THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PEZ

On exhibit in the Glass Display Cases from August 2nd thru August 29th at the Athens Public Library.

The Mr. Bean set is probably one of my most adored pieces. It was introduced in 2005 and is now retired. It featured Mr. Bean, Irma Gobb, Teddy and the Mini-Cooper. Mr. Bean was a British Comedy that lasted one season. Collecting Pez's became a fascination for me in the late 1980's. I dare say my collection has grown by leaps and bounds. The creation of a particularly fine peppermint candy in 1927 by Eduard Haas III in Austria marks the birth of PEZ. Originally introduced in small tins, the refreshing candy proved extremely popular. The name PEZ comes from the German word for peppermint, "Pfefferminz" taking the P from the first letter, E from the middle letter and Z from the last letter to form the now iconic brand name PEZ. The original shape of PEZ candy was round and called 'PEZ drops.' The candy quickly changed to the familiar brick shape which is still manufactured today.  -- the exhibiting collector