 ....
1880 Margarete Steiff creates the first stuffed bear toy.
1903 "Teddy's Bear"
is born.
1905 Steiff bear legally
protected by famous "button in ear" trademark. Steiff is the oldest
bear making company in the world.
"The Teddy bear's Picnic"
was written by John W Bratton in 1907.
Gatti, the catering
manager of the Titanic's bear survived the sinking of the ship in
1912.
In Great Britian, The
Doll's Club owns a "Home of rest for Aged and Retired Teddies.
In 1986, in Berlin,
Germany, the first teddy bear museum opened.
40% of all adults still
have their childhood teddy bear.
Most children have at
least one and adults give them as tokens of affection and good luck.
A "hug" of teddy bears
is a collection.
An "arctophiles" is
a person who collects teddy bears.
The History Of The Teddy Bear In 1902 President
Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi. As reported
in the Washington Post, the presidential hunting party. trailed and
lassoed a lean, black bear, then tied it to a tree. The president
was summoned, but when he arrived on the scene he refused to shoot
the tied and exhausted bear, considering it to be unsportsmanlike.
The following day, November 16, Clifford Barryman, Washington Post
editorial cartoonist, immortalized the incident as part of a front-page
cartoon montage. Barryman pictured Roosevelt, his gun before him with
the butt resting on the ground and his back to the animal, gesturing
his refusal to take the trophy shot. Written across the lower part
of the cartoon were the words "Drawing the Line in Mississippi," which
coupled the hunting incident to a political dispute. The cartoon drew
immediate attention. In Brooklyn, NY, shopkeeper Morris Michtom displayed
2 toy bears in the window of his Stionary and novilty store. The bears
had been made by his wife, Rose from plush stuffed excelsior and finished
with black shoe button eyes. Michtom recognized the immediate popularity
of the new toy, requested and received permission from Roosevelt himself
to call them "Teddy's Bears." The little stuffed bears were a success.
As demand for them increased, Michtom mooved his business to a loft,
under the name of the Ideal Novelty and Toy Corporation. At the same
time as it was born in The United States, the Teddy Bear was also
born in Germany. The Steiff Company of Giengen produced it's first
jointed stuffed bears during the same 1902-1903 period. The company
had made toys for a number of years and had produced small wool-felt
pincushion type animals of many varities. The animals were the creation
of Margaret Steiff. Steiff bears were first introduced at the 1903
Leipzig Fair, where an American buyer saw them and ordered several
thousand for shipment to the US. While other stories have been told
regarding the birth of this wonderful toy, the simultaneous births
in Brooklyn and Giengen are the best substantiated.
Teddy
Bear's Lament
Once when you were only two,
I used to sit right next to you,
I'd guard you bravely as you slept,
And comfort you each time you wept.
Bumpity-bump through mud and snow,
I followed everywhere you'd go,
But bruising bumps could not erase,
That silly grin upon my face.
Thumps and hugs and loving deeds Are all that any Teddy needs.
Then one day you went to play And left me all alone to stay,
To wait with patience by myself Collecting dust upon your shelf.
Now I sit here in despair,
A very lonely Teddy Bear.
I hope that, having read my poem,
You'll soon come back to take me home.
'Cause loneliness is just enough,
To break my woolly heart of fluff.
By Tim Price
"Special
Friends"
Some times tattered,
some times torn,
these then are the scars of a child's love by a special friend they
are worn a friend,
loved and adored.
Who is this special friend?
One who is with you to the end?
It is a teddy bear guardian of your secrets keeper of your dreams
a dear friend who cares one who never schemes a protector against
fear,
so that you need not dread anything that hides beneath the bed.
Thank You my teddy my loving little bear for all these years of
love and care,
and so many memories of times past,
memories that will last and last...
~ Richard Roy Davis~
"THE BEAR FACTS"
Your Teddy Bear is always
the bestest and the cutest
even if he's missing one eye,
his fur is worn and his squeaker doesn't squeak anymore.
He'll sit in a chair or on your bed and wait for you one day or
one year.
You can tell him secrets and all of your dreams.
He will nod his little teddy head in understanding,
impart his teddy wisdom
and as always he will love you completely and unconditionally.
~ Author Unknown ~
The Teddy
Bear's Picnic
If you go down to the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise
If you go down to the woods today
You'd better go in disguise
For ev'ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain,
because Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic.
Ev'ry Teddy Bear who's been good Is sure of a treat today.
There's lots of marvelous things to eat
And wonderful games to play
Beneath the trees where nobody sees
They'll hide and seek as long as they please
Cause that's the way the Teddy Bears have their picnic
If you go down to the woods today
You'd better not go alone
It's lovely down in the woods today
But safer to stay at home
For ev'ry bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain,
because Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic.
Picnic time for Teddy Bears
The little Teddy Bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unaware
And see them picnic on their holiday.
See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout;
They never have any care;
At six o'clock their Mummies and Daddies,
Will take them home to bed,
Because they're tired little Teddy Bears.
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