Dec 16 2007
A quick history of the teddy bear
In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt went to Mississippi to settle a border dispute between Louisiana and Mississippi. While he was there he went on a hunting trip. Members of the hunting party tied a small black bear cub to a tree for him to shoot. Seeing this small helpless bear tied up, President Roosevelt refused to shoot at the cub.
The next day cartoonist Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon depicting Roosevelt refusing to shoot the bear. Morris Michtom, a storekeeper, asked his wife Rose to make a stuffed bear to place in his shop window. Michtom contacted the President asking his permission to name the stuffed bear Teddy. The president agreed and the Teddy Bear was born.
At the same time in Germany, a company owned by Margarete Steiff, was beginning to manufacture a stuffed bear of it’s own. These were the first time stuffed bears were introduced to the world.
From there the popularity of the teddy bear grew. Today almost all children have had a teddy bear at one time or another. You can find toy manufacturers, teddy bear artists, and stores selling teddy bears of all shapes and sizes. Gund(r) is a leading manufacturer of soft toys and is in the same league as The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory when it comes to quality. You can check them out at: www.gund.com, and www.vermontteddybear.com.
Quite a few teddy bear artists have sites on the internet where you can view their teddy bears online. Teddy bears on www.tbears.de are soem of the most expressive unique bears you will find anywhere. Their Lovable Fellows are one-of-a-kind or limited editions. Many hours are spent creating each face to give each bear it’s own personality traits. Check them out quickly if you would like to adopt one as they do go fast. One of a kind bears are also made by Alpaca, www.theoriginalalpakabear.com. These bears come indifferent colors, some even being multi-colored. Bears inspired by Autralia can be found on www.settlerbears.com.au.
Miniature bears can be located at www.designsbyterri.com. Domino is 2 3/4 inches tall and made of upholstery velvet. He comes with his own die cast taxi pedal car. Cute! More fantastic one-of-a-kind teddies can be found on www.tailoredteddies.com.
Thinking of starting your own teddy bear collection? Then visit www.bearhollow.net. The collector featured has opened her home to many adopted teddy bears. They reside in every room of the house and some outdoors as well. There are rooms in her home just for teddy bears!
And, of course, the newest store to feature teddy bears The Build A Bear Workshop. You might even have one of these stores at your local mall. You can build your own teddy from the beginning, making him personally your very own.
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