Teddy Bears - Stuffed Toy Or Best Friend?

Teddy bears have been a symbol of affection, love and cuddles, in excess of a century. They are often given away at carnivals as prizes. It's the one possession that children feel safe with at night time when they go to sleep. Teddy bears are a source of comfort and warmth. Try taking away their teddy bear from a young child and be prepared for tears!

Of course, there have been many famous bears throughout time. Who can forget Winnie The Pooh, Fozzie the Bear from The Muppet Show, The Care Bears, Sooty the teddy bear glove puppet, Humphrey Bear, Baloo in Jungle Book, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Paddington Bear, Rupert the Bear, Smokie the Bear and Yogi Bear? We have all grown up with these lovable characters. We have been taught by them, laughed at them, and admired them. Who hasn't heard the famous song "Teddy Bears Picnic" That song has been around since 1907!

Some Famous People and their Teddy Bears

Perhaps the most famous bear story is in the origins of the teddy bear name. It has been commonly reported that the teddy bear got its name from President Teddy Roosevelt when he refused to shoot a bear cub, which had been chained to a tree for him by his hosts, who wanted to make sure he was successful during a hunting trip. Some other famous personalities have had their very own teddy bears. Elvis had a teddy bear called Mabel when he was a child. It sold for $75,000 at auction. In 1989 a Steiff bear sold for $88,000 in a Sotheby's London auction! Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean had "Teddie" which featured often during the series. Donald Campbell, the world record breaking land and water champion took his "Mr Whoppit" bear along with him on record attempts. Aviation pioneers Alcock and Brown took their teddy bear mascots with them on their record breaking first non-stop Atlantic flight in 1919.

Ask any adult what their favourite toy was and they will probably tell you it was a stuffed toy, and a large percentage of those will certainly say, "my teddy bear". While there are many different types of toys on the market today, the teddy bear still remains a strong favourite for many children. In fact, eBay reports that on any day there are over a staggering 20,000 teddy bears up for auction!

Brian Parkin is an ex Geordie (from Newcastle, England) who now lives in Brisbane, Australia and currently operates an online store promoting personalised gifts. To learn more about personalised gifts, particularly personalised teddy bears, please visit Parkin's Patch at http://www.parkinspatch.com

For further information, you can contact Brian via email at brianparkin@parkinspatch.com

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Your Teddy Bear Friend

To this day, the question of who actually created the first teddy bear is still debated. Regardless of who was first, the Theodore bear became a national obsession. In 1903, Steiff produced 12,000 bears. Teddy manufacturers blossomed.   Textbook writer Seymour Eaton, under the pseudonym Paul Piper, wrote a rollicking poem called "The Roosevelt Bears" that appeared each week in newspapers around the country and followed the antics of "Teddy-B and Teddy-G".

Eaton also published a series of books about the bears. "Teddy bears are all the rage," read an ad in the 1908 Sears, Roebuck catalog.  Bears of all kinds--plaid bears, fuzzy bears, Viking bears--perch on every available surface.  How about a bear with a hood with curlers on it and fuzzy slippers and a robe? It's there too.

And today Vermont TeddyBears -Most of Vermont Teddy's customers are men sending Bear-Grams. Customized Bear-Grams can cost up to $300 apiece. Although the company specializes in lightheartedness--it ships each bear in a container complete with airholes and a delicious candy treat, in case the bear gets hungry on the trip--it's a full-size business.

Real bears have to contend with hunters and habitat loss, but there's no sign teddybears will ever be endangered. If you look through popular magazines, there's always an ad for some limited edition, and you go into a gift shop and there are  bear aprons and teddy bear mugs and teddy bears this and teddy bears that.

The Teddy Bear Museum in Naples, Florida--one of the first such museums in America--displays about five thousand teddies from all over the world. Some are holding their own teddy bears; others dress in bear jewelry and carry bear handbags. An enchanting experience for children of any age, this distinctive museum showcases bears in all shapes and sizes including one-of-a-kind teddy bears, limited editions, antique bears, and unique moving displays.

In 1997, the Huis Ten Bosch resort in Nagasaki, Japan, unveiled the Teddy Bear Kingdom--a 1,300-square-foot reproduction of a medieval stronghold with fifteen hundred classic and new bears. On April 24, 2001, J.S. International chairman Jesse Kim, who remunerated $193,477 for a one-of-a-kind existing Steiff bear at a charity auction, opened the JeJu Teddy Bear Museum in Korea. The Jeju Teddy Bear Museum opened specially for the European collectors and is more exhilarating than ever with special "Teddy Bear" entertainment.

Since the late 1970s, a generation of "bear artists" has taken tired old teddy to a new level. Art bears are nearly always hand-sewn, one-of-a-kind or limited-edition pieces. They're as diverse and creative as the artists themselves--huggable, droopy-limbed bears, minutely detailed mohair miniatures no bigger than thimbles, bears dressed as hobos, angel bears, clown bears, biblical bears, inquiring bears, shy bears, and bears of every personality, shape and expression.

How has a single toy eluded the restrictions of age, gender, nationality, culture and faith for over a hundred years? What makes people cling to their teddy bears, loved to within a millimeter of their fur, for lifetimes? The teddy bear started as a child's toy, something to comfort and please the young. That bear became a confidante, our best friend, the companion who kept us safe and sound during the trials of childhood. 

Learn how to clean your teddy bear friend at teddybears.gogoodpages.com

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