It was a cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt and a bear that inspired the creation of the first teddy bears in America. These were made by the wife of shopkeeper, Morris Michtom and displayed in the window of their shop together with the cartoon. These teddies with their jointed bodies and beady eyes are still highly desired today by collectors. Collectible teddy bears may be both antique and modern. The price tags vary considerably with the oldest ones fetching very high prices.
In Germany, Richard Steiff came up with a design for a bear for his aunt at about the same time as Michtom and his wife were selling their products. This toy bear began being manufactured in the Steiff factory and they are still manufacturing quality items today. Steiff originals are highly sought after, particularly those which were manufactured in the early 1900s with their articulated moving limbs, big feet, long snouts and long arms.
World War Two obviously affected the production of bears and after the war, the traditional teddies were joined by many new designs, including a bear without joints which was fully washable. This bear looked more like the one we are familiar with today. As new items appeared rapidly on the market, some people began to seek out the older bears with traditional designs. Manufacturers took note of this interest and began to make products which would attract collectors.
When looking at a bear it is important to determine its condition, provenance and authenticity. There are certain features which can tell you a great deal about how old it is. For example, the materials used to manufacture it can help to place it in time. The first bears were stuffed with excelsior or wood wool. Later ones were stuffed with kapok and more modern ones with foam. The earlier ones were covered in tawny mohair. Later, silk and cotton were used and eventually synthetic materials took over. The pads were first made of cotton or felt and later of velvet and fake leather.
If there is a label or even a fragment of one on your bear, this will enable you to identify the manufacturer. It can also help to give an idea of the period it was made in as well. Labels were changed fairly often and it is possible to find out which labels were used during a particular period. Steiff products are easy to identify due to a small metal button in the left ear.
The earliest teddies had black boot button eyes. By the 1930s most manufacturers had replaced these with glass eyes. It was only after the war that eyes tended to be made from plastic. The early teddies also had long snouts which gradually became flatter and shorter. Manufacturers often had distinctive ways of stitching the snout.
The snouts of the earliest teddies were much longer than they are today. Their backs were humped and the arms were long. They had five joints attaching the various limbs and the head to the body. Later, a washable bear without joints came onto the market which looked more like the teddies we know today.
Collectible teddy bears inspire fierce devotion and loyalty amongst collectors who will often travel the world and spend huge amounts of money to get hold of a tattered original brown bear. However, collectors are not solely devoted to expensive antiques and individuals also collect quality modern teddies manufactured by reputable companies.
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