Teddy Bear History

This Teddy Bear History page will cover various aspects of the development of the world's favourite soft toy, from their birth to how they have developed and changed over the years. 

old Teddy Bear picture by N. Camps

The following pages will cover: 

  • Teddy Bear Origins - The story of how and where our favourite soft toy came from.

    The history of Teddy Bears is not necessarily a straightforward one, In fact no one can really be sure who invented the soft toy bear first. In fact it may have appeared simultaneously on two different continents at roughly the same time. Read on to find out More about the history of Teddy Bears and their origins.
  • American Teddy Bears - Discover the first soft toy bears made in America. Many suggest that America is where the Teddy was first invented, some say not. But we can say that they got their now famous descriptive name from an American president.

  • German Teddy Bears - Early German toy bears were very naturalistic and based on the large bears which roamed the Black forest. With pronounced snouts and humped backs they are a far cry from many of today's modern toy bears.

  • British Teddy Bears - Learn about the early quintessentially British bears first to grace children's playrooms.

    Although the craze for toy bears came to Britain later than America and Germany they soon grew to love them just as much and began producing their own versions of the bear.
Dressed Teddy Bear picture by beggs
  • The history of dressed bears - When did we first decide to dress our bears in clothes and give them more human like characteristics and why?

    Discover how the desire to dress our toys resulted in many make shift and creative solutions in the days before teddy clothes were made commercially.
  • The Teddy Bears Picnic - "If you go down to the woods today....." Find out where this charming little ditty came from and how the tradition of holding actual teddy bear picnics has developed and grown the world over.
Teddy Bear Picnic picture by Zyxoma
  • Teddy Mascots - Find out how the Teddy has been used to help promote all sorts of things from good causes to food brands, as well being used as lucky mascots for all sorts of companies and groups. We take a fascinating look at just some of the many teddy mascots over the years. 

The Teddy has become the world's favourite soft toy, it is loved by children and adults alike.  And there can't be many people alive who hasn't owned a bear at one time or another. In fact I bet you own a teddy too! 

I hope our Teddy Bear History pages will enhance your enjoyment of your bear and perhaps even provide you with some new information about your bear you didn't know before. 

I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has any more information about  the history of Teddy Bears I have not covered. Contact Me here. 


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