Artwork by Peter Firmin, co-creator of the children’s television series Bagpuss, has sold for more than £400,000 at auction, with nearly 500 pieces of paintings, books, and collectibles finding buyers over a two-day event hosted by Canterbury Auction Galleries.

The auction featured the largest sale of Firmin’s work to date, with many items surpassing their estimated prices by a significant margin. Among the highlights was a signed painting of Basil Brush, the iconic fox puppet known from the BBC’s The Basil Brush Show, which sold for £6,000—far exceeding its original estimate of £120 to £160. Other notable pieces included a number of colorful paintings of the Clangers, the knitted alien characters that appeared in the eponymous series. One such painting, titled Tiny Clanger in the Iron Chicken’s Nest, fetched £3,900 against an expected range of £200 to £300.

Additional artwork from Firmin’s portfolio also performed well. A depiction of Nogbad the Bad, a character from the animated series Noggin the Nog, sold for £4,200, significantly above its initial estimate of £200 to £300. This price matched that achieved by a mechanical model of Gabriel the Toad, another Firmin creation. A painting featuring Bagpuss alongside characters Emily and Professor Yaffle the woodpecker sold for £1,600.

Susanna Woodgate, who curated the auction, commented that the event allowed fans to acquire cherished mementos of their favorite childhood shows, often to share with younger generations.

Firmin, who died in 2018 at 89, was a British puppeteer and illustrator who co-founded the production company Smallfilms with Oliver Postgate. Together, they created several beloved children’s television programs, including the 1959 series Ivor the Engine, centered on a Welsh steam locomotive with a penchant for choir singing. A hand-drawn comic strip from that series was also included in the auction and sold for £940.

Many of Firmin’s original puppets and artworks, including those of Bagpuss and the Clangers, are preserved on permanent display at the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge museum in Canterbury. In recognition of his significant contributions to children’s media, Firmin received a Bafta Children’s Special Award in 2014.