facility that measured 50 feet by 50 feet! This was against the urging of his friends, who said he could not compete against the long-established German factories. Pictured at left is a 20-inch, 1906-07 Ideal teddy bear with pointed felt footpads and triangular head, which are features of Ideal’s early production. Though more scarce than Steiff, Ideal bears usually bring 25 to 30 percent of comparable Steiff models. This Ideal is a mint, rare long-haired 20-inch version, valued at $3,000 to $5,000.
|This Schuco original Bellhop/Messenger Yes-No teddy bear is from 1920. This was purchased from Skinner Inc.|
Schuco is one of the premier early German teddy bear and toy producers. As a teenager, Heinrich Mueller served an apprenticeship at the Bing Company, then started his own company in 1912. In my humble opinion, the Schuco Yes-No is the single greatest bear toy ever made. Introduced in 1920, it is the first “talking bear” — Schuco also made cats and dogs and birds — although it is nonverbal. Yes-No bears have tails that allow users to rotate the bear’s head to say yes or no. In an age of storytellers, parents and librarians loved to use Schuco’s Yes-No bears to tell stories.
The Bellhop/Messenger bear, with shoe-button eyes, and a beautiful felt uniform, was a gigantic hit. Over the years, I have seen a typical 12- to 16-inch version command more than $5,000 at auction. The mint version pictured at right is valued in that area. Glass eyes were used from 1923 onward.
|This magnificent 16-inch Teal Blue English Farnell teddy bear is from the Roaring ’20s.|
Rare … appealing … and mint! In the roaring ’20s, lively colors were used by teddy bear makers: red, orange, blue and combinations. Farnell made a limited number of turquoise, or teal, teddy bears, as did several other companies. Farnell, however was the “Steiff” of England, and the company also sold its honey-colored bear from Harrods, which Christopher Robin called Winnie the Pooh.
Shown here is an original 1920s turquoise 16-inch Farnell teddy bear that was given 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, Mi