Barbapapa Barbouille Viking second hand figure (Loose)

In 1968, Talus Taylor, a biologist from San Francisco, met a young French architect, Annette Tison, in Paris.

Annette Tison and Talus Taylor invented Barbapapa in Paris, France, on May 19, 1970: while strolling through the Luxembourg Gardens, Talus Taylor overheard a child asking his parents for something called “baa baa baa baa”; not understanding French, he asked his wife what it meant, who explained that it was a delicacy called cotton candy. Later, on a tablecloth in the Zeyer brasserie on Place d'Alésia, the two of them imagined an unusual character inspired by the candy, pink and round, who was phonetically named Barbapapa. Barbapapa's essential ability (and that of his wife and children) was to adapt quickly to the most diverse situations, changing shape at will.

The first album was published in 1970 by the brand-new École des loisirs publishing house.