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Pelham Puppets:
The Story
by David Leech: Introduction |
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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4 |
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David Leech is the
leading authority on the subject
of Pelham Puppets
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The Pelham Puppet Factory in 1979 |
Long before anyone even thought of collecting
Pelham Puppets, David Leech had spent several years researching the
history & development of the company and the puppets that were produced.
Bob Pelham, the Founder of the Company gave his backing and approval to
David to produce a book on the subject of Pelham Puppets detailing the
Company's history and the puppets that were produced.
Having worked in the Pelham Puppet Factory, David had many opportunities
to talk to long-standing employees and investigate the work and production
methods used over the years and obtain first-hand information from Bob
Pelham himself. Indeed, one of the initial sources of information provided
to David by Bob was his "big album" as he called it, a very large
scrapbook filled with news-cuttings and photographs recording the
highlights of Bob's life and work from 1946 to the late 1950s. Later,
David was provided with access to Company Production Records, for the
period from 1950 to 1975, which detailed information about weekly
production at the factory, what puppets were made, when and how many. (Later, access to Company records was obtained for the period 1976 to
1986.) David has progressively made available the results of his careful
and detailed research in the following publications.
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'YOURS PUPPETUALLY'
Pelham Puppet ID and Collectors' Guide
by David Leech "Yours Puppetually" was a
quarterly magazine written and published by David from 1996
to 1998. It featured many details about how Pelham Puppets were made,
anecdotes and
stories about Bob Pelham and other people involved with the Company and
featured, "Pelpop" - The Story of Pelham Puppets . |
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David
Leech is the author of the first
accurate & definitive guide to collecting Pelham Puppets |
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Back in 1979, Bob
Pelham, and later in 1981 Anne Pelham, gave their backing and
approval to David Leech, to produce a book on the subject of Pelham
Puppets.
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Collecting Pelham
Puppets was first published in 1998. It contains over 250
photographs of the puppets, the factory, together with illustrations
by David Leech
and Bob Pelham and detailed information about Pelham Puppets.
The following
information comes from both these publications and features some
previously unpublished information about Pelham Puppets, from 1946
to 1986. |
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Mobile Exhibition
The Story of Pelham Puppets |
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David Leech has created a
unique exhibition depicting the history and development of Pelham Puppets,
featuring puppets from each decade as well as over 100 photographs and
illustrations of the factory at different times and of the production
methods used. By means of a fascinating talk and puppet demonstrations,
David offers a vibrant and personal insight into the world of puppetry
that Bob Pelham created.
The exhibition is suitable for schools, libraries, museums, puppet
festivals and theatres throughout the
UK.
Contact David for details.
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Puppet theatre built by David in the
Pelham Puppet factory. David is on right of this picture.
Next to him is Eileen Sims-Neughbour,
head of stringing dept., later forewoman;
to left of her is Andrew Witts and
Keith Huntley, both worked on larger "No.2" puppets
and Mini-Units.
Photo copyright: D.J.Leech. 1980. |
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