Here at Toy Street we adore teddy bears! We give them as gifts, play with them, occasionally take them on picnics and generally think of them as super cute companions – but we do find ourselves wondering, where do our furry friends come from, and why are they called ‘teddy bears’? In this blog, we’re going to look into the history of teddy bears and where they came from!

How did they get their name?

The teddy bear has an origin you may not expect and comes from American president Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was visiting friends in Mississippi in 1902 when they decided to go on a hunting trip, and unlike the other hunters in the group, Theodore had not managed to find a single bear.

Roosevelt’s assistants on the trip had better luck than he did and managed to corner a black bear and tie it to a Willow Tree. They then suggested that he shoot it and claim it as his own, but Roosevelt wouldn’t do it, stating that it was ‘unsportsmanlike’. The news of the president refusing to shoot the bear travelled fast and soon became front page news. There were stories all over the media and one cartoonist even made a light-hearted cartoon of the scenario. soft toys began being made called ‘teddy’s bear’, and so the name ‘teddy bear’ was coined.

The First Teddy Bears

Most early teddy bear manufacturers aren’t around today, but there are a few who have survived over the years. Gund was founded in 1898 and is still popular today, along with German bear makers Steiff, who can be dated back to the late 1880’s. Their bears are renowned worldwide and that’s why we’re pleased to stock them on My Bear Shop!

Many of Steiff’s first teddies were more realistic looking but had to be adjusted as they were found to be too frightening for young children. Now they have a wide range of bears from classic bears to character bears, such as Paddington who was made to celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the original illustration of the bear.

Coincidentally, Steiff produced a stuffed bear which was exhibited at The Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903 whilst being completely unaware of the ‘teddy’s bear’ craze in America. A buyer from New York was at the fair and ordered 3000 of the bears to be sent to the US!

Bears in the UK

Teddy bears became popular in Britain at the beginning of the 1900’s but most of the bears were imported from Germany from companies like Steiff. As the world wars came, Britain needed to start making their own bears and in 1930 Merrythought Bears were formed. To this day they still manufacturer handmade British bears and they are the last standing teddy bear manufacturer in the UK.

Since their origin in the 1900’s there have been many bears made of different shapes and sizes. Bears have become a classic teddy, but companies now also produce animals from all over the world from pandas to horses. We’ve got a huge choice of stuffed toys available at My Bear Shop, so you’re bound to find something to suit you!

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