Soft toy, Aunt Lucy, made in England by Gabrielle Designs in 1978

Unjointed soft toy Aunt Lucy Bear of grey nylon plush. The bear is dressed in a checked cotton skirt, safety pinned at the back and with cream cotton bloomers worn underneath. Inside a small pocket on the proper right leg of the bloomers there are two identically marked metal coins and a metal chain. Two pieces of synthetic material are folded to form a shawl and secured at the front with a safety pin. A paper luggage label hangs from the pin by a length of string. The bear wears a black felt hat with a circular hat band of striped material, matching the band of material sewn close to the hem of the skirt. The bear wears black felt shoes, each has a cut out crescent forming a felt strap. The shoe strap has torn away from the shoe body on the right shoe. The black nose is plastic and the orange coloured eyes are fitted within moulded brown plastic.

Given by Helen Franklin

This Aunt Lucy bear was a present for a young girl named Helen in the late 1970s, along with a Paddington bear [B.53-2017]

Gabrielle Designs produced a range of Aunt Lucy bears with the hat band, shawl and skirt made in various colourways; this particular bear would originally have worn pince--nez glasses, attached to the metal chain.

The following paragraph is edited text from two websites, (see references):

The company who made this bear, Gabrielle Designs, was started by Shirley Clarkson from her home in Doncaster, England. As a gift for her children Shirley would lovingly craft that year's toy of choice and having recently read and loved Michael Bond's new book about a 'delightful little bear called Paddington', with illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, she created a Paddington bear from studying Fortnum's original drawings. Shirley knew after she'd made the first bear it was going to be a Gabrielle product and after some negotiations with lawyers representing Michael Bond, Gabrielle Designs was granted the first licence to manufacture a Paddington Bear soft toy. Michael Bond was very taken by the bear, and so Gabrielle Designs Paddington products were born. Michael formed a lasting friendship with the Clarksons, and actually wrote about Paddington's acquisition of his wellington boots in his next book to suit the design strategy. Well, Paddington needed wellington boots to stand up on the shelves and in displays didn't he?

Aunt Lucy and her nephew Paddington are two of the most famous bears in literature. Paddington first appeared in print in 1958 in a children's book, 'A Bear Called Paddington', written by Michael Bond. Paddington arrives as a stowaway from "Darkest Peru", sent by his Aunt Lucy who was Paddington's legal guardian until she had to move into the Home for Retired Bears in Lima, Peru.

This Aunt Lucy soft toy is an original Gabrielle Design, made in 1978. Gabrielle Designs were the first company to produce licensed Paddington soft toys in 1972.

Bond, who based the character of Paddington on a teddy bear he found in a shop near Paddington station, went on to write many books about Paddington's adventures, many of which feature Aunt Lucy. Paddington's popularity increased with his appearance on television in the 1970s and 1980s and he remains just as popular with the current generation of children following the release of two Paddington films, in 2014 and 2017, both of which star Aunt Lucy and her husband Uncle Pastuzo.

B.54:1 to 11-2017