Teddy Bear History

On November 14, 1902, the 26th President of the United States, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, went to Mississippi to settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. While there, Roosevelt agreed to join in a bear hunt. Accustomed to a strenuous, physical hunt, he was a bit dismayed by the unfamiliar method of using packs of dogs to track and chase prey leaving the hunter to only wait for his animal

Hunting conditions proved unfavorable for the president and late into the day he still hadn't had success. Determined to find a suitable quarry for his president, guide Holt Collier set off to find him a bear. Tracking a 235 pound bear to a water hole, he clubbed it over the head and tied it to a tree. Roosevelt was then summoned to shoot the bear and claim his prize. The president was unimpressed by the bound, dazed, and bleeding bear. Saying, "Spare the bear! I will not shoot a tethered animal." He refused his prize and forbade anyone else from claiming it.

Reporters with the hunting party spread the news of Roosevelt's fair play nationwide. Among those inspired by the story was political cartoonist Clifford Berryman. Berryman drew a cartoon of the incident portraying the tethered bear sitting innocently with huge, scared eyes. The cartoon captioned "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" was featured on the front cover of The Washington Post on November 16, 1902.

The cartoon was reprinted in newspapers all over the country and Roosevelt's popularity soared. For the remainder of his political career his mascot was Teddy's Bear and Berryman continued to use it all his cartoons. It signified to the public how Roosevelt could not be swayed from doing what he thought was right. It is debatable how much of a role it played in his re-election in 1905.

As news spread of Roosevelt's adventure and Berryman's cartoon the imagination of New York toy storeowners Morris and Rose Michtom was sparked. Using Berryman's Bear as a guide, they designed a bear very unlike the toy bears available at the time. Toy bears were typically portrayed on all fours with features similar to real bears. The Michtoms new bear was sweet and cuddly, filled with excelsior stuffing and adorned with black buttons for eyes.

Rose made two of the bears and they were placed in the store's window. They became an instant success. The Michtoms then asked President Roosevelt for permission to call the bears "Teddy's Bears" and the Teddy Bear was born.

The demand for Teddy's Bears was so strong that within a year of its creation the Michtoms closed their candy store. With the help of the wholesale firm, Butler Brothers, the first teddy bear manufacturer in the United States was founded. They called it the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. It remained a successful business and in 1938 changed its name to Ideal Toy Company.

The term Teddy Bear (without the s) first appeared in the October 1906 issue of Playthings Magazine. Soon even the Steiff Company was using it for their bears and it became the accepted term.

The teddy bear is the most popular plush toy and it's possible it's the most popular of all toys. While other toys have enjoyed their popularity and then disappeared, the teddy bear has stood the test of time. They are bought for our new babies, our friends, and our loved ones. There just doesn't seem to be an occasion where a teddy bear isn't just the right gift. We dress them up, make them musical, and treasure them as collector's pieces and beloved friends.

Sharon Lauer is a free lance writer and the marketing director for [http://www.everyoccasiongiftshop.com] and http://www.simplythebestbaskets.com. She regularly writes articles on various aspects of gifts and gift giving.

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History of the Teddy Bear - Part I

It is hard to imagine what life would be like without teddy bears. But, it was not always that way. Part 1 of this three-part history of this teddy bear series will guide you through the early years starting in the early 1900s. What is interesting to note, about the history of the teddy bear, is the fact that its origin occurred in the same year in two different parts of the world. One in the United States of America during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and the other in Germany. Here is the teddy bear's story.

In the early 1900s, 1902 to be exact, a cartoonist by the name of Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon called "Drawing the Line in the Mississippi". It showed the then president, Theodore Roosevelt, refusing to shoot a baby bear that his men had captured and tied to a tree. According to history, Roosevelt had traveled to Mississippi to help settle a border dispute. To help please the president, his hosts took him bear hunting; but because the hunting was so poor, his men captured a small bear and tied the bear to a tree for the president to shoot. Roosevelt refused. This story was later captured in cartoon form by Berryman.

Following its initial publication in the Washington Post, November 16, 1902, the cartoon created an immediate sensation, and it was subsequently reprinted in other papers. Including a newspaper in New York. There, this cartoon inspired Morris and Rose Michtom to create a bear in honor of the president's actions. Rose Michtom made a bear, named it "Teddy's Bear" and put it in their store window where it was immediately sold. More bears were created and quickly sold. It did not take long before the Michtoms could not keep up with the demand. It was then that they founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, the first teddy bear manufacturer in the United States. During the course of their discovery, the Michtom's wrote to the president and asked for permission to use the name "Teddy" in his honor. The president agreed.

Simultaneously in Germany, Margarete Steiff's nephew was working in her stuffed toy business [Steiff] and had drawn sketches of bear cubs that were in the Stuttgart Zoo. These designs were used to created a prototype of a toy bear. A number of months later, Steiff introduced its first bear at the Leipzig Toy Fair. Although European buyers showed minimal interest, there was growing interest in "Teddy's Bear" in America due to the publicity surrounding the president and the bear cub. An America buyer ordered 3000 bears to be shipped to America.

By 1906, the United States was in the midst of a teddy bear craze. This would be comparable to the Cabbage Patch doll craze in the 1980s and the most recent Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s. An American composer J.K. Bratton created the score for the Teddy Bear's Picnic with the lyrics being provided by Jimmy Bratton. Teddy bear adventure story books were being written and the teddy bear manufacturers were creating teddy bears that came in all shapes and sizes. The apostrophe 's' was dropped from "Teddy's Bear" and the word "teddy bear" became the accepted term for this soft plush toy. Steiff, also, adopted the world "teddy bear" for their bear products.

Other competitors sprang up to get into the forray of manufacturing teddy bears; but many did not last the test of time. Except one, Gund Manufacturing Corporation, which started making bears in 1906 and is still creating them today.

In 1926 over in England, A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin Milne's father, starting writing stories about his son's adventures with his teddy bear and other stuffed animals. Father and son made many trips to the London Zoo and there fell in love with "Winnie" an orphaned bear. And the Winnie the Pooh series was born.

History of the Teddy Bear - Part II will discuss more great years between 1920-1940

A veteran teacher of 15 years, Liz Vanderwater collects teddy bears and has incorporated traveling teddy bears into her classroom. Student teddy bears have traveled around the world and visited all 7 continents.

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