Miroslav has the oldest Smurf in the world: And it is completely different from other little blue ones

You must have heard at least once in your lifetime: "That is a proof that everyone has a child inside of them!" This was said by one of our most famous painters Bata Mihajlovic when he entered the office of his friend and a dentist Dr Miroslav Zunjic (59) seeing the figures of Smurfs on the shelves. 

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Zunjic is one of two greatest collectors of the favorite blue cartoon characters, and in the past seven years, for how long he has been gathering them, he gathered more than 600 pieces of them. He only needs 20 more.

- I bought first Smurfs in 1981. in the "city of our youth", Trieste, where i was with my girlfriend, and my current wife. I bought two Smurfs then - doctor and a nurse.

- In the meantime, i married and i got a son, two years later i started buying toys from Kinder egg, which he started gathering himself. My son grew up and he had no more interest in the toys, so they stood around like that. Then i decided to gather what i miss - discovers this collector.

Foto: Milena Đorđević

For more than 20 years he had an office, and his first love were pictures, which he got for his services from various painters. He said that his love for collecting was additionally sparked by his cousin Dimitrije Cipcic saying that "every man must have a hobby next to his work".

On a question - Why Smurfs from all the toys - he said:

- As a lover of paintings, the Smurf design is interesting to me. Secondly, only 10, 15 are coming out each year, and thirdly, they have all professions: journalist, painter, dentist, milkmen... so there is a story about them and some pretty life, a Smurfette everything turns around... 

My favorite Smurf is the dentist of course, but the pilot is also interesting, nurse and the first Smurf ever built - Papa Smurf, he was made 50 years ago and he is different from the others in size. Namely, he is made of rubber and bigger than all others - adds this unusual man from Belgrade.

Look here on the picture how big is Papa Smurf:

Foto: Milena Đorđević

He doesn't hide that he met a lot of prejudice, but that did not discourage him...

- I met prejudice from old people who say for us: "Look at this weirdos..." , especially when they see those who have few thousands toys from the chocolate eggs. Older people don't understand it really...

I like to keep them on the shelves so they can bee see around the apartment. I even had to take off some graphics and some artistic pictures so they can all fit. Wife moved one new shelf to the basement, but temporarily, i will get it back... - said Dr Zunjic smiling.

Foto: Milena Đorđević

Gathering toys, he saw there are a lot of clubs in Serbia, but only for one type of toys - Lego clubs, little cars club... So, he came to the idea in August 2011 to register Club of toy lovers from Belgrade with the Assembly and all 15 founders.

The club has several thousand members who collect Lego toys, action and cinematic heroes, Barbie dolls, toys from Kinder eggs ... Then he began to organize the exchange of toys once a month.

- I love seeing children when they are happy for a toy, but also the adults. Sometimes the adults are more excited for the new specimens. All kinds of toys can be exchanged and bought on those markets for a very reasonable prices.

Collectors come to exchange their double figures, and children with parents who want to sell and buy other toys - explains Zunjic, who's Association is one out of five in the world which gathers little blue beings who live in the forest.

Foto: Privatna arhiva

He participated with his toys on many charity events. He gave away shirts and cups with Smurf characters on them.

- I thought about the shelves looking like houses and i payed carpenters to make them, the toys from sweet eggs fit in there and i started donating them to the kindergartens over Belgrade, together with some puzzles and with rectangular shelves on which 20 toys are glued with the glass and frames like a picture.

Those shelves are closed so the children won't be able to touch them, and i gave it to children wards and to some Health Centers as decoration - said our interviewee.

Foto: Privatna arhiva

Zunjic doesn't miss the opportunity to display his "heroes" on the exhibits. At one in the Cultural Centre Palilula exhibits he displayed photographs of toys that are on the stock market.

On the other exhibit in Temerin he presented Smurfs and pictures of various travels where he went as a member of the Basketball club Belgrade.

- Travel is my passion from early days, and in the last few years, i started carrying one rubber Smurf with me and i take pictures of it in every city i go in. That is where the Smurf on Champs-Elysées, in front of the Eiffel Tower, in China on a bridge... 

Foto: Privatna arhiva

His desire is for Serbia to get a Museum of Toys, modeled by those around the world , and it takes a lot of space and the help from the city around financing... With the hope that they will succeed in it, he even payed for an internet site named - Museum in preparation, but not for long...

(Telegraf.co.uk / Sladjana Vasic)