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."

Antique American Teddy Bear with Provenance

I've been collecting antique teddy bears for about 15 years, and I've just finally managed to acquire something I've longed for all that time: a bear with provenance. The greatest associated item one can hope for with an antique bear is a photo of the original owner holding said bear. The next best: a photo of the original owner, period. This find falls into a category of its own, as it includes a picture of the original owner, family photos, a handwritten geneaology, and a children's book, also from the original owner and inscribed with his name.

The bear is a 10 inch American ted, with a definitive date of 1917, given to his original owner when he was born. The bear has an inset fabric nose and glass bead eyes, and sports one of the greatest smiles I've ever seen on an antique teddy.

He was originally purchased for Daniel Munn Richmond, Junior, of Grundy Center, Iowa. Below is a school picture of Daniel, aged 6. Isn't he a cutie? And, if you look closely, you'll see an illustration of the Three Bears on the wall behind him...

Here's the inscription on the photo's back. It reads: "Daniel Munn Richmond, Junior  Age 6 years  May 1924   Grundy Center   Grundy Co.  Iowa"

A whole sheaf of genealogical treasures came with Daniel's bear, including photos of his family (that's mom and dad below), a handwritten family tree dating back to the 1770s, and a letter from his family members who sold the bear to my dealer (the same dealer who provided my Victorian doll trunks full of toys: she's really good at finding stuff like this):

The final item in the lot was this 1919 children's book, Doctor Rabbit and Grumpy Bear, inscribed with Daniel's name.

Daniel died in 1968 at the relatively young age of 51, but I hope he would be comforted to know his bear is being well-looked after.

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.

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.

Goofy Looking Bears

While I am always happy to add a high-quality, pedigreed antique Ideal or Steiff teddy bear to my collection, I have to admit that the bears that really make me smile tend to be mongrels: made by unknown makers of questionable skill, resulting in goofy and unusual creations. Here are two of my favorites. The guy with the hat, grin, and Jimmy Durante nose is a British ted from the 1930s. The somewhat startled-looking bear in the bow tie with the crooked ears is a 1920s German teddy.

Antique American Black Teddy Bear

While not one of the oldest bears in my collection, this teddy is one of the rarest. American made between 1910 - 1920, this simple "stick" type 14 inch bear is special because of his black mohair. For whatever reason, black bears were not popular and were made in very small numbers. I was lucky to find this one, and consider him one of my treasures.

Antique American Teddy Bears

Here are two of my favorite bears, both American made. The larger is a 20 inch Ideal bear circa 1904 - 1906, while the smaller is circa 1903-1904. The little guy wears an original Teddy Roosevelt campaign pin that his first owner got during the president's whistle-stop tour. This provenance makes him rather smug; you can see how he holds his nose in the air! His larger friend is a beautiful creamy Ideal with a cinnamon colored nose and a crazy big hump: see the next pic for a view. I call him "Mr. Slumpy."

Antique Steiff Teddy Bears

Here are two of my antique Steiff teddy bears, enjoying some early autumn sunshine. Measuring 9 and 13 inches, both date around 1908.

Antique American Teddy Bears

Presenting two of my favorite antique teddy bears, both by unknown American makers. The larger bear is about 24 inches tall, and dates to around 1910-1915. He wears my little brother Jody's handmade sailor suit: Jody wore this during his "terrible twos". Bear's little friend is a 10 inch ted from the 1920s.

They like to sit in the big armchair and watch the squirrels in the maple tree outside.

Old Homemade 3 Bears

When hunting for antique teddy bears, I'm usually after fully jointed mohair versions, made by major German, British, or American makers. I was consequently surprised to discover how much I liked this lot: a handmade set of the 3 Bears, made from a distinctly "low end" fabric, in a floppy, rag-doll style.

Dating to the Great Depression, I imagine they were some loving parent's attempt to create toys for their child who would otherwise be lacking. It's clear a lot of love and care went into their construction, from their painstakingly embroidered faces to their handsewn outfits (daddy bear even has a teeny-tiny hemmed handkerchief peeking out of his pocket!) It was love at first sight for me, and I simply had to bring them home.

Several years after finding the bears, I came across this vintage cookie jar, decorated with 3 bears who closely resemble their stuffed counterparts. Though not technically a cookie jar collector, I found I had to have this too...

Teddy Bear Restoration

I'm a sucker for "love-worn" teddy bears...they just look like they've given their all, and now they deserve some care in return. How anyone can throw out a battered teddy is beyond my understanding!
Still, this one was damaged well past even my high tolerance level. But I bought him anyway, because he's a very rare and special teddy: an American 1920s Sleep Eyed Bear.

When I found him, I had never seen a Sleep Eyed Bear (SEB) for sale in over 20 years of collecting, and I thought, "well, I can probably fix him. How hard can it be?" As it turned out, quite hard, and eventually SEB was sent away to a professional teddy bear restorer.
(Mar-Ke Mohair at www.teddybearrepair.com: highly recommended!)
A month later, SEB could hear out of both ears, smell, and smile, and he also felt much cleaner and sturdier. It was a truly amazing restoration.

Sleep Eyed Bears, when found, are usually damaged, because of the fragility of their internal mechanism. The head contains a metal framework that holds the celluloid eyes in place. When you tip the bear back, the eyes roll into a closed position. It's pretty ingenious, but also hard on the bear: the fabric tends to strain against the metal, resulting in tears over time, and if the fabric gets wet, the metal causes terrible staining that looks like...well, like poor Teddy has been a homicide victim. Thankfully, this one was saved and is now living a comfortable retirement, beguiling the other bears with stories of his trip to the restorer.

Antique Hahn & Amberg Teddy Bear

Introducing one of my very favorite antique teddy bears: "Barney", made by the American manufacturer, Hahn & Amberg, c.1907. Barney is a really unique bear, in a very desirable cinnamon shade. He's unusually made of a thick woolish fabric, similar to antique upholstery material, and is stuffed with shredded cork, which gives him a certain heftiness. I've wondered if his materials are partly responsible for his amazing preservation: Barney is practically mint. He measures about 13 inches tall, and has a happy, smiling face, very different from his stern German contemporaries.

1920s Teddy Bear

A local antique dealer found this minty 1920s American teddy bear at an estate sale and saved it for me. The 10-inch tall teddy appears absolutely unplayed with, and the faint mothball odor that attends it suggests it was carefully packed away when originally received 80 years ago.
I always have mixed feelings when I find an old toy in such shape. While it's wonderful to see a toy in this beautiful, original condition, it's also a bit sad to realize no child ever got the chance to play with and love it. Often the wear on a toy gives it a unique charm all its own, along with a sense of its history. Still, I'm delighted to have this minty-fresh little guy, and he looks very happy to be out of his box at last!