Teddy Bear in a Tin

Antique toy collecting is, in many ways, a treasure hunt, and treasures can sometimes be hiding in the most unlikely of places...like this rusty five inch wide tin box. 

 Nasty looking, isn't it? I'm amazed it wasn't just 

thrown out long ago...

But I'm extremely grateful it wasn't, because inside, 

where she clearly has lived for a very long time, 

was this four inch tall c.1910 Steiff bear and her silver tea set, 

all nestled in an antique embroidered silk cloth:

 Her tea set is itty bitty: the tray is two and a half inches long, 

and the teapot is just an inch tall.

For a sense of the bear's smallness, here she is nestled in my hand:

I thought she might appreciate being out of her box after such a long time tucked away, so here she is all moved into my antique tin kitchen, where she can make as much tea as she likes:

Funny Little British Bear

One of my favorite antique teddy bears, and one of the first I purchased years ago, is this comical little 8 1/2 inch British bear, made in the 1920s. I can't identify a maker, but that doesn't really matter: he has such a great expression and so much charm.

 "Don't I just look irresistably kissable?"

Antique Aetna Teddy Bear

One of the rarest antique teddy bears in my collection is this one, made by the American company Aetna around 1907. Aetna made beautiful bears with gentle, almost wistful, expressions, but for some reason the company was very short-lived, making their teddies hard to find today. One of their defining characteristics was cardboard lining in the soles of the bears' feet. My example measures 11 inches tall and sports a new ribbon with a vintage American flag pin.

Antique Miniature Steiff Bear

I got my first antique miniature Steiff bear for my birthday this week. He's 5 inches tall, circa 1910, and has a great face.

For a sense of scale, he here is tucked inside a thermos mug:

Steiff Dealer Display Piece

Found at an antique show last weekend was an amazing thing: a motorized Steiff dealer display piece from the 1980s (labelled West Germany). It features a permanently attached, gorgeous cream-colored mohair bear holding a Steiff flag (the pennant is a replacement) on a rotating stand marked "Official Steiff Dealer". The entire piece is about 18 inches tall, and originally it would have stood on top of a display case in a high-end toy shop or specialty store, slowly revolving, drawing attention to itself, urging shoppers to buy lotsa Steiff.

Teddy Bear Shoes

I got this great old bear, Nosey Parker, last week, and found a pair of antique toddler's boots at a weekend show that seem to suit him perfectly.

Here he is, showing them off:

With the addition of a dapper straw hat, Parker is ready
to hit the town:

1950s Pedigree Teddy Bear

At an antique show this past weekend, I found this rather odd teddy bear, made in Ireland by Pedigree in the 1950s. He has such a strange conformation, with those loooong legs and itty bitty stumpy arms:

And his head is even odder, described by several of my teddy bear guide books as "bulbous", with gigantic, oversized eyes and a huge schnoz made of molded felt. I've never seen a bear with features that fill so much of his face:

Antique Teddy Bear Twins

The Teddy Bear Twins are a couple of (originally) matching 

16 inch British bears circa 1916-18. 

They belonged to twin brothers 

who moved to the United States in the 1920s.  

The bears were constant companions as the boys grew up.

The bear on the left has his original dark paw pads, while his
sibling on the right has felt replacements.

The bears have unusually long bodies, with very exaggerated humps, 

which can be seen in profile:

It's interesting to see how differently the matched pair of bears have evolved, due to the different use they withstood from their owners. Although both were clearly well-loved, one has definitely fared better, while his brother, in addition to losing his pads, has been squashed flat (probably from being slept on for years and years) and appears to have had a nose job.

I found these bears several years ago, and, I'm ashamed to say,

 haven't come up with names for them yet.

Suggestions welcome!

Worn Old Bear

In my antique teddy bear collection live several bears who are in minty condition, which is remarkable considering their 100+ year ages.
And while it's always a thrill to find such teddies, there's something touching about rescuing a spectacularly love-worn bear. The character present in the face of a ted who's been hugged almost to pieces, patched and re-patched, and yet carefully preserved, is really a priceless quality.

My latest such find is this 18 inch 1920s British bear who suffered from chronic Nose Kissing, which has resulted in the appearance below. He's very sensitive about it; the other bears and I try not to stare. But I feel it's given him a certain charm, and he looks like he's full of stories about the things he's seen over his long life. I call him "Nosey Parker."

Teddy Troll Got a Girlfriend!

It's strange how things happen sometimes in toy collecting: you can search for a toy for years, and then, after you find it, all of a sudden you see another one, and another one...

I had looked for the rarely seen "Teddy Bear Troll" for about 2 years before I found this one, posted a couple of weeks ago. And just a few days after posting about him, look what turned up: the girl version (you can tell by her stereotypical girly attributes: long hair, bow and heart patch) in minty condition, complete with her original tag! She's the only one I've ever seen with a tag, and so, finally, we know the actual name and maker of this very odd troll. These were called "Neanderthal People" and were made by Timely Toys of Brooklyn, New York in the 1960s. Like the early troll dolls, they were advertised as "good luck" charms, but in reality, they have a rather disturbing appearance...

Teddy Bear Troll

This particular 1960s troll is one of the rarest and strangest in my collection. Measuring 19 inches tall, it features a vinyl troll face on a stuffed body of synthetic fur, along with, inexplicably, a patched hillbilly type vest. It's like a psychedelic cross between a troll and a teddy bear, and for this reason is frequently called the Teddy Bear Troll. It's yet another toy that tends to disturb people. As one observer put it, "he looks like he's just waiting for you to turn away so he can attack and eat you." I keep him in a securely closed cupboard.

Stuffed Troll Dolls

Two of my favorite trolls are these 11 inch dolls made by Scandia House in 1965. Unique and charming, with friendlier expressions than a lot of vintage trolls, these feature vinyl heads on cuddly stuffed bodies. Relatively hard to find, these two are made even more special by their provenance: they came from the collections of Debra Clark and Pat Peterson, authors of the two classic guides to vintage trolls, the Troll Identification and Price Guide and Collector's Guide to Trolls.

Dotty Teddy Bears

Just got another bear made by Peng Peng, teddy artist extraordinaire: Domino, this little 4 1/2 inch panda wearing her fab polka-dotted dress. Here she is with her new friend, my 1950s British Merrythought teddy who is also into dotty fashions.
I love the Merrythought's big nose: 

it gives her such a comical look.

Here's Domino doing a little spring cleaning 

(she's overly optimistic: we just got 6 inches of snow yesterday...).

Antique American Teddy Bear

Found this guy at a toy show last weekend: an early American teddy bear made around 1908. He's in need of a good cleaning and a little restoration (proper ear reattachment, paw pad patching) but his enchanting expression makes him worth it!

People have a tendency to classify all "cute" early American teddies as made by Ideal, and that's exactly how the seller labelled this one, but this bear has 2 very distinctive traits that help identify it: a wooly coat, as opposed to mohair, and chopped cork stuffing as opposed to wood shavings, straw, or excelsior. These features are seen in only two manufacturers that I'm aware of: Hahn & Amberg and the Miller Manufacturing Company, who made what they referred to as a "Hygienic Bear".  They are both much rarer than Ideals, so it's good to be aware when you're "on the hunt." At first, I thought this one was a Hahn, which was the firm primarily known for the use of cork stuffing,  but after comparing him to my other, confirmed Hahn & Amberg and finding a bit more info. on Miller, I'm reclassifying him as the latter.

Much-Loved Schuco Wind Up Mouse

Here's one of the most love-worn toys in my collection: an extremely tattered 1920s somersaulting mouse (actually an early, unlicensed Mickey Mouse knockoff made by Schuco). Originally this mouse, about the size of the real thing, would have had inset felt ears, felt hands and feet, and cloth covering his arms and legs, but it's all been loved away. I realize a lot of people would have passed over this item, but when I spotted him buried in a pile of rusty keys, chipped marbles, and broken lead soldiers in a dealer's junk case, he looked so forlorn, and I just couldn't leave him there! 

Here he is being chauffeured about in his tin toy car by his friend, a tiny 1920s Schuco teddy bear:

Schuco Janus Bear

I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a thematically appropriate toy to begin January's postings. After much thought and poking about in various cupboards and boxes, I found it: this small Schuco bear. But first, a few words about Janus, the Roman god who symbolized transitions, passages, beginnings and endings, and whose image, of a head with two faces looking in opposite directions, was affixed to ancient gates and doorways. Here he is, in a statue currently held by the Vatican.

Our month of January is named after him, as is this little bear, the Schuco Janus bear.

Like his namesake, the 3 1/2 inch Janus bear has two faces on opposite sides of his head. The first is a fairly standard Schuco style teddy bear face:

while the second is quite different, a sort of maniacally gleeful, pop-eyed character (originally he would also have had a protruding red tongue, but my example has lost his):

To change from one face to the other, you just turn a small knob at the bear's base, and a rod within his head swivels accordingly. You can see the mechanism in this last picture, as well as a glimpse of the two faces.

The Schuco Janus bear is highly sought by collectors, and deemed "freaking creepy" by pretty much everyone else.

Christmas Loot 2009

Well, the Christmas bacchanalia is over. Here's a glimpse of some of this year's loot: vintage Barbies, antique doll furniture and dishes, a tin toy grocery store, teddy bears, books, and a new camera (thanks to my brother Jody, the quality of pictures here will be much improved). Details in the following posts!

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday!

New Teddy Bears

I got two great new teddy bears by one of my favorite artists, Peng Peng, this Christmas!

The blue one with the big round head and googly eyes is based on an unusual 1915 British bear called Master Ted, and measures about 5 1/4 inches tall.

The itty bitty black bear, done in an antiqued style and only
4 1/2 inches tall, is named Bigelow.
He's a quiet fellow...

New & Old Toys

I collect mostly antique and vintage toys, but sometimes I do find new items that appeal to me. In the latter category are the wonderfully creative, very modern miniature teddy bears made by Peng Peng of Chicago. Here are some of the bears doing their holiday housekeeping and grocery shopping for Christmas dinner. The kitchen playset and grocery stores are from the 1940s-1950s, but the bears seem to fit right in!

Antique American Teddy Bear

I just bought...oops, I mean, Santa just delivered early...this adorable antique teddy bear! He's got a lot of wear, and will need to go to the teddy bear restorer, but I just couldn't resist his cute face. His big nose and low-set ears give him great charm, and he has such a gentle expression. He's American-made, by Ideal, from around 1907 - 1908. I've named him Burgess, after Burgess Meredith, who also had quite a prominent schnoz.