| |
|
|
| About Soft Toys: |
|
| Few toys have had as long life span in their original form
as the teddy bears. In early 1900, teddy bears where one of
the most popular toys for children in Europe and in the US.
The origin of the Teddy Bear is claimed by many and the versions
are different. |
|
| The most popular one is the one in connection with President
Theodore Roosevelt, while bear hunting in Mississippi in January
1903. As reported in the Washington Post, the presidential hunting
party, trailed and caught a lean, black bear, then tied it to
a tree. The president was summoned, but when he arrived on the
scene he refused to shoot the tied and exhausted bear, considering
it to be unsportsmanlike. Roosevelt decided to spare the life
of the bear cub, which had been orphaned during the hunt. The
event was the subject of a cartoon by Clifford Berryman of the
Washington Post whose cartoon was captioned "Drawing the
Line in Mississippi", a copy of which is included for your
viewing. A short time after the cartoon was published, Russian
immigrants, Morris and Rose Michtom saw the cartoon. They owned
a toy and novelty store in Brooklyn, New York and, inspired
by the cartoon, Mrs. Michtom made a toy bear and displayed it
in the shop window. The bear proved enormously popular with
the public. As the story goes, Mr. Michtom wrote to Roosevelt
requesting permission to name the bear "Teddy" after
he President. Thus was born one of the largest toy companies
of the United States: The Ideal Novelty Toy Company, which changed
its name in 1938 to become The Ideal Toy Company. |
|
| The second, less recognized version, of the origin of the
Teddy Bear concerns a German soft toy manufacturer, Margarete
Steiff, who at a young age was stricken with Polio. One day
Margarete Steiff made a tiny elephant which she would let her
little visitors play with. Since toys were very rare back then
and the children loved playing with them, Margarete's mother
began giving her orders for copies of the elephant as well as
other toy animals. As time went by she started to train other
women to help her and eventually set up a small factory. |
|
| By 1887 Margarete's toys were being sent all over the world.
Her one nephew, Richard, spent many hours watching the bears
at the zoo, when in 1902 had created a toy bear with a moving
head and limbs to present to his aunt. When presented to Margarete,
she was not at all impressed, this toy was much bigger and it
was made out of expensive and rare mohair opposed to the felt
that was currently being used. However, Steiff started to make
toy bears from her nephew's many sketches of bears. In 1903
these bears were displayed at the Leipzig Trade Fair which resulted
in an American buyer placing an order for 3,100 bears. By the
end of that year, the order had increased to 13,000 bears and
in 1907, the Steiff Company sold over 1,000,000 toys. |
|
| A third version goes back to the States, where
Theodore Roosevelt's daughter was in the midst of her wedding
plans. The caterer was searching everywhere to find a unique
and appropriate table decoration. In his journeys he went to
New York and one of the first things he had seen was this little
bear looking at him through the shop's window. Knowing how the
President was a big game hunter he bought a handful of them
to decorate the tables with. He had decorated them in various
costumes such as fishermen and hunters. This had delighted everyone
at the wedding including the President. At the end of the reception
a close friend of the family asked, "Say "Teddy"
what species do these bears belong?" Not knowing Roosevelt
replied, "you really got me there so I think they must
be a new species called Teddy Bears". |
|
| A fourth version is that the British claim the Teddy Bear
on the basis of the nickname of King Edward VII, which was "Teddy".
|
|
| Although there is some debate about who originated
the teddy bear, both The Ideal Novelty, Toy Company and Steiff
were pioneers, but eventually the Steiff Teddy Bears became
the bear of choice. |
| |
| Please contact us if you have a different version
of the origin of The Teddy Bear and we will post your story
on our web-site. |
| |
|
|
|