When I was a child one of my favourite pastimes was to play with my collection of Pelham puppets and put on small shows with my friends. So this week I thought I would tell you about the history of the firm.

Pelham puppets were simple wood marionette puppets made in England by Robert Henry (Bob) Pelham (1919-1980) who was a great grandson of the 3rd Earl of Chichester. The company was established in 1947  in Marlborough. As well marionettes  the firm also manufactured glove puppets, rod and ventriloquist varieties.

The company was originally called Wonky Toys Ltd., the name deriving from Pelham's WWII service nickname. As a Captain in the Royal Artillery, he became known as 'Wonky Donkey' from the small toy donkeys he made in between frenetic bouts of action. The company originally started making  waloukas simple wooden toys held together with string. Bob then moved on to making marionettes to sell to children, a new direction, as previously marionettes had only been made for professionals. In 1948 the company changed its name to Pelham Puppets to reflect the change in focus.

One of the keys to the success of the company was the creation of the Pelpup Club for children, which helped to advertise the company's products. Also, in 1953 the company secured the right to manufacture Disney characters, and  Pinocchio became the most popular of the characters they produced. Pelham continued to head the company, assisted by his wife Ann (née Dalziel Mayer) and after his death, she continued with the business until 1986, moving the factory to Collingbourne Ducis  the year before. There was a further move to Gloucestershire in the early 1990s, but the company went into liquidation in 1993. However, in 2008 it was revived by a former employee, David Leech, and it now produces a new line of puppets, although some echo former styles.

Collectors categorise Pelham puppets by head size. Those carrying the initials 'SS' have a spherical wooden head, 'SM' denotes models with a larger wooden head and an opening mouth, while the most common 'SL' puppets have hollow heads produced using a mould. Puppets depicting forgotten comic characters of the 1950’s and 60’s are always popular at auction such as SL Harris Tweed and The Boy, introduced following a tie-up with Eagle comic around 1953 which recently sold at auction for £900 and £700 respectively. As always, condition is key and collectors always like to see the original boxes together any leaflets or paperwork. The early boxes were made of brown cardboard with a simple glued label and the later boxes were yellow with printed images. Other ranges include the LS range of 12-inch puppets with half wooden ball feet, wooden heads and waxed string holding the parts together, the JC (Junior Control) range, a smaller simpler puppet intended for younger children, and the Jumpette range, smaller again, much simpler and intended for infants and toddlers. 

One of the most collected ranges is the Alice in Wonderland puppets with the rarer examples such as the Frog Butler fetching £1500 recently at auction and another of a Russian lady realising £900. Many Pelham puppets can however be brought quite reasonably with prices starting from as little as £20-30.

We often sell Pelham puppets in our fortnightly sales of Antiques and Collectables here at Sheffield Auction Gallery try do look out for good clean examples with their original boxes in good condition and you can’t go wrong!