For the first time in nearly 20 years
Pelham Puppets will once again be available in toy shops
October 2008
October 2008 marks the 60th anniversary since Bob Pelham registered his company as Pelham Puppets Ltd. and to commemorate this, David Leech, will be introducing a new range of Pelham Puppets for today’s toy and collectors’ market. All the new puppets are hand-made with the same care, skill, and in the best tradition of the Pelham Puppets Company from his premises in Ilfracombe, North Devon. David learned his craft from Bob Pelham and by working in almost every department of the Pelham Puppet factory in the 1970s.
David says, “There appears to be an increasing demand for more traditional toys by discerning parents today and a steady revival in the art of puppetry too, particularly in schools despite the explosion in keyboard and computer games. Never has the appetite for the retrospective and nostalgic been greater.”
Several retailers across the country will be stocking the figures right away, including Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop in Covent Garden, Toycraft in Chester and Pinocchio Toys in Edinburgh. In addition, buyers in the USA and Germany have also expressed an interest in the new Pelham Puppets.
“The Founder of the Pelham Puppets Company, Bob Pelham was totally absorbed in the art of puppetry” explained David, “And he achieved something way beyond his imagination or expectations, in bringing the art of puppetry to thousands of people all over the world from the 1950s through to the 1970s and I hope in some very small way I can continue with that tradition.”
Pelham Puppets, which was based in Marlborough Wiltshire for over 30 years, enjoyed a gradual expansion over three decades and trade reached a peak in 1979 when every puppet produced in the first six months of the financial year was exported to the United States. By this time Pelham Puppets Ltd. was the largest employer in Marlborough with over 200 employees (including home-workers) and the factory’s working space was doubled in less than three years.
After the untimely death of its Founder in 1980 and partly due to the recession of the early eighties, the company finally folded and production ceased completely.
Since then Pelham Puppets have not been available to buy in toy shops although many of the original puppets are now very collectable and some have commanded high prices at auction in recent years.
Bob Pelham in 1979
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