TEDDY BEAR MANIAC by junghyo http://www.geocities.com/junghyo_byun
History of Teddy Bear
Special Teddy Bear
Teddy Bear with Theme
Teddy Bear Cafe
Teddy Bear Museum
Teddy Bear Poetry
Teddy Care
Teddy Bear Links
��History of Teddy Bear��
�� Have you ever wondered how the teddy bear came from? Find information about the history of teddy bears in this section.
1. Who inspired the first Teddy Bear?
2. What is the history of the Steiff jointed bear?
3. When was the teddy bear first called a "Teddy Bear"?
1. Who inspired the first Teddy Bear?
President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt inspired the first Teddy Bear. Although the Steiff Company in Germany produced a jointed stuffed bear in 1902, the First Teddy Bear was made by Rose and Morris Michtom with the influence of Teddy Roosevelt and Clifford Berryman. Here's why:
On November 14, 1902, then-President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt went to Mississippi to settle a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. While there, he went on a hunting trip. The other members of the hunting party tied a black bear cub to a tree for President Roosevelt to shoot, but Roosevelt refused to harm the defenseless bear. The next day, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman, drew a cartoon showing President Roosevelt refusing to hurt the helpless bear. The cartoon's caption "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" refers to both the border dispute settlement and the hunting incident.This cartoon sparked the imagination of the country and of a shopkeeper in Brooklyn, New York. The shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, asked his wife, Rose, to make two plush stuffed bears for display in his shop's window. The popularity of the plush bears stuffed with excelsior and adorned with black shoe buttons for eyes quickly captivated the nation.
To combine the stuffed bear phenomenon with Teddy Roosevelt, Morris Michtom asked the president for permission to call these stuffed bears "Teddy's Bear." Roosevelt said yes, and the Teddy Bear was born.
2. What is the history of the Steiff jointed bear?
At the same time the Michtoms were making their "Teddy's Bear" in 1902, the Steiff Company of Giengen was producing its jointed bear in Germany. Both the Michtoms and the Steiff Company were making stuffed bears at the same time independent of each other.
The Steiff Company was a toy company owned by Margarete Steiff. It has been making toys since 1880.
Margarete Steiff's nephew was Richard Steiff. After seeing performing bears at a touring American circus, Richard had an idea to make a toy bear standing upright. Until that time, toy bears were made standing on all four legs. Richard was a former art student, and he went to the Stuggart Zoo to sketch pictures of bears and bear cubs for the new design of the bear toy.
In 1902, Ms. Steiff used her nephew's drawings to make Steiff's new bear toy. It was jointed like dolls, stood on two feet, and could walk upright.
With their humped back and long snout, the Steiff bears looked more like a real bear cub than the "Teddy's Bear" designed by the Michtoms. In 1903, the Steiff Company introduced its jointed bear at the Leipzig Trade Fair. While European buyers passed by the bear without notice, an American buyer expressed much interest in the bear. The American buyer, knowing about the recent trend of "Teddy's Bear" in the United States, placed an order for 3,000 Steiff bears. By the end of the year, this order rose to 12,000 bears.
3. When was the teddy bear first called a "Teddy Bear"?
We know the stuffed bear began when the Michtoms of Brooklyn, New York, and the Steiff Company of Giengen produced the first bears independently in 1902. And we know the Michtoms called their bear, "Teddy's Bear". So when did these stuffed bears become Teddy Bears?
The term "Teddy Bear" (without the "s") first appeared in the October, 1906, issue of Playthings Magazine. It soon became the accepted term. Even the Steiff Company used this term to describe its bears.
History of Teddy Bear - Special Teddy Bear - Teddy Bear with Theme
Teddy Bear Cafe - Teddy Bear Museum - Teddy Bear Poetry
Teddy Care - Teddy Bear links
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