Rupert annuals up for grabs
He's one of the oldest and most loveable comic strip characters in the world. Now fans of Rupert Bear have the chance to snap up a large collection of annuals and other rare books spanning 62 years.
Wolverhampton man Ian Joyce began amassing Rupert memorabilia 15 years ago and his cherished collection has grown to 70 books. The crown jewel is a 1950 first edition special book, The Monster Rupert Colouring Picture Book, featuring 200 cut-out and colour pictures.
The 36-year-old, of Tettenhall, bought it for £75 in the mid-1990s and says it is still in pristine condition with none of the pictures taken out.
Ian, who is profoundly deaf, first began collecting in earnest at the age of 18.
After some agonising, he has now decided the time has come to sell the Rupert books on as a single collection for £350.
"I feel sad that I am selling them, especially as some of them were hard to find, but I want them to go to a good home rather than sit at the back of a cupboard," he said today.
"I turned down an offer from someone who just wanted to cherry-pick the best ones as I want to sell them as a single collection."
Ian will donate some of the proceeds to the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf charity.
His father John said: "He's always been interested in Rupert. From a young age we bought him books and took him to Rupert conventions and fairs.
"We went all over the place looking at books and other collectables and it just spiralled from there. But he is not letting go completely. He also has some limited edition reproduction prints of artwork which he is keeping." Rupert, star of the Daily Express cartoon, first appeared in the newspaper on November 8, 1920, and since then has been the subject of books, toys and a TV series, The Adventures of Rupert Bear.
Anyone interested in Ian's collection should call 01902 750184.
By Nick Pritchard
