Teddy Bear Stories and Facts
Collectible Toy History: Teddy Roosevelt's Bear to Winnie-the-Pooh
An interesting history of the teddy bear, the most lovable toy in American history and the childhood friend of almost every boy and girl.
There are two kinds of friends we have when we’re young – the kids you meet at school and the teddy bear you sleep with. Teddy bears have been a symbol of love, friendship, and loyalty for decades. They are the “sweetheart” prize given away on carnival midways. Winnie The Pooh has become one of the most beloved cartoon and book characters of all time. A team of students at M.I.T. is even creating a high tech version of the toy named The Huggable that responds to the physical actions of the owner by hugging and caressing them back. But where did these bears come from and why do we love them so much?
A Compassionate Act
The teddy bear story starts with a very unlikely event – a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. People from both sides of the dispute invited then-President Theodore Roosevelt for a hunting trip in the hopes that he’d resolve the dispute. Unfortunately, they were having no luck in finding wild game, and when one of the party members finally captured a bear, they tied it to a tree and called the President over to shoot it. Roosevelt, being an avid sportsman, saw the helpless creature tied to a tree and declared that he couldn’t harm the poor bear and word of the incident soon spread.
The Birth of a Bear
A few days later, on November 16, 1902, a political cartoon of the incident by Clifford Berryman was published in The Washington Post. Morris and Rose Michtom, a couple that owned a candy store in Brooklyn, NY, saw the cartoon and were inspired to create a new toy bear. This bear wasn’t like the scary bears that had previously been sold at stores, but was cuddly, soft, and stood upright. The Mochtoms asked President Roosevelt for permission to use his nickname to name their bear, he consented, and the “Teddy Bear” was born.
An Instant Hit
The bear craze caught on quickly, both in the United States and abroad. Women carried the bears with them everywhere they went, children had their portraits taken with their bears, and President Roosevelt made the teddy bear his campaign mascot and was elected to another term. Companies in Germany and England began manufacturing the bears in record numbers. In 1921, a boy named Christopher Robin Milne received one of these bears as a present from his mother for his first birthday. Five years later, his father, A.A. Milne, began publishing a series of books based on the adventures of little Christopher and his teddy bear, Winnie-the-Pooh.
The Teddy Bear Today
Today teddy bears are a part of American life and the global culture. They are exchanged with girlfriends at Valentine’s Day along with the traditional flowers and candies. They are given to babies to cuddle and grow up with. They show up in the hospital rooms of patients with “get well” cards. Collectors treasure them and Korea’s Teddy Bear Exhibition is one of the most extravagant toy shows in the world. The teddy bear has struck an emotional and deeply personal chord with people. It looks like these lovable toys will be with us for years to come.
