different designs

At the same time, but on the other side of the Atlantic, in Germany, a young man by the name of Richard Steiff was working for his aunt, Margarete Steiff, in her stuffed toy business. Richard often visited the Stuttgart Zoo to sketch animals, particularly the bear cubs. In 1902, the same year the Michtoms made "Teddy's Bear," the Steiff firm made their first toy bear based on Richard's designs.

teddy models

The cartoon caused an immediate sensation and was reprinted across the USA. It inspired Morris and Rose Michtom of Brooklyn, New York, to make a bear to commemorate their president's actions and they named it "Teddy's Bear." It was placed in the window of their New York candy and stationery store. Instead of looking fierce and standing on all four paws like earlier toy bears, this bear looked cute , innocent, and honest, like the bear in the now famous cartoon. That could be why "Teddy's Bear" became so popular with both adults and children across the country. In fact, the demand was so strong that the Michtoms, with the help of a wholesale firm called Butler Brothers, established the first teddy bear manufacturer in the United States, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

teddy's collection

In America, the teddy bear came into being with a cartoon showing President Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot a baby bear. According to this tale, Roosevelt had traveled to Mississippi to help settle a border dispute between that state and Louisiana, and while there, found time to go bear hunting. There were no bears to be found, but his hosts were desperate that he should have a good time. So eventually someone captured a bear and invited Roosevelt to shoot it. Roosevelt's refusal to fire at such a helpless target inspired the famous cartoon with its message regarding the two ways Roosevelt was drawing a line, ie settling a border dispute and refusing to shoot a captive animal.

fashion teddy's

Today it's hard to imagine a world without our much loved and loyal friend, the teddy bear. The teddy bear has only been with us for just over 100 years, making his first appearance in 1902. Then, in one of those impossible to explain coincidences, the teddy appeared in the same year on opposite sides of the world - in Germany and the USA.