ROYAL BEARS

Even teddy bears are into the hype of Prince William and Kate Middleton Royal Wedding. Here is the proof…

Prince William

This teddy bear is the William Teddy Bear by the Great British Bear Company. Each handmade plush bear, limited to an edition of 5,000, comes with a replica of Kate Middleton’s engagement ring that is a full one and three-quarter inches in diameter.
William the Teddy Bear stands over 12 inches tall and comes dressed in full “Royal Bear Force” regalia. The bear’s peaked cap is decorated with golden die cast Royal Bear Force wings and is made from authentic Air Force blue fabric. His jacket’s brass buttons and press-pleated pockets make the uniform look just like the real thing. Double black and silver arm bands signify William’s rank of Flight Lieutenant. Across the bear’s chest is a Royal blue sash decorated with silver wings. The wings rest just above the Silver Star pinned to William’s jacket, an honor reserved for serving Royalty. According to the Great British Bear Company, it takes nearly 12 hours to make each “William” uniform, and it is the most detailed and authentic costume the company has ever made. The price is £47.94 (Php 3,422. 22) and each bear comes with a numbered commemorative certificate of authentication.

Catherine

This royal bride bear is absolutely a bear to behold launched by Hermann Spielwaren. She was made from luxurious mohair with excelsior stuffing, she is limited to only 250 pieces worldwide for the price of £249 (Php 17,775).
This lovely bear wears a detailed wedding dress and carries felt flowers in paw with Swarovski crystal flower detail. The bear wears a satin sash embroidered with the bride and grooms name and the wedding date.

Catherine

Pure. Noble. Elegant. This bear is the Steiff Prince William and Kate Royal Wedding Teddy Bear. Steiff, the inventors of the teddy bear over 100 years ago, have created a very special bear to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
'Catherine' stands 10.5" (27cm) when standing and has a gorgeous warm and soft light peach colored mohair coat.
Two intertwined hearts decorate one foot and a satin bow features both names of the happy couple! The price £165.00 (Php 11,778.60) for a very limited edition of 1500 pieces.

Catherine and William

This adorable royal bears were creations of Merrythought,
established in 1930 and has been hand-making Teddy Bears for over 80 years in Shropshire. The family-run company is the last remaining British teddy bear factory and is launching its latest limited edition bear to mark the Royal wedding.
The Commemorative Royal Wedding bear is limited to 75 and comes after its popular Prince William and Kate Middleton bears completely sold out. The Prince William and Kate Middleton limited edition Royal wedding teddy bears sit on the window sill at the Merrythought teddy bear factory on in Ironbridge, England.

Sources:
www.beargarden.uk.co
www.royalwedding.com
www.heart.co.com
www.hermann.uk.com

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT TEDDY

1954 German Teddy Bear

The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items. Now, teddy bears come in various styles and people can dress them up in many different styles and articles of clothing. Teddy bears are also among the most popular gifts for children and significant others on Valentine's Day, birthdays, Christmas and other holidays.

Popularity

Build-a-Bear Workshop

Retail sales of stuffed plush animals including teddy bears was $1.3 billion in 2006. The most commonly sold brands include Gund and Ty Inc. Brands associated with teddy bears that enjoyed strong popularity in the 1980s and 1990s are Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears.
Teddy bears have seen a resurgence in popularity as international "do-it-yourself" chains have opened. Among the largest and best-known are Build-A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

Popular and Most Loved bears

Some popular mass-marketed teddy bears made today include Rupert, Sooty, Paddington, and Pudsey Bear. Books have also been written with the teddy bear featured as their main character. These include Winnie-the Pooh, Corduroy, Teddy Tells Time, and Teddy Dressing.


Rupert and Sooty bear

Paddington and Pudsey bear

Winnie the Pooh and Curdoroy bear

Museums

The world's first Teddy Bear Museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. These were closed in 2006 and 2005 respectively, and the bears were sold in auctions, but there are today many Teddy Bear Museums around the world.

Source: Wikipedia

Teddy Bear Celebrates 100th Birthday
Tuesday, 3 December, 2002

A childhood favourite has reached a ripe old age - the teddy bear is 100 years old, reports BBC News Online's Georgina Pattinson. The toy was first created in 1902 and was named after the then president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. Now the teddy is big business: Hamleys toy shop in London expects to sell thousands before Christmas.
Christie's, the London auction house, has been holding a sale of teddy bears on Tuesday. The bears on sale are a selection from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day.
Historians agree the teddy bear got its name when 'Teddy' Roosevelt, as the 26th president was nicknamed, was on a hunting trip in Mississippi. The president failed to make a kill and so his hosts caught a bear, presenting it to him as a target. He refused to shoot it, saying: "Spare the bear". His action was immortalized in a Washington Post cartoon and, consequently, a pair of New York shopkeepers, Morris and Rose Michtom, made a soft toy bear they called Teddy's Bear.

At the same time, a factory in Germany owned by seamstress Margarete Steiff began making a soft plush, jointed bear - with a trademark button in the left ear. In 1903, the company exported 3,000 bears to America. Daniel Agnew, a specialist from Christie's, said the bears on sale on Tuesday were more than childhood toys. He explained the hobby of collecting bears had become more and more popular in recent years. "In the 1970s and 80s, it became a big collecting subject," he said. "Steiff was always the most expensive and is consequently the most valuable now."

In fact, the jointed bear is not modelled on the grizzly - but on the barribal bear, a golden bear with long arms and pronounced snout. The centenary sale at Christie's featured over 380 rare, unique and cuddly teddy bears from all over the world.

Faithful Companion

Famous manufacturers also include Schuco, Farnell and Merrythought and estimates for the bears range from £150 to £30,000. One bear - which sold for £28,200 - is a rare black Steiff teddy bear, one of only 600 ordered for England after the sinking of the Titanic on 14 April 1912. Another rare example is a Steiff hot-water bottle bear - which sold for £32,900.

The most poignant story behind the bears is that of 'Edwin' - a golden bear found in the breast pocket of soldier Percy Kynnersley-Baddlely, killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
The bear was sent back to the dead soldier's young widow, Verna, who placed it on a shelf next to her husband's photograph.
Edwin was expected to fetch a sum between £300 and £500 but was sold to a private collector for £4,230. But why are bears still so appealing? "That's a hard one to answer," said Mr Agnew. "A child can play with a bear like a doll - but a lot of children are not keen on dolls and if you are a boy you can play with it because it's like a grizzly bear. "Everyone has nostalgic memories about their bears."

Give Love

Libby Baldry, a teddy bear consultant at the toy store Hamleys, said teddy bears were one of the most popular items in the run-up to Christmas. "The most expensive one we've sold recently was for £975," she said. "Everybody has to have a teddy bear. "You can tell them your secrets and problems. "You can tell them everything and they don't answer back - they give love."

Source: BBC News World edition

The TEDDY BEAR story

Who started it all?
(The TEDDY BEAR story)

The 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt  is the person responsible for giving the teddy bear his name. On November 14, 1902, Roosevelt was helping settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana.  During his spare time he attended a bear hunt in Mississippi.   Through  the hunt, Roosevelt came upon a wounded young bear and commanded the mercy killing of the animal. The Washington Post ran a editorial cartoon created by the political cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman that illustrated the event.   The cartoon was called "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" and depicted both state line dispute and the bear hunt. At first Berryman drew the bear as a fierce animal, the bear had just killed a hunting dog.   Later, Berryman redrew the bear to make it a cuddly cub. The cartoon and the story it told became popular and within a year, the cartoon bear became a toy for children called the teddy bear.

from Archives of American Art

Who made the first toy bear called teddy bear?
By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide

Well there are several stories, below is the most popular one:   Morris Michtom made the first official toy bear called the teddy bear. Michtom owned a small novelty and candy store in Brooklyn, New York. His wife Rose was making toy bears for sale in their store. Michtom sent Roosevelt a bear and asked permission to use the teddy bear name. Roosevelt said yes. Michtom and a company called Butler Brothers, began to mass-produce the teddy bear. Within a year Michtom started his own company called the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. However, the truth is that no one is sure who made the first teddy bear.

the original Teddy bear can be found at the National Museum of Natural History

A man named Morris Michtom and his wife created a pair of stuffed bears to put in their shop window. They were an instant hit. With permission from President Roosevelt, they were given the name "Teddy's" Bears.

The shop became the Ideal Novelty and Toy company in 1907. That in turn became The Ideal Toy Company in 1938.

Before the advent of the upright teddy bears, the Steiff toy company of Germany, had produced stuffed bears on all fours. They were mounted on a base with wheels to be pulled around. At about the same time, the Michtoms created the first teddy bears, the Steiff company was making their  own version in Germany in 1902.

Richard Steiff, the nephew of the Steiff owner Margarete, went to a The Stuttgart Zoo and drew up plans for the new upright teddy bears. Steiff bears are often considered more realistic, having humps on their backs.

Although teddy bears are both jointed and not jointed, the very first jointed ones were created by The Steiff Company. The bears were not popular when they were first created by Steiff, but with the success of The Michtoms bears, a New York wholesaler named Hermann Berg was attending a toy show in Leipzig. He purchased a large shipment of the Steiff bears to import to the United States.

From there other companies began to create their own versions of the increasingly popular "teddy's bears". The name was soon shortened to the now used " Teddy Bear".

In recent years collectible bears have sold for astronomical prices at auctions. In 1989 a Steiff bear sold for $88,000 in a Sotheby's London auction.

Not to be outdone by the 1989 auction, more recent auctions have reportedly sold teddy bears for even more exorbitant prices.

The most expensive recently created bear, is also one made by the Steiff company. It is called The 125 Carat Teddy Bear. The fur is made with raw silk, mohair and real gold threads attached by hand. The eyes are made with 18kt gold imbedded with 20 small diamonds and pupils made of sapphires. The mouth is made of gold, as are the anniversary tag around its neck and the trademark Steiff ear tag. There were only 125 produced in this limited edition of teddy bears.

What was claimed to be the biggest bear collection in the world was owned by The Teddy Bear Museum in Stratford-upon-Avon. It consisted of about 2,000 bears. Some of them are valuable British and German, bears worth thousands of pounds. The collection was put up for auction in 2007, by Christie's auction house, when the owners could no longer run the museum. The Volpps, the people who purchased the $88,000 bear at auction, profess to own more than 5,000 teddy bears.

Perhaps the most famous teddy bear is Winnie The Pooh. The original Winnie the Pooh teddy bear was made by the British company Farnell in 1921. After visits to see the then famous live bear in The London Zoo, the bear was renamed Winnie.

Teddy bears are a source of comfort and warmth. They are even used by police to help calm children who have been traumatized by accidents and crimes.

Teddy bears are now produced by companies in many parts of the world. They are treasured by adults and children alike.

Most Expensive Teddy Bear

(From the most expensive journal)

The German teddy bear company, Steiff is responsible for the production many expensive collectible bears and also the most expensive teddy bear ever made. The Steiff company claims to have made the world’s first teddy bear and is has made this golden bear to commemorate its 125th anniversary.

The expensive bear has a mouth made of solid gold and fur made from gold thread. Topping off the teddy bear are jeweled eyes featuring sapphire pupils with diamond irises.

the most expensive Teddy bear

If you or your spoiled daughter simply “must have” the world’s most expensive teddy bear, you might have to search hard for the purchase. Only 125 of the collectible edition bears were produced, making them not just hard to afford, but also hard to find. These bears came with a price tag of 62,446 Euros (about $84,000 USD). But you don’t have to empty your bank account just yet, Steiff toys makes a wide variety of teddy bears that are more affordable than anniversary edition and will still make you feel like a teddy bear connoisseur

a few of my most treasured teddy bears