Collecting Antiques – How To Detect Early American Teddy Bears
The creation of American manufactured teddy bears was a cottage marketplace reaction to the importation of bears made in Germany in the early 1900s. Functioning in their households and modest workshops in and about New York Town, American seamstresses worked diligently to meet up with the general public demands for teddy bears. It was approximated there were much more than 100 makers of American teddy bears by 1907.
Playthings was the one most vital trade magazine for toys at the time. The initial company to publicize in the July 1906 concern of Playthings was Keystone Novelty Enterprise. Only the premier firms advertised in this publication. Aetna Toy and Novelty Company, Bruin Manufacturing Firm, Columbia Teddy Bear Manufacturing Enterprise, Hecla, and Strauss Producing all marketed their items in Playthings.
The Keystone Novelty Enterprise modified its identify to the Aetna Bear of the Aetna Novelty Company in the latter 50 percent of 1906. The bears created and dispersed by George Borgfeldt ended up absolutely jointed and marked with an Aetna stamp on each right foot pad. The bears initially had been produced in seven dimensions, which later on expanded to 9 measurements. Other functions that characterized these bears included flat foot pad lined with cardboard, medium length mohair bodies, shoebutton eyes, felt pads of excellent high-quality materials, and noses manufactured of silk embroidery.
It is handy that the Aetna Bears had been marked due to the fact lots of of the early American designed bears ended up unmarked, earning it difficult to determine who made the bear and what calendar year the bear was launched.
The Bruin Production Company, also found in New York City, first marketed their bears in January 1907. The bears manufactured by this business can be discovered by a woven label marked “BMC” in gold. This label was sewn diagonally throughout the proper foot pad of the bear. The bears of the Bruin Enterprise have been produced of large high quality medium size white or brown mohair. The eyes were being made of painted glass with black pupils. The noses ended up crafted of black or brown embroidery. The bears ended up soft stuffed and experienced four claws for each paw.
Minor is acknowledged about yet another New York dependent company, Columbia Teddy Bear Production Corporation. This company developed the quite popular Roosevelt Laughing Bear. The Roosevelt bear was manufactured of shorter, brilliant gold mohair and experienced an open mouth. When the tummy of the Roosevelt Bear was pushed in the mouth would open up to clearly show two milk glass tooth. The inside of the bear’s mouth was crafted of crimson cardboard. The bear was produced with either glass or shoebutton eyes, skinny felt was used for the paw pads, and the nose was crafted with black embroidery threads stitched horizontally. The toothy smile of the Roosevelt Bear was intended to imitate the toothy smile of Theodore Roosevelt.
The Strauss Production Enterprise manufactured a assortment of toys and was acknowledged as the “Toy King.” The Strauss organization developed bears that created appears when shaken or when a deal with, coming out the bear’s back and connected to a music box in the tummy of the bear was turned. This bear was crafted from dense, medium duration mohair in brown or white, with smooth leather paws and footpads. The eyes have been shoebutton and the nose was intended with black embroidery.
By 1908 the attractiveness of the teddy bear experienced diminished. The businesses that experienced struggled to retain up with the demand for American teddy bears had been vanishing from the New York scene. Non-the-much less, these American teddy bears are substantial additions to a teddy bear selection.