Rare items from the earliest appearance of Peter Pan on a theatre stage almost 120 years ago have come ‘home’ to creator J M Barrie’s Angus birthplace.
They include programmes from the first time UK and US audiences encountered the Boy Who Never Grew Up around 1905.
And National Trust for Scotland bosses say the gift has added a sprinkle of extra magic to the playwright’s home in Kirriemuir.
Great Ormond Street connection
The items came from a private collection of Peter Pan memorabilia curated by Christine De Poortere.
Ms De Porteere managed the Peter Pan legacy for Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity for 12 years until her retirement in 2016.
Barrie gifted the copyright of Peter Pan to the London hospital in 1929, a legacy which has helped thousands of children being treated there.
But since Great Ormond Street had no museum or place to display the fairytale items, Ms De Porteere said the house on Kirrie’s Brechin Road was a natural place for them to return.
Barrie was born in the whitewashed weaver’s house in 1860.
“Over the years I looked after J M Barrie’s amazing gift to Great Ormond Street Hospital,” she said.
“I had great fun collecting Peter Pan-related items, ranging from early theatre programmes to books and other memorabilia.
“They are witness to Peter Pan’s huge and timeless popularity from the start, and also show how every generation had their own vision of the story, long before Disney’s interpretation.
“Having retired a few years ago, I felt the time was right to part with the collection.
“But as GOSH no longer has a museum, J M Barrie’s birthplace was the natural choice, as Kirriemuir was Peter Pan’s first Neverland.
“I am delighted the National Trust of Scotland has chosen some significant items which will enhance their own collections and displays.”
New exhibition to open in spring
The collection will form part of a new exhibition set to be unveiled in March next year.
Other items acquired by NTS include a book of letters written by children to Pauline Chase, the actress who played Peter Pan between 1907-1914.
A music sheet from the first silent movie production and a US-published Peter Pan puzzle story book also feature.
Scott Byrne, NTS operations manager for Angus, said: “JM Barrie, the man behind Pan, was born in Kirriemuir and spent his childhood at the home that we still care for and share today.
“He went on to establish a highly successful career as a playwright and author long before he wrote Peter Pan.
“The first stage production of the play was first performed at the Duke of York Theatre in London in December 1904 when Barrie was already 44 years old.
“He left Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital a lasting legacy by donating the royalties from performances of Peter Pan in perpetuity.
“It feels like a natural fit for these items to return to his birthplace and we’re incredibly grateful to Ms De Poortere for the opportunity to add these important artefacts to our collection.
“The new items will enhance our knowledge and help us to add more colour and context to the original story of the famous flying Peter Pan, the early UK stage productions and its successful transition to the US just a year later, that would be the catalyst for what would become a global phenomenon.”
Cricketing collection boost
The items are the latest important Barrie pieces which have found their way back to Kirrie.
In April, a cricket bat from the opening match at the pavilion on Kirrie Hill which Barrie gifted to the town in 1930 was presented to the group which now looks after the building.
Relatives of Barrie’s long-time friend Alexander Lowson – the demon bowler of Angus – travelled from England and France for the handover to Kirriemuir Regeneration Group.
It had been on show in the author’s birthplace but NTS met the final wish of Lowson’s granddaughter by transferring it for display at the camera obscura pavilion.
More information about JM Barrie’s birthplace and opening times can be found on the National Trust for Scotland website.
Barrie and GOSH
Peter Pan first appeared in a chapter of The Little White Bird by Barrie, published in 1902.
The Angus author then wrote the stage play of Peter Pan and the first production opened at the Duke of York’s theatre in London on December 27 1904.
Like its central characters, it simply took off.
Some 25 years later, with the popularity of the play and Barrie’s novel firmly established, he unexpectedly gifted his copyright of Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Barrie was already a dedicated supporter of GOSH.
In 1929 was approached to sit on a committee to help buy land so the hospital could build a much-needed new wing.
He declined, but said he hoped to help in another way.
Weeks later, the hospital board was stunned to learn Barrie had donated all his rights for Peter Pan to GOSH.
He went on to reveal: “At one time, Peter Pan was an invalid in the hospital…and it was he who put me up to the little thing I did.”
In 1988, the House of Lords voted overwhelmingly for a special clause in the UK’s Copyright Designs & Patents Act.
It gives the hospital the right to a royalty from Peter Pan in perpetuity.
