A very early Rupert Bear inspired by the Daily Express cartoon from 1920.
Steiff early 20th century mohair bear, estimated at £80-120. [Bamfords Ltd.]
Replica Steiff black Teddy as issued to mark the Titanic tragedy 1912.
An original bear made by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company, 1900s.
A 1930s Chad Valley Teddy, estimated at £50-70. [Bamfords Ltd.]
A large 1972 original Paddington, a later small version and a 1978 Aunt Lucy bear, all by Gabrielle designs, estimated £70-100. [Bamfords Ltd.]
J K Farnell ‘ Alpha’ bear as bought by A A Milne in 1921 and immortalised in 1926 as Winnie-the-Pooh.
condition; they have to have been expertly repaired and more importantly professionally cleaned for a dirty bear can spread mites and moth which can spread to other soft toys and indeed us. If the price is high, try and establish provenance, like a good work of art. If they’re ‘well-loved’ they will be less collectible and hence less valuable, even though perhaps all the more endearing!
over the market. Nevertheless, there are still several companies that produce high-quality collectible bears around the world and in addition there are many ‘bear artists’ producing individual, hand-made collectors’ bears. Prices levelled out a few years ago with the recession but now they are steadily on the rise again
In 1920 the strip cartoon featuring Rupert Bear in the Daily Express revived the boom, followed hard on its heels by Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926, the original of which was a Teddy made by the firm of J K Farnell and bought for his son by A A Milne in 1921. Paddington came along in the 1970s, and early ones are highly collectible: a group of three by Gabrielle Designs made over £100 at Bamford’s in August. Yet bears in character are really a distinct sub-division of Teddy bear collecting, not being Teddy bears at all!
Bears come, like Antony’s Cleopatra, in infinite variety, and it is easy to adapt one’s collecting to what you like and maintain consistency as well as suit your pocket. Then of course, you just might want to buy one for an actual infant to cuddle up to!
Rupert Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh
A recent Bamfords toy and juvenilia sale included no less than twentyone collectible Teddy Bears, some by important makers, and although the majority were estimated at £40-60, most did much better than that. Modern ones are much less expensive, although very large ones tend to be (unnecessarily) pricey, but keep an eye out for quality and eschew artificial fibres
Ecclesbourne Valley Clocks
Teddies can also have other, bolt-on characteristics which in earlier models can make them more desirable and hence more expensive. Some growl when rocked, others have a musical function: the possibilities are fairly wide. Although Steiff bears, identifiable by their distinctive trademark button in one ear, resumed production in 1947, the present boom in collecting Teddies is traceable to 1969 when character actor Peter Bull wrote a book entitled Bear With Me (later re-titled The Teddy Bear Book) about his collection and affection for the toy. This led to a revival on the making of Teddy Bears, often individually made and in 1985 the Teddy Bear Artists’ Guild was formed; also, Christie's held their first auction dedicated to the sale of antique bears. Yet during the 1960s the traditional manufacturers lost ground to Teddies produced in China and Indonesia, as cheaper mass-produced bears took
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