Article Directory

Teddy bear is read now days synonymous with stuffed toys and plush toy animals. Any way the teddy bear is comparatively a recent phenomenon. A owner of a store in Brooklyn, New York, gave life to it in 1902, when he came across about it in a political cartoon named "Drawing the Line in Mississippi". American President, Theodore `'Teddy' Roosevelt was depicted in the cartoon as going on a hunting sojourn and turned down the chance to shoot a cornered bear and termed the act as unsportsman like.

As portrayed in a series of later cartoons, the bear was small, cute, and cuddly. The cartoon image inspired Morris Michtom, the store owner, to create and market small, stuffed bears as children's toys. His wife was already producing stuffed bears for the store, so the apparatus was already in place to market a toy connected with the popular President.

Michtom sent a sample of the toy to President Roosevelt, requesting at the same time that the President allow use of his nickname in the name of the toy. President Roosevelt okayed this, and this is where the toy teddy bear began to become a part of popular culture. From their earliest days these stuffed bears showed great popularity, and when Mr. Michtom put a sign in his window advertising 'Teddy Bears' this name soon become synonymous with these stuffed animals.

In a matter of only a few years similar stuffed animals were being sold by other stores. These stuffed animal toys were quickly marketed throughout the U.S. and also through Europe. These toy bears were also mentioned in a variety of books, music, and other media of the day. The teddy bear soon became another popular item for collectors along with other toys, vintage dolls, and antique dolls.

A number of toy bears are high in value. For instance, a toy bear that's woven partially from gold and made by the original manufacturer as a commemoration of the toy's 125th anniversary is on the market for $84,000. Michtom's company, which marketed the original teddy bear, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., is still in business now.

You don't have to spend lots of money to amass a collection of toy bears. The antique ones sometimes turn up at yard sales, at rummage sales, in internet auctions, and at places frequented by collectors. It is not only a collectible which got its name from President Theodore Roosevelt, it is also a delightful companion for a child.