Punkinhead, "the sad little bear", was a rubbery toy bear with a tuft of unruly orange hair. He was designed and developed into a storybook character by Canadian cartoonist Charles Thorson.[1][2] The bears were manufactured by Merrythought company.[3]

Punkinhead was the main character in a series of children's books published by the T. Eaton Company, a large department store in Toronto, Ontario. To promote the sale of the stuffed bear and the books, the store created a song about him and sold recordings of it.[4]

Punkinhead became associated with Eaton's Christmas advertising.[5] In 1947, Punkinhead appeared in Toronto's Santa Claus parade.[4] The character also appeared on many of Eaton's toys,[6] accessories and clothing.[7][4] Among them were kitchenware items such as bowls and mugs, furniture such as chairs and rocking horses, and clothing such as toques and mittens.[8]

The Punkinhead doll and books have become collectors' items.[9]

Books

  • Punkinhead, the Sad Little Bear
  • Punkinhead in Santa's Workshop, 1950
  • Punkinhead and the Christmas Party, 1952
  • Punkinhead and His Toy Workshop Adventure, 1954
  • Punkinhead in Animal Valley, 1955
  • Punkinhead and Jock the Jumper, 1960

References

  1. ↑ Audrey Greer (2006). The Santa Claus Parade Story: 100 Years of Great Parades in Toronto. J.B. Greer. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-0-9781978-0-3.
  2. ↑ Gerry Bowler (23 October 2012). The World Encyclopedia of Christmas. McClelland & Stewart. pp. 756–. ISBN 978-1-55199-607-3.
  3. ↑ "PUNKINHEAD". Canadian Animation, Cartooning and Illustration. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Doug Taylor (November 2010). Arse Over Teakettle: An Irreverent Story of Coming of Age During the 1940s in Toronto. iUniverse. pp. 330–. ISBN 978-1-4502-0531-3.
  5. ↑ Bruce Allen Kopytek. Eaton's: The Trans-Canada Store, Page 322
  6. ↑ Hockey Night in Canada Junior. Lulu.com. 2011. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-1-257-81680-4.
  7. ↑ "Punkinhead - Santa's Very Special Little Bear" Archived 2018-11-07 at the Wayback Machine. Archives of Ontario website
  8. ↑ MacGregor, Roy (24 December 2007). "The little bear from Eaton's catalogue of dreams". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  9. ↑ Judith Cowan (1 September 2014). The Permanent Nature of Everything: A Memoir. MQUP. pp. 83–. ISBN 978-0-7735-9624-5.

Further reading

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