Winnie-the-Pooh Characters

During a tour of the New York Public Library, we made an unexpected stop at a glass case holding the original stuffed animals that inspired the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Inside the Stephen Schwarzman Building, tucked among grand marble halls and towering reading rooms, sit the well-worn toys that once belonged to Christopher Robin Milne. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Kanga rest together, smaller and more faded than you might imagine. These are the actual animals that A.A. Milne used as the basis for his beloved stories.

They are not polished museum pieces, but worn softened shapes preserved behind glass. It is one thing to read about Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood, and it is another to stand in front of the actual toys that inspired the stories.