The Museum of Brands in London, UK, has launched a new experience celebrating the 50th anniversary of Roger Hargreaves’ beloved Mr. Men Little Miss series.
Called the Mr. Men Little Miss Discovery Trail, the self-guided experience takes visitors through the museum’s permanent collection of Mr. Men and Little Miss memorabilia, which includes several items loaned to the museum from private collections. The experience also features a children’s make-and-take hat activity.
“During the past hundred years, children’s character merchandise has become increasingly popular, from Felix the Cat that arrived in the 1920s and Mickey Mouse in the 1930s to the likes of Postman Pat in the 1980s. This year we celebrate 50 years of the genius of the Mr. Men characters,” said Robert Opie, founder of the Museum of Brands.
Adam Hargreaves, Mr. Men Little Miss author, said: “My dad, Roger Hargreaves, created the Mr. Men series in 1971 and it’s a great accolade to his idea that the Museum of Brands has chosen to feature some of the merchandise that started filling up our home 50 years ago.”
“Through the generations, the Mr. Men and Little Miss have been seen on all kinds of products from Mr. Chatterbox radios to Mr. Grumpy Easter eggs.”
Created in 1971 by author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves, in response to the question: “What does a tickle look like?”, posed by his then six-year-old son; Adam, the Mr. Men Little Miss series was an immediate success, with the first book, Mr. Tickle selling more than one million copies in its first three years.
To date, the series has sold more than 85 million copies and has been translated into 20 languages.
The Mr. Men Little Miss Discovery Trail opened in late July and runs until September 10.
The exhibition runs at the Museum of Brands until September 10, 2021 CREDIT: MUSEUM OF BRANDS
