I had heard a rumor that the original Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Kanga were in the New York Public Library, so while I was in the city last week, I went to visit them. They are in a glass case in the Children's Room of the Donnell branch, right across the street from MOMA.

By "Velveteen Rabbit" standards, all four of them are really real.

Eek! How can they breathe in a glass case?

What would be really creepy is if they also had the original Christopher Robin floating in a big bottle of formaldehyde (like in a circus sideshow.)

There's a movement in England to try to get the original Pooh and co. repatriated back in the England based on the argument that they are Cultural Treasures. While this is true, I always thought it this was a little hypocritical considering the British Museum's attitude towards the Elgin Marbles.