ven as a Christmas gift in 1923 and was never taken out of the paper bag. It is tissue mint, only taken out for the photo you see here. Value? There was one like it a couple of years ago in a Sotheby’s auction, but it was described as faded color and 80 percent mohair coverage, but still cute. It sold for $11,000. The one shown here is perfect. You tell me what it is worth.
Remember: There is no substitute for reading, attending shows and checking with experts who want to help you enjoy what they have already enjoyed for many years. Good hunting!
Teddy Roosevelt, on a much publicized Mississippi bear hunt in 1902, acted in a very sportsmanlike manner by refusing to shoot a black bear that had been brought to him essentially as “target practice.”
Cartoonist Clifford Berryman, the renowned Washington Post commentator, drew a cartoon depicting the President with the tethered bear and the phrase “Drawing the line in Mississippi.” It appeared in Washington Post the next day.
Over the next few years that little bear began showing up in many political cartoons with Teddy Roosevelt, and soon Berryman’s little bear, became know as Teddy’s bear. Eventually the apostrophe was dropped and the stuffed toy sensation became officially known by everyone in 1907 as simply “ teddy bear.”
It should be noted that the original cartoon had a very limited release, and that in June of 1907 it was copyrited, in a redrawn and signed form. This release, some 5 years later, is the one which received massive attention by the population.
A museum case featuring original American teddy bears: BMC(Bruin), Hecla, Uncle Remus, Knickerbocker, Ideal Muff, and a blue Ideal.
Ken Yenke is an author, collector and retired corporate account manager who traveled the world for work and his passion: teddy bears. His books, Teddy Bear Treasury Vol. 1, Bing Bears and Toys and Teddy Bear Treasury Vol. 2 are available for sale on his website. He lives in Cleveland with his wife, Brenda, and is the curator of the Chelsea Teddy Bear and Toy Museum in Chelsea, Mich.
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