Early UK Exclusives
Part 1
Here on BeanieUK we are gradually building up a selection of features on the many Ty products which have been released. As we are UK based, it seems appropriate to look back to the early UK exclusives, some of which were "chase" items in their day, at the height of beanie fever...and all of which should be mentioned on our site!
The first real UK exclusive was of course Britannia - the brown bear with the Union flag on its chest, already featured in its own article in another section...and a Ty item that was often counterfeited too! Here's a picture to remind us -
style # 4601 b/d 15/12/97 Intro 31/12/97 Ret 26/07/99
"Britannia the bear will sail the sea
So she can be with you and me
She's always sure to catch the tide
And wear the Union flag with pride"
Check out the article here :- Britannia Beanie Baby [Counterfeit]
It was quite a while before the next one, and by that time I was a fully fledged collector myself...the chase really was on when we heard about Buckingham! I well remember going to the main supplier in our area on delivery day - you had to buy TEN beanies to get one Buckingham!!! Can you believe we did that sort of thing??? I can't now....but a lot of people got beanies for Christmas that year - the only good thing was that the shop had a lot of half-price baskets of common beanies to choose from...but nevertheless, it was crazy!
I also remember getting a phone call early on the Saturday morning of the same week from a member of my school staff to tell me to get to a certain shop near where I live NOW.....they have Buckinghams in, she said, and I need some for trade.......! Picture the scene...myself, 3 other members of staff, and assorted children, in the same queue, not acknowledging that we knew each other, all buying one Buckingham each for her! I should have traded myself....but didn't!
So here is Buckingham - a very smart burgundy bear, with the crown emblem on its chest - and still a personal favourite of mine.
style # 4603 b/d 16/10/2000 Intro 03/09/2000 Ret 31/01/2001
"Buckingham the bear has a little secret
He wants to tell you and hopes you'll keep it
He's taking his friend Britannia to see
Someone special for crumpets and tea!"
The next year saw the introduction of a European Exclusive - Unity, a vibrant blue bear with 12 stars on its chest, one for each member country of the European Union at that time.
Britain joined the European Union in 1973, and now in 2007 there are 27 member states - at this link you can see all their flags!
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1139991776535
Another chase was on, and this time with more of a purpose for me - I realised that I could trade too! (And I did!)
style # 4606 b/d 28/09/2000 Intro 20/04/2001 Ret 22/10/2001
"The EU finally came to be
That's why I'm named Unity
Our countries now unite as one
A brand new era has begun!"
These three exclusive bears have something in common too - they all have Buddies, and all three of those were collectable - (and tradeable!) - in their own right. Here they are all together - "must haves" in a UK collection...well, at least in mine!
On 1 April 2002 the UK version of Pops was introduced, at the same time as other versions in the USA and Canada - Pops already has a page of his own in the Variations section of BeanieUK.
Pops - how many variations??
Now here's one that was released in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Celebrations marked the 50th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth 2nd - 3 June 2002.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page150.asp
The tag reads :-
"Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, celebrates her Golden Jubilee this year, making her the fifth-longest serving Monarch"
style # 4620 Intro 16/04/2002 Ret 09/08/2002
In 2003 there was quite a bit of excitement - and chasing - to get the 2 versions of William. The "closed" book version was released in the UK, and the "open" book version in Germany, so for us here we had to start looking hard for the German one.
These bears, commemorating William Shakespeare, both had the same details :-
style # 4632 b/d 23/04/1564 Intro 16/07/2003 Ret 27/03/2006
"From Stratford came the tales he told
Of love and Kings and stories bold
Around the Globe can still be heard
Much rapt applause at every word!"
http://www.william-shakespeare.info/
Keeping to the theme of UK history, another exclusive came along in the same year - Sparks, a dark blue bear with a firework design on its chest. This bear commemorated Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the House of Parliament in London.
You can read more about Guy Fawkes, and what surrounds this annual occasion in the UK, at this link :-
http://www.guyfawkes.org.uk/
style # 4633 b/d 05/11/02 Intro 22/09/03 ret 20/01/04
"Fireworks light up the night
Bonfires lit are burning bright
Never forget the reason why
It's just simply because of Guy!"
In 2004 there was another duo to collect - Black Nose Jack was available generally, but the flag nose version was exclusive to the UK. This type of design, featuring country flags printed on the body of the bear, and black and flag nose versions, has been used by Ty in many releases throughout the world.
The history of our flag is interesting, and this web page, produced by the children of Woodlands Junior School in Kent, has a lot of details about it and how it came to be.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/geography/unionjack.html
Flag Nose :- style # 4634 b/d 14/06/03 Intro 01/02/04 Ret 05/03/04
Black Nose :- style #40071 b/d 14/06/03 Intro 29/04/04 Ret 10/09/04
"The Union Jack flies across the land
With Saints combined, so we understand
That this great land will always be
The United Kingdom for you and me!"
Read Part 2 here : The Early UK Exclusives - Part 2
Read about the UK Trios here : UK Trios
John
the phoenix
09/09/07
