Teddy bear is the most famous and iconic soft toy of the 20th and 21st centuries. A teddy bear is a toy bear made of soft material. In America and Western Europe, this toy is more known under the name "Teddy", so it is often associated with Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States. And the name "teddy bear" is firmly established in the Russian language, although at the present time not all teddy bears are made of plush. The bears of various American and European companies of the early 20th century were a popular collector's item.
History
One day, Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, on a hunt, spared the American black bear, whom the hunters with the pounded and half-killed dogs were tied to the willow and invited him to shoot the beast. Theodore himself refused to shoot the bear, saying that it was "unsporting", but ordered that the bear be shot, thereby stopping his torment.
The story that happened with the president was later printed in the newspaper in the form of a cartoon, but after a while it was adapted for opportunistic reasons, after which the bear transformed into a cute little bear. Over time, the details of the story blurred, and the main episode remained - Teddy (this was Roosevelt's nickname) refused to shoot the bear cub.
Once the wife of Morris Mitchchum (the real name is unknown) saw a caricature with a bear, only on a reduced scale. Morris was an emigrant from Russia and owned a toy store, after which his wife sewed the first bear cub that looked like a bear from a newspaper cartoon.
The toy was named "Teddy Bear" and was installed on the shop window. Buyers new toy provoked an unprecedented interest, and after a time after Roosevelt allowed to use his name, Morris founded a company that began to produce toy cubs.
The company Miktom called Ideal Toy Company. The bear cubs sold well, nevertheless, Mitch did not become a rich man, and all because he did not patented the toy itself and its name - this was a serious mistake. After a time, there were many companies that used the idea of Michtom and began to produce similar bear cubs.
There is another version of the fact that Margarita Steif sewed the first bear, and her nephew Richard, who designed the first teddy bear in 1902, gave her the idea, the bears had moving paws. At an exhibition of toys, held in Leipzig in 1903, an American ordered 3000 cubs. In 1904 at the exhibition in St. Petersburg. Luis Bears was sold 12,000, for which Richard and Margarita received a gold medal.
Bear and art
The first edition of the adventures of a teddy bear was published in the US in 1907. The book was written by writer Alice Skilt. A total of four hundred books by different authors were published around the world, and each teddy bear was the main character. In the list of the most famous stories about the bear cub was the tale "Winnie the Pooh" by Alexander Milne - the English writer, which was published for the first time in 1926.
In the USA, in 1909, the first song about the bear cub appeared - "The Teddy Bear Teddy". After that, 80 more songs were released.
In 1909, they shot the first animated film about a teddy bear. In 1924, a teddy bear released a cartoon by Walt Disney. After a while in 1975, Walt Disney creates a film about a bear - Winnie the Pooh.
Collecting Teddy bears
In the world today there are about twenty museums that are dedicated to teddy bears, moreover, there are several tens of thousands of people who collect this toy. Specially for collectors, limited batches of teddy bears are made, for example Teddy Gemma Kage cubs, which are produced in 2-3 copies.
From time to time at auction Christie held the auction, which are exhibited exclusively teddy bears.
In 1929, the most expensive toy (Teddy bear) made from mohair was made. The toy was purchased by a collector for $ 90,000.