Around 500 artworks by Bagpuss and Basil Brush creator Peter Firmin are going up for auction after being uncovered in his home. The artist and puppet maker – who died aged 89 in 2018 – co-created several popular children’s TV programmes, which also included The Saga Of Noggin The Nog, Ivor The Engine, The Clangers, and Pogles’ Wood. Hundreds of Firmin’s original artworks have been discovered at his home in Kent and will be auctioned on July 31 and August 1 at The Canterbury Auction Galleries in a live, online-only auction.
Discovery of the Artworks
The pieces include original watercolours and pen drawings of his famous characters, storyboards from books and TV shows and rare, collectible toys and games – as well as Firmin’s personal art, mainly linocuts and engravings. They were found while his family farmhouse and outbuildings were being cleared for sale. Katy Firmin, the fourth of Firmin’s six daughters, said: “My family have lived here in Blean since 1959 and when opening various cupboards have found things we simply didn’t know existed.” She continued: “It’s an emotional wrench. But there are just so many things, he never threw anything away. The six of us have all kept things that we particularly love but it’s time to share the rest. People have such fond memories of characters like Bagpuss and now they have the chance to own a little bit of their childhood.”
Auction Details and Highlights
The auction is being held by The Canterbury Auction Galleries, which has called the items a “treasure trove” and said it is the largest collection of Firmin’s work to ever come up for auction. It said some of the highlights of the sale include Firmin’s hand-painted illustrations, on which changes and corrections he made along the way can be seen. There are also collectible models of many characters from shows such as The Clangers and Bagpuss, and original illustrations from storyboards and books, including hand-drawn unpublished book attempts discovered at the house.
Expert and Family Comments
Canterbury Auction Galleries specialist valuer Susanna Woodgate said: “The Canterbury Auction Galleries is proud to be auctioning the studio collection of Peter Firmin. His work brought such pleasure to so many children and their parents over the years. It is a privilege to now be able to offer people a chance to own original pieces of his work. Cataloguing the items has been a real nostalgia trip.” The Firmin family are also now donating the original Bagpuss and original family of The Clangers to Canterbury’s Beaney museum, where they have been on loan.
Background on Peter Firmin
Firmin – who received the Bafta lifetime achievement award in 2014 – created Smallfilms with Oliver Postgate, who died in 2008. While Firmin made the puppets, sets and backdrops, Postgate wrote most of the stories and narrated the TV shows. Their first hit was in 1959 with Ivor The Engine, about a Welsh steam locomotive who wanted to sing in a choir. The first, hand-drawn comic strip of Ivor is included in the sale. The sale will be held on July 31 and August 1 as part of a four-day auction, with the Firmin Studio sale viewing by appointment only. See www.thecanterburyauctiongalleries.com for all online catalogues and call 01227 763337 to book an appointment.
