Celebrate Paddington's 60th anniversary with these glorious illustrations

Published on: 04 October 2018 Author: Catriona Wightman

Peggy Fortnum was the first person to ever illustrate Paddington - and her pictures became iconic. We're sharing some of them to mark Paddington's 60th anniversary...

Close your eyes and think of Paddington, and we bet you have a really clear image in your head! From the duffle coat to the hat, he's one of those children's book characters that has such an iconic look.

And for that, we have to give credit to Peggy Fortnum - the first ever person to illustrate Paddington when he arrived 60 years ago!

Peggy, who passed away in 2016, was originally commissioned to illustrate Michael Bond's brilliant A Bear Called Paddington when it was published in 1958.

She went on to work on the other books in the series, originally illustrating the loveable bear in black and white.

However, other illustrators - including her own niece, Caroline Nuttal-Smith - later added colour to some of Peggy's pictures.

Paddington Bear will be celebrating his 60th anniversary on 13 October, so get ready for the big day by grabbing a marmalade sandwich and enjoying our gallery of some of Peggy's lovely illustrations from over the years.