Bagpuss creator's lost treasure trove up for sale

Around 500 original artworks by late Bagpuss creator Peter Firmin are to go under the hammer after being uncovered at his Kent home.

Firmin - who died in 2018, aged 89 – co-created several classic children's TV programmes, including Noggin the Nog, Basil Brush, Ivor the Engine, The Clangers and Pogles' Wood.

Katy Firmin, the fourth of his six daughters, said while "opening various cupboards" at the artist and puppet maker's house in Blean, they found things they "simply didn't know existed".

Described as "a treasure trove" of memorabilia, the items will be sold online on 31 July and 1 August.

The pieces up for grabs include original watercolours and pen drawings of Firmin's famous characters, storyboards from books and TV shows and rare, collectible models and games – as well as his personal art, consisting mainly of linocuts and engravings.

They were found while his family farmhouse and outbuildings were being cleared before going on the market.

Katy added there were "just so many things" because her dad "never threw anything away".

"The six of us have all kept things we particularly love, but it's time to share the rest," she said.

"People have such fond memories of characters like Bagpuss and now they have the chance to own a little bit of their childhood."

However, she described letting the items go as "an emotional wrench".

The auction is being held by Canterbury Auction Galleries, which has called the items a "treasure trove" and the largest collection of Firmin's work to ever become available.

It said some of the highlights include Firmin's hand-painted illustrations, which display the changes and corrections he made along the way.

Specialist valuer Susanna Woodgate said: "Peter Firmin's 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," she added.

"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.

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.

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