Marionettes

Pelham Puppets began in 1947, as a small home based company using recycled materials. As Bob Pelham persuaded toy retailers that his marionettes would sell, and that string puppets were easy to manipulate, sales increased. As the company expanded, larger premises were obtained and more people employed. In 1972 Pelham Puppets was awarded 'Toy of the year' and business continued to increase. After the early death of Bob Pelham in 1980, his widow continued the business for a few years before the company was sold. Pelham Puppets are no longer available through toyshops but can be purchased online. The older versions have become collectables.

Puppets are an extremely old form of theatre, practised in many countries and in a great variety of forms. Puppets can range from the simplest of finger puppets to the supermarionation used for the Thunderbirds.

Marionettes are flexible puppets moved by rods or by strings and suspended from a controller used by the puppeteer. Mr Squiggle was a marionette and for 40 years, was the lead character in an ABC television program of the same name. In the late 1950s Peter Scriven's Tintookies led to the establishment of the Marionette Theatre of Australia and the increasing popularity of puppetry as a drama form in this country.

According to René Simmen, (The world of puppets p.6) 'A puppet show can be defined as any dramatic form in which direct or indirect manual manipulation is used to move flat, low-relief or high-relief figures.' Puppets are an extension of the puppeteer. They can be used for entertainment, amusing an audience, educatonal or religious purposes. Puppet shows can be produced by large or small commercial companies or private individuals. They are often presented in schools and kindergartens.

Shown are a Pelham Puppets' three dogs, all on the one controller, and an SM Type Policeman (where SM is the product code for moving-mouth type puppets). The dogs are 'Wuff Snuff & Tuff' from a cartoon strip by William Timym and were introduced to the Pelham range in 1953. The three dogs were also available on separate controllers.

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