Teddy bear
More than just a cuddly companion, the teddy bear holds a unique place in history, its very name a direct link to an American president and a fascinating tale of compassion in the wild. This beloved stuffed animal, born from a simple act of refusal and a stroke of creative genius, quickly transcended its origins to become a global icon of comfort and childhood. Journey with us to uncover the remarkable story behind this timeless toy, from its unexpected beginnings to its enduring cultural legacy. The teddy bear's name comes directly from President Theodore Roosevelt, thanks to a political cartoon depicting an unusual hunting incident. This iconic toy was developed almost simultaneously in the early 20th century by two different toymakers, one in Germany and one in the United States, unaware of each other's work. Beyond being a child's plaything, the teddy bear has permeated culture, becoming a cherished collectible, a symbol of comfort in times of crisis, and a ubiquitous figure in media.
AI Summary
More than just a cuddly companion, the teddy bear holds a unique place in history, its very name a direct link to an American president and a fascinating tale of compassion in the wild. This beloved stuffed animal, born from a simple act of refusal and a stroke of creative genius, quickly transcended its origins to become a global icon of comfort and childhood. Journey with us to uncover the remarkable story behind this timeless toy, from its unexpected beginnings to its enduring cultural legacy.
- The teddy bear's name comes directly from President Theodore Roosevelt, thanks to a political cartoon depicting an unusual hunting incident.
- This iconic toy was developed almost simultaneously in the early 20th century by two different toymakers, one in Germany and one in the United States, unaware of each other's work.
- Beyond being a child's plaything, the teddy bear has permeated culture, becoming a cherished collectible, a symbol of comfort in times of crisis, and a ubiquitous figure in media.
A Presidential Bear Hunt
Our story begins in November 1902, deep in the Mississippi wilderness. The 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt—fondly, if reluctantly, known as 'Teddy'—was on a bear hunting trip. Unlike his fellow hunters, the President hadn't yet bagged an animal, leading his attendants to take matters into their own hands.
After a long chase, a party led by Holt Collier, a freedman and skilled tracker, cornered and tied an American black bear to a willow tree. They presented the helpless animal to Roosevelt, suggesting he shoot it. But the President, ever the sportsman, refused.
Roosevelt deemed shooting a tied-up bear unsportsmanlike. He insisted the bear be put out of its misery, but not by his hand. This act of unexpected compassion quickly made its way into the national headlines, capturing public imagination.
From Cartoon to Companion
The incident was immortalized in a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman for The Washington Post. Initially, the cartoon showed an adult bear, but in subsequent drawings, Berryman began depicting the bear as smaller and cuter—a helpless cub. This endearing image resonated with the public.
Across the country, in New York City, a candy shop owner named Morris Michtom saw Berryman's cartoon. Inspired, he and his wife Rose crafted a small, soft, stuffed fabric bear cub. They displayed it in their shop window with a simple sign: "Teddy's bear."
The 'Teddy's bear' was an instant sensation! The demand was overwhelming, prompting Michtom to found the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. This humble creation marked the beginning of America's enduring love affair with the teddy bear.
A Parallel Creation in Germany
Remarkably, at almost the same time, half a world away in Germany, another toymaker was independently creating a similar stuffed bear. Richard Steiff, working for his aunt Margarete Steiff's renowned toy company, designed a plush bear that was exhibited at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903.
There, a buyer from New York, Hermann Berg, spotted Steiff's innovative design—known as model '55 PB'—and ordered a staggering 3,000 bears for the American market. The timing was uncanny; neither Michtom nor Steiff would have known about the other's groundbreaking toy due to the limited transatlantic communication of the era.
While Steiff's records confirm production of these bears, their arrival in the U.S. is shrouded in mystery. A popular tale suggests they were lost in a shipwreck, though toy historians believe it's more likely the early, perhaps less durable, designs simply didn't survive the test of time.
Evolution of an Icon
Early teddy bears were designed to resemble real bear cubs, featuring longer snouts and small, beady eyes. Over time, however, their appearance evolved. Modern teddy bears often boast larger eyes and foreheads, with smaller noses—features that mimic human infants, enhancing their perceived cuteness and appeal.
The materials used have also diversified greatly. While original teddies were often made with tawny mohair fur, today's bears are crafted from a vast array of fabrics. These include synthetic fur, velour, cotton, satin, and even denim, allowing for endless variations in texture and color.
Crafting Cuddles: Production
Commercial Manufacturing
Mass-produced teddy bears, primarily intended for children, are designed with safety as a paramount concern. This means using securely fastened eyes that won't pose a choking hazard and safety joints for movable limbs, or ensuring that joints are sewn for immobility. These plush toys must meet rigorous safety standards in many countries, including the U.S. and the EU.
Companies like the Vermont Teddy Bear Company lead the specialty market, while many mass-produced bears originate from countries with lower manufacturing costs, such as China and Indonesia. Yet, artisanal teddy bear makers still thrive, creating unique, handcrafted collectibles, often using traditional materials like mohair.
The Bear-Making Process
Cutting fabric pieces Sewing and turning inside out Filling with stuffing Assembling body parts and adding features
Amateur Crafting
Teddy bears are a beloved project for amateur toymakers, with countless patterns available both commercially and online. Many 'home-made' teddies are crafted as heartfelt gifts or for charity. A dedicated community of 'teddy bear artists' also exists, creating unique, decorated bears for retail, often incorporating sequins, beads, and ribbons.
These handmade creations come in various forms and materials, from sewn felt, cotton, or velour bears to adorable knitted or crocheted companions. The personal touch adds an extra layer of charm, making each bear truly one-of-a-kind.
The Teddy Bear's Enduring Cultural Impact
The teddy bear's popularity has only grown over the decades. In 2006 alone, retail sales of stuffed plush animals, including teddy bears, reached a staggering US$1.3 billion, driven by iconic brands like Gund and Ty Inc. Enthusiasts and collectors of these beloved bears even have a special name: arctophiles.
Specialty retailers, like the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, and popular 'build-your-own' chains, such as Build-A-Bear Workshop, continue to demonstrate the enduring appeal and cultural footprint of the teddy bear, proving its place in our hearts is well-secured.
A Curious Moral Panic
In a truly bizarre moment in history, a Catholic priest in Michigan declared teddy bears "horrible monstrosities" in 1907. He worried that these new toys would replace traditional dolls, causing girls to lose their maternal instincts, leading to declining birth rates, and, in his view, something he termed 'race suicide.' This peculiar concern gained widespread, though fortunately short-lived, attention.
Teddy Bear Museums
The world's first teddy bear museum opened in Petersfield, England, in 1984, followed by a similar institution in Naples, Florida, in 1990. While both have since closed, their legacy lives on, and many other teddy bear museums continue to celebrate the history and artistry of these charming collectibles around the globe.
A Symbol of Comfort in Crisis
Beyond play, teddy bears have found a poignant role in emergency services. Police, fire, and medical officials discovered that offering a teddy bear to a child during a crisis can provide immense comfort, helping to stabilize and calm them. Programs like 'Teddy Bear Cops' actively distribute these soft companions to first responders across the United States for just this purpose.
The World's Largest Teddy
In a remarkable feat, the world's largest teddy bear, named Xonita, was created in Xonacatlán, Mexico, in 2019. Measuring an astonishing 19.41 meters (63 ft 8 in) in length, she was built with the same materials as a commercial bear, complete with tiara, dress, eyes, and nose. Xonita stands as a testament to the bear's global adoration.
The Brief Reign of Billy Possum
After William Howard Taft won the 1908 presidential election, some tried to launch the 'Billy Possum' plush toy, hoping it would replace the teddy bear. Inspired by Taft's fondness for 'possum and taters,' it aimed to capitalize on presidential popularity, much like Roosevelt's bear.
Toy companies advertised, predicting the end of the teddy bear era. However, the Billy Possum never achieved the same popularity or lasting legacy, fading into obscurity while the teddy bear continued its beloved reign.
Teddy Bears in Popular Culture
The teddy bear's charm has made it a recurring motif throughout popular culture, inspiring countless stories, songs, and characters that have captured hearts for generations.
Year Creation Description 1907 "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" Instrumental by John W. Bratton, later with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. 1920 Rupert Bear Comic character appearing in the Daily Express. 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh Based on A. A. Milne's son's teddy bear, adapted by Disney since 1966. 1955 Sooty British television puppet. 1957 "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" Number one hit song for Elvis Presley. 1958 Paddington Bear Character from Michael Bond's children's books. 1968 Corduroy Children's book about a department store teddy bear. 1982 SuperTed Animated superhero teddy bear. 1983 Care Bears Colorful plush teddy bears with individual symbols. 1985 Pudsey Bear Mascot for BBC Children in Need. 1985 Teddy Ruxpin Best-selling animatronic toy. 1990s Teddy (Mr. Bean) Mr. Bean's knitted companion in the sitcom. 2003 Rilakkuma Popular Japanese teddy bear character. 2009 Misery Bear British web series character. 2010 Naughty Bear Video game series. 2012 Ted Adult comedy film franchise about a living teddy bear. 2021 Teddy Tamil-language fantasy action film. 2024 Imaginary Horror film featuring a supernatural teddy bear.
Article
Teddy bear
A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first decade of the 20th century by two toymakers: Richard Steiff in Germany and Michtom in the United States. It became a popular children's toy, and it has been celebrated in story, song, and film.
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. Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children, and they are often given to adults to signify affection, congratulations, or sympathy.
History
Teddy bear
A 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the teddy bear name.
The name teddy bear comes from Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, who was often referred to as "Teddy" (a nickname he loathed). The name originated from an incident on a bear-hunting trip in the U.S. state of Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Andrew H. Longino, the 35th governor of Mississippi. There were several other hunters competing, including LeRoy Percy, and most of them had already killed an animal. A party of Roosevelt's attendants, led by freedman Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bear to a willow tree after a long and exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot the bear dead, although Collier told Roosevelt not to shoot the bear while it was tied. Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon depicted an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.
Morris Michtom saw the Berryman drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a small soft bear cub and put it in his candy-shop window at 404 Tompkins Avenue in New York City with a sign reading "Teddy's bear". The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.
A little earlier in 1902 in Germany, the Steiff firm 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 the composer Alban Berg). He ordered 3,000 to be sent to the United States. 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 shipwreck story is disputed – the 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. 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.
The American writer Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while the American composer John W. Bratton wrote an instrumental "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", a "characteristic two-step", in 1907, which later had words written to it by the Irish lyricist Jimmy Kennedy in 1932.
Early teddy bears were made to look like real bears, with extended snouts and beady eyes. Modern teddy bears are generally distinguished by larger eyes and foreheads and smaller noses, baby-like 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
Teddy bear
A worker stuffing a teddy bear in a toy factory, 1917
Commercial
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. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company in the U.S. is one of the world's largest specialty marketers of teddy bears.
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 with low production costs, 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. Mohair, the fur shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats, is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed.
• Making of a teddy bear • 1: Cutting • 2: Sewing and turning • 3: Filling • 4: Assembling
Amateur
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
Teddy bear
An RAF Boulton Paul Defiant crew with their teddy bear mascot at RAF Biggin Hill during World War II
Retail sales of stuffed plush animals including teddy bears totaled US$1.3 billion in 2006, with manufacturers including Gund and Ty Inc.
Teddy bear plush toys have enjoyed ongoing popularity, complete with specialty retailers such as Teddy Atelier Stursberg and Vermont Teddy Bear Company, as well as do-it-yourself chains including Build-A-Bear Workshop. Those who are fond of or collect teddy bears are called arctophiles.
Moral panic
In 1907, Michael G. Esper, a Catholic priest in Michigan, declared teddy bears to be "horrible monstrosities", which by supplanting the "good old dolls" would cause girls to lose the urge to nurture babies, leading to declining birth rates among the white population and race suicide. The suggestion attracted widespread but short-lived attention.
Museums
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.
Emergency services
Because police, fire and medical officials found that giving a teddy bear to a child during a crisis stabilized and calmed them, NAPLC created the Teddy Bear Cops program to distribute teddy bears to police, fire, and medical responders throughout the United States.
April Fools' Day
On April Fools' Day 1972, issue 90 of The Veterinary Record published a paper on the diseases of Brunus edwardii detailing common afflictions of teddy bears.
World's largest teddy bear
The largest teddy bear measures 19.41 m (63 ft 8 in) in length and was constructed by Municipio de Xonacatlán, Ideas por México and Agrupación de Productores de Peluche (all Mexico), in Estado de México, on 28 April 2019. The bear was displayed at the local stadium in the city of Xonacatlán, and was made with the same materials as a commercially available teddy bear, including details such as a tiara, dress, eyes, and nose. The bear was dubbed Xonita, after the town.
Billy Possum
The Billy Possum was a plush toy created after William Howard Taft won the 1908 United States presidential election. The toy was a stuffed possum, made to replace the teddy bear. The possum was chosen because of Taft's love for "possum and taters", and as a symbol of southern pride. Toy companies making them advertised using slogans predicting the end of teddy bear popularity. Those around Taft theorized that he would be remembered in a similar way as Roosevelt with a popular toy. However, the Billy Possum plush toy didn't achieve the same level of popularity or enduring legacy, and the toy's production and impact were minimal in comparison.
In popular culture
• The original toy inspired John Walter Bratton to compose the melody to "Teddy Bears' Picnic" in 1907, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy added in 1932. • Rupert Bear comic has appeared in Daily Express since November 1920. • Winnie-the-Pooh is based on a teddy bear owned by Christopher Robin Milne, the son of the author A. A. Milne; the character first appeared in a 1926 children's book and has been adapted by Disney for animated shorts since 1966. • The Tubby Bear family from Enid Blyton's Noddy series, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Tubby Bear, their son Master Tubby Bear, and their niece Tessie Bear. • Sooty began broadcasting on British television in 1955. • "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" was a number one hit for Elvis Presley in 1957. • Paddington Bear is based on a teddy bear purchased by the British author Michael Bond, first appearing in a 1958 children's book. • Rilakkuma is a teddy bear which debuted in Japan in 2003. • Corduroy is a 1968 children's book based on an anthropomorphic teddy bear in a department store. • SuperTed is a superhero teddy bear in an animated television series first airing in 1982. • Care Bears were first produced as colorful plush teddy bears in 1983. • Pudsey Bear has been the mascot for Children in Need since 1985. • Teddy Ruxpin was the best-selling toy of 1985 and 1986. • Teddy is a knitted toy oddity in the 1990s sitcom Mr. Bean. • Misery Bear was featured in a series of fourteen shorts for the BBC website between 2009 and 2012. • Naughty Bear (2010), and its 2012 sequel Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise, are video games based on an anthropomorphic teddy bear who seeks revenge on the other bears that ostracised him. • Ted bases its adult comedy on a teddy bear come to life. • Teddy is a 2021 Tamil-language fantasy action film. • Imaginary is a 2024 film produced by Blumhouse Productions and directed by Jeff Wadlow. The movie revolves around a supernatural teddy bear that befriends a child.