Disney – pictures adapted by John Hench and al Dempster
The last of my festive posts about stories that have been turned into pantomimes. I remember going to see Peter Pan when I was a child. I think Anita Harris played Peter.
Peter Pan the character first appeared in The Little White Bird, a novel by JM Barrie published in 1902. Peter was a baby in this story, not the young boy of the later play.
From The Little White Bird
Illustrated by Jean Winslow
From The Little White Bird
Illustrated by Jean Winslow
The story we all think of as ‘Peter Pan’ was first a 1904 stage play called Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The story was then expanded into the 1911 novel Peter Pan and Wendy.
The following two illustrations are from my copy of The Story of Peter Pan retold by Daniel O’Connor from the Fairy Play by Sir JM Barrie published in 1917 by G Bell and Sons. The book was given to my nana in 1922 and she gave it to me when I was a baby. Sadly the book was slightly damaged in a water escape a few years ago.
Here’s Peter and Wendy
Illustrated by Alice B Woodward
The children meet the mermaids
Illustrated by Alice B Woodward
In 1953 the Disney version of Peter Pan was released. This really cemented the ‘look’ of Peter with his green tunic and tights, feathered cap and pixie features.
Disney – pictures adapted by John Hench and al Dempster
Disney – pictures adapted by John Hench and al Dempster
And finally here are a couple of the glorious illustrations by Anne Grahame Johnstone for her 1988 version of Peter Pan and Wendy.
Tinker Bell
Captain Hook
Three Wishes Books 