I've posted
once before about this bear, shortly after I found him, but he's had a lot of work done since then and I thought he was worth another look. One of the favorites from my collection, this large, 20 inch British bear dates from around 1915, and came wearing an antique child's coat of cranberry colored wool. His original owner had added a few school pins to the coat, including a prefect's badge and what might have been a track and field medal.
I added an old Oddfellows pin, given that the bear has a rather odd, yet endearing, appearance. At some point in his long life, he experienced eye replacement surgery, and apparently his doctor was all out of matching shoe buttons. I wouldn't change it though: the mismatched eyes give him great character.
Anyway, every time I'm antiquing I keep an eye out for more badges for Oddfellow's coat. Here's what he has so far:
Some of my favorites are in this closeup: another Oddfellows badge, a "23 Skidoo!" pinback from the 1920s, and a teeny tiny Charlie McCarthy.
The large Oddfellows badge below dates to the early 1900s.
Vintage pins, including a University of Michigan football badge, an old State Fair souvenir, and a Heinz Pickles advertising pin adorn the left side of the coat.
Another favorite, these flight wings were a premium from the Captain Midnight radio show:
Oh, I could kiss his little nose - It looks like someone already has.
ReplyDeleteHe looks proud to wear all of those wonderful badges too. Wonderful bear.
I love this bear, his slightly crosseyed look makes him premanently bemused. I'm sure he's wondering just what he did to earn all these wonderful medals and pins.
ReplyDeleteHe must be a fairly strong bear to be able to sit up and not fall over with the weight of all of those pins!! He's a very handsome fellow indeed!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're all liking him! Since I posted these pics, some of his new fans have sent him even more badges...I think he may in fact topple over soon from the weight!
ReplyDeleteThe badges are so cool!
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