1931 Slesinger Inc. Winnie-the-Pooh Game Map of the Hundred-Acre Wood

This is a rare 1931 Stephen Slesinger, Inc. Winnie-the-Pooh board game map of the Hundred-Acre Wood. Winnie-the-Pooh and all his friends, Rabbit, Owl, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo all appear.

Playing the Game

Four paths created by red 'Pooh prints' traverse the Hundred-Acre Wood from 'Now We Begin' on one side to 'Now We Are Done' on the other. Each path takes Pooh on a different adventure, where he encounters friends along the way. Path 1 takes Pooh to Kanga's House, past a spot that is 'nice for pikniks', to the 'Bee Tree' (which Pooh falls out of, of course), and finally to his house. Path 2 takes Pooh to Rabbit's House (where he gets stuck), to the creek where Roo swims, and to the North Pole (which Pooh found), before he finally makes it home. Pooh's journey along Path 3 takes him past the 'Pooh Trap for Heffalumps' (which Pooh falls in, of course), followed by a visit to Owl's House, and Eeyore's birthday 'party' (when Pooh gives Eeyore an empty honey pot), before finally ending at his house. Path 4 takes Pooh to Piglet's House where Piglet dreams of Heffalumps and then on an adventure with Piglet past a stand of trees where they don't find any woozles to Eeyore's Gloomy Place where Eeyore lost his tail and finally to Pooh's house.

The Real Winnie-the-Pooh

Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional teddy bear created by author A. A. Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard. Known as both Pooh Bear and Pooh for short, Milne was inspired to create Pooh by a teddy bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne, who served as the inspiration for the character Christopher Robin. Christopher's other toys were also incorporated into the stories as Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo. Milne created Owl and Rabbit from his imagination. Christopher named his teddy bear after Winnie, a Canadian black bear at the London Zoo, and Pooh, a swan encountered by the family while on vacation. Winnie, short for Winnipeg, was bought as a cub from a hunter by Canadian Lieutenant Harry Coleburn while he was on his way to England to fight during World War I. Coleburn snuck Winnie with him to England, where she became the unofficial regimental mascot of Canadian Army Veterinary Corps. When Coleburn left for France, he left Winnie at the London Zoo, where she became a very popular attraction. People visited the zoo specifically to see Winnie, have their picture taken with her, and to feed her honey. When Coleburn went back to Canada after the war, he donated Winnie to the zoo because of her popularity.

Publication History and Census

This game was copyrighted by Stephen Slesinger, Inc. in 1931 and manufactured by Kerk Guild. This piece is not cataloged in OCLC, and we have found only a handful of other instances when it has appeared on the private market.