Teddy Bear Collecting History

All at once you find yourself involved in a hobby that you never expected, collecting teddy bears. Above you can see a teddy bear picture of some of my wife's collection. It is interesting to note that the hobby of collecting teddy bears has been popular for over 100 years, and the first teddy bears were created at almost the same time in the United States and Germany. In Germany Margarete Steif created a soft plush bear which was added to the many products offered by the Steiff company. They then sold 3,000 in America in 1903.

At nearly the same time, November 1902, Theodore Roosevelt was hunting bears in Mississippi in the southern U.S. When "Teddy" Roosevelt was unsuccessful in his hunt his hosts presented the President with a captured bear they had tethered. They invited Roosevelt to shoot the animal. Roosevelt declined and said "Spare the bear! I will not shoot a tethered animal"

More about collecting teddy bears

Soon a cartoon, drawn by Clifford Berryman, appeared in the Washington Post bearing the caption "Spare the Bear". This cartoon introduced the American public to "Teddy" bears. Shortly thereafter two shop keepers in Brooklyn,NY created a soft plush toy called a custom made "Teddy's Bear". Almost overnight Americans went crazy and wanted to collect teddy bears. The shopkeepers went on to make a fortune in the novelty and toy business, and Steiff, Gund and Hermann became world famous for their teddy bears.

By the First World War Steiff had sold millions of their bears with their trademark button in the left ear. Between World Wars many companies produced collectible teddy bears, including the mechanical bears by Bing, miniature bears by Schuco and plush collectible teddy bears by Hermann in Germany. The original "Winnie the Pooh" teddy bear was created by J.K. Farnell for Christopher Robin in 1921, introducing children the world over to the hobby of teddy bear collecting.