Rupert Bear first appeared in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Rupert Bear was a creation of Mary Tourtel, a children's book illustrator. Mary's husband, an editor on the Daily Express had been looking for a comic strip to rival those of other national newspaper. Ruper Bear ended the search. Mary Tourtel set her stories in an idyllic, timeless town, called Nutwood where Rupert became regularly involved in fairytale adventures featuring witches, orges and dragons. He also had a set of friends; Bill Badger, Algy Pug, Edward Trunk and the Wise Old Goat.Mary Tourtel probably never dreamed that Rupert would become so popular. She continued to draw Rupert Bear till 1935, when her eyesight began to fail. Alfred Bestall took over from her. He drew Rupert for thirty years before he stopped. Bestall let Rupert travel into far, fictional countries and gave these histories one somewhat futuristic touch From 1965 to 1978, Freddie Chaplin wrote the stories and the cartoon animator Alex Cubie illustrated Rupert's adventures. The current illustrator is John Harrold and writer Ian Robinson.

Printing-technical handicaps, (the newspapers appeared to this time only in black-white printing), were responsible at it, that the fur from Rupert remained in white colour. The series appeared on the 8th of November 1920 for the first time. Already soon, Rupert was the darling of the nation. Even also the adults loved him. Little by little, further humanized animals came together to the Rupert stories. Each newcomer first played the leading role, until Rupert got the leadership from the story then again

The series has turned to a long runner. The Daily Express appears still today with stories of Rupert the bear from the village Nutwood. Since the 1920s, Rupert had been popular in the Netherlands. In Holland, Rupert was known as Bruintje Beer (Brown Bear) and his adventures appeared in the Dutch newspaper, Algamenn Handelsblad.

More information about Ruper at: www.see.ed.ac.uk/~afm/rupert/