5502 - Uncle Wiggily Longears

© Mabel R Garis, 1987

5502 - Ungle Wiggily Longears is an unusual character, and is possibly far more familiar to American collectors, being the starring character in over 15,000 short stories!

First issued in 1987 as a Worldwide Limited Edition of 5000, this 14" rabbit was initially priced at £39.95.  

He does not appear in catalogues after 1999, when we must assume that his edition had sold out, or that he had been discontinued

as part of the "Nisbet Celebrity Collection", Uncle Wiggily is one of the less well known members of the Nisbet family, and may be overlooked by collectors in the U.K. - But we think that he is a charming and unusual figure, and should be more widely seen and appreciated!

Uncle Wiggily is really a member of "The Nisbet Celebrity Collection", but as the rest of the collection are bears, we decided to list him with the soft toys.

Here is what the "House of Nisbet Dolls and Teddy Bears Catalogue" for 1986 has to tell us about him

Taken from page 5 of the "House of Nisbet Dolls and Teddy Bears Catalogue",1988

News

21st September 2023

 

Important Announcement

 

My dear wife, Christine, passed away on the 8th December, 2021, after 8 weeks in hospital. I was by her side, when she slipped away from me peacefully, with no pain or suffering.

 

Chris had been struggling with a slow decline in health, associated with a progressive, untreatable, and ultimately terminal lung disease, and finally succumbed to her old adversary, Pneumonia.

 

We had been friends for 55 years, together as a couple for 50 years, and married just a month short of 48 years, when she died.   

 

This website was Chris's idea, and I did all the technical stuff, to make it work.   After news of Chris's passing reached her close friends in the doll collecting world, I was deeply touched and gratified to hear their tributes to my dear wife, and I must thank them all for their kindness and support.   Ultimately, it was her doll friends that gave me the courage to continue with the website.

 

In the months before her eventual hospitalisation, Chris had outlined a number of additions and changes she wanted to make to the website, and it is my intention to honour those wishes, and to implement the changes we had considered, over the coming weeks and months.

 

I must apologise to all those who have written to us via the website, only to have your emails go unanswered.   Unfortunately, the email system had been hacked aroung the time Chris was going into hospital, and many emails must have been lost, as a result.

 

As you might imagine, I felt completely broken by Chris's loss, and it is only now, almost 22 months after her passing, that I have felt strong enough to even look at the website again.   

 

My aim is to continue with the website, and to implement Chris's aims for her many new ideas as soon as I can.   In the meantime, I have hopefully got the email system sorted out, and I will attempt to answer any enquiries as soon as I can, and to send replies with the same high degree of accuracy that a reply from Chris would have had.

 

From now on, I will be flying solo, whilst my co-pilot and guide will be soaring much higher, (though she is always in my heart, and in my thoughts).

 

My thanks to all our website visitors for your continued support

 

Dave (also known as Arthur), and Chris, (my lost love, Guinevere)

 

Christine Poulten

25th December 1949 - 8th December 2021