The Teddy Bear: A Cuddly Toy or a Narcissist’s Self-promotion ?
An Exploration on how the “Teddy Bear” Rose to Fame
Ever wonder what allowed certain inventions to reach such fame? A stuffed bear or “teddy bear” for example, what did it have that other toys didn’t? Couldn’t it have been a teddy moose, teddy rabbit, teddy bird or any other forest animal for that matter? Find out below how the teddy bear achieved such success!
The teddy bear was invented in 1902, in honour of president Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Much like the invention of the telephone, the creation of the teddy bear was a collaborative project. The first recorded teddy bear was from a German toy company called “Gebruder Sussenguth” in 1894. This first version of the teddy bear was only referred to as “bear”. Although a toy bear existed at this time, it wasn’t exceptionally popular– yet. In 1903 a buyer from an American toy store attended a fair in Leipzig and noticed the bear being sold at vendors. Sensing an opportunity, this buyer purchased 3,000 bears to be made on the spot. Very close to this buyer’s purchase, American President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Mississippi. President Roosevelt had attempted to hunt a bear without much luck, so his hunting brigade found and tied one to a tree for Roosevelt to kill. Roosevelt, also nicknamed “Teddy”, refused to shoot the bear. This event was reported in American newspapers at the time, and inspired a famous cartoon by cartoon artist Clifford Berryman. The American toy buyer who had previously purchased the bears from Germany began trying to sell them after the traction of Roosevelt’s bear hunting event. What gave the teddy bear the “teddy” part of its name however, is credited to Russian immigrants Rose and Morris Michton. They made several bears of their own, but one in particular they named after President Roosevelt, or “Teddy”, creating the first teddy bear. With Roosevelt’s endorsement and permission to name the stuffed bear after him, sales began to take off. One aspect that made the Michton’s bear so popular, was their decision to make it a less realistic version of a bear. Previous sellers made their toy bears more to resemble an actual bear. Despite how we perceive teddy bears today to be an item for kids, when they were first released in the early 1900s, teddy bears were a popular purchase by adults for adults. They were considered an “in fashion” item at the time. Over time this trend gradually faded, but their popularity with children only rose.
Sources:
White, David. “The History of the Teddy Bear.” Social Studies for Kids, socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/cultures/teddy_bear_history.htm. Accessed 15 Nov. 2021.
“The Story of the Teddy Bear – Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service).” National Park Service, 15 July 2021, www.nps.gov/thrb/learn/historyculture/storyofteddybear.htm.
—. “Teddy Bear.” Wikipedia, 2 Sept. 2002, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear.
Harris, Karen. “The Real Story Behind the Invention of the Teddy Bear.” History Daily, 14 Aug. 2018, historydaily.org/the-real-story-behind-the-invention-of-the-teddy-bear.
Nix, Elizabeth. “Who Invented the Teddy Bear?” HISTORY, 14 Jan. 2020, www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-teddy-bear.