Plush Bear
The Changing Face of the Teddy Bear
When most of us think of the teddy bear, we see him as a cuddly, possibly chubby, cute faced soft and lovable toy but he has not always looked like this.
Let’s see…..
As we all know, the teddy bear was born in Germany in 1902. The first teddy bear took his looks from the ‘real’ bear in that he had a very long pointed muzzle, long limbs and a hump on his back so that when he was put down on all fours he looked just like a ‘real’ bear. At first, jointing the teddy bear was a bit of a problem for Steiff but very soon this was resolved. The first teddy bear was given a wax nose but this was soon replaced by a ’stitched’ nose. So very gradually the teddy bear that we know and love today gradually emerged, even within the company that created him, he began to change his characteristics.
The teddy bears popularity soon spread right across the western world and not long after his birth, soft toy companies on both sides of the Atlantic began to produce their own versions of the teddy bear. In the United States, President Roosevelt (who gave his name to the Teddy Bear) was very quick to recognise the great appeal of the teddy bear, infact, he used the teddy as a mascot for the rest of his political career and when Roosevelt entered halls for discussions the music ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ was often played. However, in 1904, during the presidential elections, the very recently formed Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. produced teddy bears that could be handed out to potential voters of Roosevelt. These teddy bears were just 15 cms tall and they had very large and rather staring eyes (these particular eyes were known as Googly eyes). Some of the most popular dolls of that time had these very odd eyes and so, we would guess, that this is where the idea of using them came from. Later on, the Ideal Co. had teddy bears made with broad foreheards, large ears (which were set wide apart) and wedge-shaped muzzled, giving these teddy bears a somewhat triangular appearance. Some of these teddy bears had noses made of broad-cloth (a fine and very closely woven frabric) but most were stitched.
Back in Britain companies such as J.K. Farnell, W.J. Terry and Dean’s Rag Book Company had began to produce their very own versions of the teddy bear. The teddy bear craze hit Britain around 1908, maybe this was due to the fact that Britain had it’s very own “teddy” in Edward VII. However, the first company to produce jointed teddy bears in Britain was the J.K. Farnell Company. The teddy bears which they produced became even more popular with the onset of the First World War due to all German products (which sadly included teddy bears) being banned.
In 1912 the Farnell teddy bear was much like the German teddy bear in his looks, but he had somewhat shorter limbs (this was a characteristic that was to prove to be very popular with British soft toy companies by the 1930’s). These bears however, did lack the famous german bears ‘hump’ on his back, but they did keep the somewhat pointed muzzle.
In 1915 the British Company Chiltern produced very interesting but extremely ‘different’ teddy bears whom they called Master Teddy. Master Teddy was available in five sizes. He had googly eyes, which were typical of the period and which mimiced the popular animal cariactures of the time. Master Teddy was also ‘dressed’ in a pink and white check shirt and blue felt trousers, which had a big red patch on the right knee and these trousers were held up with some webbed braces. Master Teddy certainly lead the way for many manufacturers, it allowed them to be a little more wild in their thoughts and designs for their teddy bears.
In 1927, the famous German company Schuco produced their Piccolo series of gorgeous miniature, jointed mohair-plush toy animals, which also included little teddy bears. In 1927 Schuco produced little novelty teddy bears, which were made into lipsticks, mirrors and compacts which could be carried in ladies handbags, they also produced scent bottle teddy bears. The little Schuco teddy bears were constructed of a unique metal frame which were then covered in a very short mohair plush material, their limbs were straight and short, nothing like the long limbed teddy bears that Steiff first produced. Again, these gorgeous little teddy bears, although of German origin, changed the teddy bear’s shape and looks quite radically.
So as time rolled on in the teddy bear world we had companies like the British firm, Wendy Boston who produced unjointed teddy bears that were fully washable, but whose shape had changed, as these teddy bears looked more ‘flat’ than the original teddy bears. We also saw many companies producing ‘open-mouthed’ teddy bears and many British companies produced teddy bears with ‘plastic’ noses – which were styled on a little dog’s nose.
However, we have to include in this article the very famous and extremely loved Merrythought Cheeky Bears when we look at the changing face of the teddy bear. The Cheeky Bear was introduced to teddy bear lovers in the 1950’s and was radically different to what we know as the Classic Teddy Bear. What about the Merrythought Punkin Head Bear? What, I wonder would Richard Steiff say about this very popular teddy bear?
Today, we are use to seeing Artist Teddy Bears. Not all of these bears have the Classic Teddy Bear looks, many teddy bear artists have turned the classic teddy bears looks completely upside down. Some of them only vaguely resemble what we would first think of as a teddy bear. They come in pratically every colour you can think of, sometimes they are even multi-coloured, leaving behind the classic teddy bear colours. Many of these bears are termed as ‘art pieces’.
Who would ever have thought back in 1902 when Richard Steiff invented the great old teddy bear, that his face would change to the extent that it has, especially over the last few decades.
To sum up then, the teddy bear can look however we want him to look but there is no disputing that regardless of his appearance the teddy bear has retained his gentle and kind manner. No matter how he looks, the great and reliable teddy bear is always Mans Very Best Friend and Companion.
About the Author
Gino loves fast cars, especially fast italian cars. Infact Gino loves anything Italian. Gino also heads a specialist teddy bear site where you can buy old, antique and collectible teddy bears. You can also read Gino’s Page where you can read about his latest racing exploits.
Please visit his website at www.ginosbears.co.uk
The Plush Gang – Vanilla Bear (Part 1/2)
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