You can’t talk about Tinker Bell without first acknowledging Peter Pan. He appeared first as a character in Barrie’s The Little White Bird (1902) in chapters 13–18 where the ever-youthful boy is a seven-day-old baby and has flown from his nursery to Kensington Gardens in London. As will happen to unattended babies, fairies and birds taught him to fly. Henceforth he is described as “betwixt-and-between” a boy and a bird. Makes perfect sense.

So when does Tinker Bell come in?

Peter’s ability to fly is explained inconsistently in Barrie’s earliest works. When Peter Pan first appears, he can fly because he is part bird. Okay. Later, he added the necessity of ‘wonderful thoughts’ and ‘Pixie Dust’ to get airborne. Why the change? Let’s let Barrie answer:

…after the first production I had to add something to the play at the request of parents about no one being able to fly until the fairy dust had been blown on him; so many children having gone home and tried it from their beds and needed surgical attention. – J. M. Barrie

Oops! Oh, those foolish children! Why don’t they just grow up? Oh, right. Anyway, this nicely brings us to everyone’s favorite Pixie, Tink. Let’s get right to Disney’s Tinkerbell Metal Clothing Hanger:

Many fictional characters, and real personalities as well, can be easily identified by nothing more than a silhouette. Think of the famous opening for Alfred Hitchcock’s television program when he walks into a very crude outline of himself. Just a few lines and we knew who it was supposed to be! Tinker Bell is also a character that has that kind of instant recognition just from her shape. Wide hips and all!

This is a very nice bronze three-point hanger that we now have on the back of our bedroom door. We hang our bathrobes on it. It measures about 8″ x 12″ tip to tip. The metal construction is also very solid and so Tink will be very durable for her new purpose of holding up clothes.

I found no Disney trademarking on this or any other manufacturing marks. It is impossible to date this piece without such information.

I picked up this item at a local thrift store for a few dollars.

At first only a supporting character described by her creator as “a common fairy”, her animated incarnation by Disney was a hit and has since become a widely recognized unofficial mascot of The Walt Disney Company. Not bad for a one who started out only as a supporting character, a mender of pots and kettles, a ‘Tinker’. She was never meant to stay around. And the rest, as they say, is herstory!

I have a Disney Traditions sculpture of the diminutive Pixie as well as a post dedicated to just her shadow. Will you be able to tell it’s her?

FUN FACT: In the first draft of the original play, she is called Tippy-toe, but became Tinker Bell in the later drafts and final version.