Who illustrated the first Paddington Bear book, A Bear Called Paddington?

Peggy Fortnum illustrated A Bear Called Paddington, the first Paddington Bear book.

Michael Bond’s story was published in 1958, and Fortnum’s black-and-white drawings helped establish how readers imagined the bear. Her illustrations showed Paddington with his familiar hat, coat, suitcase, and expressive face, giving visual form to Bond’s gentle comedy.

Fortnum continued illustrating many of the early Paddington books. Her work is sometimes confused with illustrations by later Paddington artists, because the character has been redrawn for picture books, television, merchandise, and films over several decades.

The original book introduced Paddington after the Brown family finds him at Paddington Station. Its illustrations and text together established many recurring details, including Paddington’s Peruvian background, his polite behavior, and his tendency to cause accidental trouble.