Hooked on Peter Pan (and Tink too!)

October 26, 6:24 PMBaltimore Antiques and Collectibles ExaminerCatherine Owsianiecki

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Biographer Roger Lancelyn Green wrote in 1960: "Peter Pan holds a peculiar position. His is the only story of recent centuries to escape from literature into folklore. For every one person who has seen the play or read the story, there are hundreds who know perfectly well who and what Peter Pan is." And thanks to endurance of the 1953 Disney rendition of the boy who would not grow up, Peter Pan fans now easily number in the millions.  

It’s too bad we collectors cannot utilize some of Tinker Bell’s legendary pixie dust to fly to all the shops and auctions that contain the endless array of trinkets that celebrate the perpetual appeal of the ultimate arch villain, Captain Hook, the uppity Tinker bell, the other Disney mermaids, and the eternally youthful Pan himself.  But at least the magic of the mouse clicker and the Internet can fly these darling collectibles to us almost as quickly as Peter flew Wendy and the Darling boys to Never Never Land. 

Collectible Characters

Peter

The play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up premiered in London in 1904.  The title character made his first appearance in a 1902 novel by J.M. Barrie entitled The Little White Bird.  Barrie fabricated Peter and all his adventures to entertain the five sons of his friends Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies.  In 1906, Barrie published Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens; in 1911, he published the novel Peter and Wendy.   

On stage, Peter has been diversely portrayed by actresses including Maggie Smith, Hayley Mills, Mia Farrow, Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and Cathy Rigby.  In the 1953 Disney feature, child star Bobby Driscoll supplied the voice of the perpetual boy. 

A 1992 bronze miniature of Peter Pan by Goebel sells for $200. 

Tinker Bell

It was not until the production of the 1924 silent film Peter Pan that the world’s most famous fairy was actually played by a human actress, Virginia Brown Faire. Before that, Tinker Bell had been nothing more than a glimmer of light on the stage. Legend has it that Marilyn Monroe was the inspiration for the saucy animated Disney rendition of Tink, but an actress named Margaret Kerry served as her actual model. 

Martin Turnbull of Fantasies Come True says that characters from Peter Pan have been among the most popular collectibles ever since he opened for business in 1980. “The movie itself has always been very popular among our clientele (who tend to be among the more serious collectors),” says Turnbull, “but Tinker Bell has perennially been our most collected character.  Perhaps because she's part cute and part naughty? Who knows! 

"As far as which collectible is the most popular…that's a hard one,” muses Turnbull.  “We have nearly 7,500 items on our Web site. Ask us choose one.  Impossible!”  But when pressed, Turnbull admits that Pixie in Peril, priced at $250, gives most other Peter Pan items a run for their money.  Produced by the Walt Disney Classic Collection (WDCC), a line of the highest quality Disney-themed collectibles designed by actual Disney animators, Pixie in Peril features Tinker Bell trapped in a pewter and glass lantern.  

In addition, The Olszewski Story Time Collection of Disney-inspired miniatures (created by acclaimed painter and sculptor Robert Olszewski) has been handy to collectors who are starting to run out of room.  Says Turnbull, “The Olszewski Tinker Bell figurines have been uniformly excellent and very ‘on character,’ or faithfully reproduced—and that’s not easy to pull off.”  

Captain Hook

Captain Hook is arguably the most famous, and perhaps most fondly remembered, Disney villain of all time.  Who can’t help but feel just a little sorry for the pernicious pirate as he flits across the water with the crocodile snapping at his heels? 

Actor Gerald DuMaurier, the uncle of the Davies boys, was the first to portray the elegantly evil Hook.  Baltimore native Hans Conried gave the dastardly pirate his voice in the animated feature.

WDCC’s An Irresistable Lure, featuring Hook Smee, Tiger Lily, and Tic-Toc (the crocodile), sells for $399. 

The Mermaids

Believe it or not, the gorgeous mermaids’ lagoon was not part of the original text of the play; it was added by Barrie for second season.  In The Peter Pan Chronicles (Carol Publishing Group), Bruce K. Hanson writes, “In place of the Indian scene, a new act was added where Peter takes Wendy and the boys to Marooner’s Rock.  It is a fantastic place with mermaids and a pelican protecting her eggs in her floating nest.”

Once again, Margaret Kerry lent her figure to the Disney production, this time as the model, and the voice of a red-headed mermaid.

Peter Pan and Mermaids sculpted by Theresa Miller for Disneyland (pictured here) is a limited edition series of 2,500 that sells for $75.