How did the teddy bear get its name?
You might be surprised to know that there is a strong connection between soft cuddly toys and the former USA President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. The clue is in the nickname. That's right: teddy bears got their name from Teddy Roosevelt! How did this happen? We will reveal all in this bitesize look at the history of the name and the toy.
The origin of the teddy
It was 1902 and Theodore Roosevelt (called Teddy Roosevelt by many, even though he wasn't a fan of the nickname!) was on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi with the Mississippi governor Andrew H. Longino. Teddy Roosevelt was offered to shoot a bear which the group of hunters had lassoed and Teddy refused. Though he agreed that the injured bear should be killed to put it out of its misery, he himself thought it would be a regretful act to shoot a tied bear, so he declined. When reports of this anecdote were passed on, it was only a matter of days before a cartoonist called Clifford Berryman decided to immortalise the events in a sketch in The Washington Post.
"Teddy's Bear"
In subsequent cartoons which revolved around this same motif, the bear became more and more characterised as cute and innocent. These rather fun and characterful images of the bear and Teddy Roosevelt then caught the eye of Morris Michtom, a Russian businessman and inventor who then lived in Brooklyn created what was then the first teddy bear and put it in his shop window. This toy was also sent to the president along with a request to use his nickname, which the president approved. This first design was called 'Teddy's Bear' and its immediate success encouraged Michtom to set up the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. to push forward with this great new product.
Steiff and Michtom
Over in Germany, around the same time that this was happening, Richard Steiff was also creating his own stuffed bear toy designs. It is said in fact that the Steiff firm's stuffed bear came about just before Michtom's. By March 1903, Steiff exhibited his bear at the Leipzig Toy Fair. It was here that they were seen by Hermann Berg, who was at that time a buyer for a business in New York called George Borgfeldt & Company. It is thought that Berg ordered 3000 of the bears to be sent over to the USA, but they did not last the trip, most likely sustaining too much damage on their journey.
Who is the oldest teddy bear brand?
In this way, whilst Michtom's bear was the first that was specifically made under the teddy bear name, Steiff remain the oldest teddy bear company which is still running today. The Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. had a good many decades renamed as the Ideal Toy Company before becoming defunct in 1997. All the early bears of these pioneers were made with tawny mohair fur, with the designs representing more realistic bear-shaped depiction than would become the norm later on. A key feature of these more realistic styles is the extended snout.
Steiff Bears at Cedars Bourton
We are proud stockists of Steiff bears at Cedars Bourton gift shop. Included in our collection are Steiff teddy bears for baby, these teddy bears are soft & cuddly & suitable newborns. We also have Steiff Disney bears where you will find your favourite characters from The Lion King and Winnie the Pooh. Browse through our whole collection and you may end up finding a bear or two.
