Teddy bear

The  teddy  bear  is  a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional
form  of  a  stuffed  animal,  often  serving  the purpose of comforting
children.  In  recent  times,  some  teddy  bears  have become expensive
collector's  items.  Teddy bear collectors are known as arctophiles from
the Greek words arctos (bear) and philos (lover).

History

The  name  Teddy  Bear  comes  from the November 1902 American President
Theodore  Roosevelt's  hunting  trip  to  Mississippi,  to  which he was
invited  by  Mississippi  Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several
other  hunters competing, and most of them had already shot something. A
suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed,
and tied to a willow tree an American Black Bear after a long exhausting
chase  with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that
he  should  shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this
unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of
its  misery,  and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford
Berryman  in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial
cartoon  of  an  adult  black  bear  lassoed  by  a  white handler and a
disgusted  Roosevelt  had  symbolic  overtones, later issues of that and
other  Berryman  cartoons  made  the  bear  smaller  and  cuter.  A 1902
political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the Teddy bear name.

Morris  Michtom  saw  the  drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was
inspired  to  create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and
put  it  in  his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear," after
sending  the  bear  to  Roosevelt  and  receiving permission to sell the
bears.  The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal
Novelty and Toy Co., which still exists today.

At the same time, in Germany the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear,
produced  a  stuffed  bear from Richard Steiff's designs. They exhibited
the  toy  at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903 and exported 3000 to the
United States.

By  1906  manufacturers  other than Michtom and Steiff had joined in and
the  craze for Teddy Bears was such that ladies carried them everywhere,
children were photographed with them, and Roosevelt used one as a mascot
in his bid for re-election.

American  educator  Seymour  Eaton  wrote the children's book series The
Roosevelt  Bears,  while composer John Bratton wrote "The Teddy Bear Two
Step"  which,  with  the  addition of Jimmy Kennedy's lyrics, became the
song "The Teddy Bears' Picnic".

Production

Commercially-made,  mass-produced  teddy bears are predominantly made as
toys  for  children.  These bears have safety joints for attaching arms,
legs,  and heads. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose
a  choking  hazard  for  small children. These "plush" bears must meet a
rigid  standard  of  construction in order to be marketed to children in
the United States and in the European Union.

There  are  also  companies, like Steiff, that sell handmade collectible
bears that can be purchased in stores or over the Internet.

The  majority of teddy bears are manufactured in countries such as China
and Indonesia. A few small, single-person producers in the United States
make  unique, non-mass produced teddy bears. One of the oldest remaining
American  manufacturers  that  produces "Made in the USA" teddy bears is
Stuffington Bear Factory, open since 1959.

Mohair,  the  fur  shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats, is
woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed. Alpaca teddy bears are made from the
pelt of an alpaca because the fiber is too soft to weave. In addition to
mohair and alpaca, there is a huge selection of "plush" or synthetic fur
made for the teddy bear market. Both these types of fur are commercially
produced. 10 modern day teddy bears of various types.

Some  teddy bear artists specialize in the production of bears made from
recycled  materials.  These  artists  hunt  thrift stores, flea markets,
garage sales and trash collection centers as well as their own and their
families'  basements  and  attics in search of forgotten treasures to be
turned into a collector's dream. Old quilts, dresses, fur collars, coats
and  stoles  as well as beaded bags and garments are quickly transformed
into stunning teddy bears.

Some  teddy bear artists specialize in crochet bears made out of thread.
For  these  bears  artists  do  not  use  fabric;  they  make the fabric
crocheting  and at the same time make the bear. Thread crochet bears are
fully-jointed,  miniature  bears. They may be made out of crochet cotton
thread;  Perle  cotton  thread;  Mohair  thread; Punch thread; some thin
fancy yarn, like eyelash; or any other fiber.

Popularity

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
1980's and 1990's are Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears.

Teddy  bears  have  seen  a resurgence in popularity as national "do-it-
yourself"  chains  have  opened.  Among  the  largest and best-known are
Build-A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

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 Corduroy, Teddy
Tells Time, and Teddy Dressing.

Teddy Bear Museum

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 sold by auction.

Teddy Bear Cops

Because  police,  fire and emergency officials found that giving a teddy
bear  to  a  child  during  a  crisis  stabilized  them, Teddy Bear Cops
programs  were started in various cities across the United States in the
early  1990s.  These  programs  distributed  teddy  bears to children in
emergency situations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osito_de_peluche