A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear.

Developed apparently simultaneously by

toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff in Germany in the early years of the
20th century, and named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the teddy bear became a
popular children's toy, celebrated in story, song, and film.[1] Since the creation of the first teddy
bears which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs, "teddies" have greatly varied in form,
style, color, and material. They have become collector's items, with older and rarer "teddies"
appearing at public auctions.[2] Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are
often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy.

Contents

 1History

 2Production

o 2.1Commercial

o 2.2Amateur

 3Cultural impact

o 3.1"The Teddy Bears' Picnic"

o 3.2Teddy bear museums

o 3.3Teddy Bear Cops program

o 3.4Brunus edwardii April fool

o 3.5In popular culture

 4References

 5External links

History[edit]

A 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the teddy bear name.

The name teddy bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was
commonly known as "Teddy" (though he loathed being referred to as such).[3] The name
originated from an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which
Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other
hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt's
attendants, led by Holt Collier,[4] cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bear to a willow
tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested
that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but
instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery,[5][6] and it became the topic of a political
cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902.[7][8][9] While the initial
cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic
overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.[10]
Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He
created a tiny soft bear cub and put it in the shop window with a sign "Teddy's bear", after
sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name. The toys were an
immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.[6]
At the same time in Germany, the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear
from Richard Steiff's designs. Steiff exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, where
it was seen by Hermann Berg, a buyer for George Borgfeldt & Company in New York (and the
brother of composer Alban Berg).[11] He ordered 3,000 to be sent to the United States.[12] Although
Steiff's records show that the bears were produced, they are not recorded as arriving in the U.S.,
and no example of the type, "55 PB", has ever been seen, leading to the story that the bears
were shipwrecked. However, the story is disputed – author Günther Pfeiffer notes that it was only
recorded in 1953 and says it is more likely that the 55 PB was not sufficiently durable to survive
until the present day.[13] Although Steiff and Michtom were both making teddy bears at around the
same time, neither would have known of the other's creation due to
poor transatlantic communication.[7]
North American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears,
[14]
 while composer John Walter Bratton wrote an instrumental "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", a
"characteristic two-step", in 1907, which later had words written to it by lyricist Jimmy Kennedy in
1932.
Early teddy bears were made to look like real bears, with extended snouts and beady eyes.
Modern teddy bears tend to have larger eyes and foreheads and smaller noses, babylike features
intended to enhance the toy's "cuteness". Some teddy bears are also designed to represent
different species, such as polar bears and brown bears, as well as pandas and koalas.
While early teddy bears were covered in tawny mohair fur, modern teddy bears are manufactured
in a wide variety of commercially available fabrics, most commonly synthetic fur, but
also velour, denim, cotton, satin, and canvas.

Production[edit]
Commercial[edit]
Commercially made, mass-produced teddy bears are predominantly made as toys for children.
These bears either have safety joints for attaching arms, legs, and heads, or else the joints are
sewn and not articulated. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose a choking
hazard for small children. These "plush" bears must meet a rigid standard of construction in order
to be marketed to children in the United States and in the European Union.
There are also companies, like Steiff, that sell handmade collectible bears that can be purchased
in stores or over the Internet. The majority of teddy bears are manufactured in countries such as
China and Indonesia. A few small, single-person producers in the United States make unique,
non-mass-produced teddy bears. In the United Kingdom one small, traditional teddy bear
company remains, Merrythought, which was established in 1930.[15] Mohair, the fur shorn or
combed from a breed of long haired goats, is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed. Alpaca teddy
bears are made from the pelt of an alpaca because the fiber is too soft to weave. In addition to
mohair and alpaca, there is a huge selection of "plush" or synthetic fur made for the teddy bear
market. Both these types of fur are commercially produced.

 Making of a teddy bear

1: Cutting
 

2: Sewing and turning

 

3: Filling
 

4: Assembling

Amateur[edit]
Teddy bears are a favourite form of soft toy for amateur toy makers, with many patterns
commercially produced or available online. Many "teddies" are home-made as gifts or for charity,
while "teddy bear artists" often create "teddies" for retail, decorating them individually with
commercial and recycled ornaments such as sequins, beads and ribbons. Sewn teddy bears are
made from a wide range of materials including felt, cotton and velour. While many are stitched,
others are made from yarn, either knitted or crocheted.

Cultural impact[edit]

An RAF Boulton Paul Defiant crew pose with their teddy bear mascot at RAF Biggin Hill during World War II

Retail sales of stuffed plush animals including teddy bears totaled $1.3 billion in 2006.[16] The most
commonly sold brands include Gund and Ty Inc. Brands associated with teddy bears that enjoyed
strong popularity in the 1980s and 1990s are Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears. Various TV shows
and movies have a teddy bear depicted, such as Super Ted and Mr. Bean.
Teddy bears have seen a resurgence in popularity as international "do-it-yourself" chains have
opened. Among the largest and best-known are Build-A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy
Bear Company.
Some popular mass-marketed teddy bears made today include Rupert, Sooty, Paddington,
and Pudsey Bear. Books have also been written with the teddy bear featured as their main
character. These include Winnie-the-Pooh, Corduroy, Teddy Tells Time, Tristan the Teddy Bear
(from the Teddy Bear Tales) and Teddy Dressing.

"The Teddy Bears' Picnic"[edit]

The popularity of the toy inspired John Walter Bratton to compose the melody "The Teddy Bears'
Picnic" (1907). The lyrics were added in 1932 by Jimmy Kennedy.

Teddy bear museums[edit]

The world's first teddy bear museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, in 1984. In
1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. These were closed in
2006 and 2005 respectively, and the bears were sold in auctions, but there are many teddy bear
museums around the world today.