have continued to showcase Trotter’s captivating illustrations and storytelling, with stories such as “Rupert and the Moon The auction will take place on Thursday, June 17 at Dominic Winter auctioneers in South Cerney near Cirencester. Illustrator Alfred E Bestall always depicted Rupert on the annual's cover with a brown face, whereas inside the book the bear's face was always white. Rupert's Holiday Adventure (and Rupert's Message to Father Christmas and Rupert's New Year's Eve Party) (1932) Rupert Bear Annuals have been a tradition in the UK since 1936. However, Rupert Bear was actually created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the Daily Express 16 years earlier on the 8th November 1920. In our guide we look at the early annuals, the rarest annuals, the most expensive annuals and more.

Tourtel's home was in Canterbury in Kent, and the Rupert Bear Museum, formerly part of the Canterbury Heritage Museum, which has since closed, had collections that covered much of the history of Rupert and his friends, as well as Tourtel and other illustrators. The museum was geared toward families and those interested in the general history of Rupert. All of these books were written and illustrated by Mary Tourtel and originally published from 1928 to 1936, by Sampson Low. There were 46 books in the original series. The stories famously comprise three main elements: the artwork, the prose and the rhyming couplet. For many a child, the joy of Christmas was made complete by the gift of the new Rupert Annual. Most of the included stories are reprinted from the Daily Express newspaper strips which were in full colour from 1940. Some stories were especially written and illustrated for the annual and these are noted.In 1991, Rupert Bear featured in an animated television series with 65 episodes and five seasons (13 per season) produced by Nelvana (Canada), Ellipse (France) and Television South (TVS) for the first season (13 episodes), with Scottish TV taking over control from season 2 when Television South lost its ITV franchise. The show followed the style and tone Bestall established in the Rupert newspaper series, with many of the stories being almost direct adaptations of his or others' panel stories from the Daily Express. During his time as Rupert writer, Alfred Bestall added further characters such as the girl guides Beryl, Pauline and Janet, with Beryl's cat, Dinky. These characters were based on Girl Guides from Bestall's own church who asked him in late 1947 if they could have their own adventure with Rupert. They remain part of the comic series even today. Stories: Bestall’s first annual introduced readers to new stories, such as “Rupert and the Mare’s Nest,”“Rupert and the Two Moons,” and “Rupert and the Goblins.” Some of the titles were later published for the Woolworth's retail chain, with only 18 of the original titles. However, the titles and numbers for this series did not relate to the earlier published series. [9] When Bestall realised the change had been made, he was incensed at not being consulted, left in protest and never drew another cover for a Rupert annual.

Most of the other characters in the series are also anthropomorphic animals. They are all scaled to be about the same size as Rupert, regardless of species. Rupert's animal friends are usually referred to as his "chums" or "pals." Aside from his best friend Bill Badger, some of the most enduring pals are an elephant (Edward Trunk), a mouse (Willie), Pong-Ping the Pekingese, Algy Pug (who actually pre-dates Rupert), [3] Podgy Pig, Bingo the Brainy Pup, the identical twins Freddy and Ferdy Fox, the identical twins Reggie and Rex Rabbit, and Ming the dragon. The kindly Wise Old Goat also lives in Nutwood, and helps Rupert in some of his adventures. One of the most unusual and evocative characters is Raggety, a woodland troll-creature made from twigs, who is often very grumpy and annoying. In the 2006 television revival of the series, Raggety has been transformed into a friendly elf with broken English. There is also a recurring country Police Officer who is an adult dog named PC Growler. [4] Larratt, Shannon (22 May 2007). " "Rupert visits Coon Island" (!)". Shannon Larratt is Zentastic . Retrieved 25 January 2011. The Rupert Annual for 1960 contained a story called Rupert and the Diamond Leaf, in which he visits "Coon Island", whose inhabitants are little " Coons". [6] The Coons previously appeared on the cover of The New Rupert: The Daily Express Annual, 1954 and in the interior story Rupert and the Castaway. [7] The first appearance was in the 1946 soft cover summer special Rupert on Coon Island. Stories: This first annual included several stories from the original Daily Express comic strip, such as “Rupert and the Wise Goat,”“Rupert and the Old Man of the Sea,” and “Rupert and the Little Woodman.”Rupert Bear, Follow The Magic... was first aired on Five from 8 November 2006 until 1 February 2008. 52 ten-minute episodes were broadcast and subsequently repeated. [ citation needed] Film [ edit ] Stories: Bestall’s final years as the primary illustrator for the annuals saw stories such as “Rupert and the Hazelnut Pie,”“Rupert and the Whirlwind,” and “Rupert and the Sky Ship.” Brainwaves Limited of Basingstoke, Hampshire, produced a series of Rupert storybooks in 1991 (no author or artist credited):