• Discover the History of Teddy Bears

• Explore the World of Teddy Bears

• Collect and Value Teddy Bears

• Find Teddy Bears on eBay

• Buy Teddy Bears With Confidence

Discover the History of Teddy Bears

Discover the History of Teddy Bears

The exact origin of the teddy bear is not certain, but there are two stories that seem to explain the creation of the teddy bear at around the same time.

Teddy’s bear

In the first, President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear cub offered to him following an unsuccessful hunting trip in 1902. When a cartoon showing “Teddy’s bear” turned up in newspapers throughout the country, candy store owner Morris Michtom came up with a design for a jointed toy bear. Teddy’s bear was such a hit that Michtom closed his candy store and started the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, now one of the most recognizable and largest toy manufacturers in the world.

Michtom did not use a label for his jointed mohair plush bears, and this has made authenticating his bears much more difficult. The early Ideal bears are similar to Steiff bears, but have larger ears set low on the head and feet that are slightly pointed.

Steiff’s bear

In the second story, German toy designer Richard Steiff is believed to have viewed performing bears in a circus when he visited America, giving him the idea for a toy bear with jointed arms and legs that could turn its head like a doll. In 1903, he exhibited his new toy, Friend Petz, at the Leipzig Spring Toy Fair.

The Steiff plush bears, with long, curved limbs and spoon-shaped paws, are immediately identifiable by the company’s trademark. The earliest buttons from 1903 to 1904 were embossed with an elephant; next followed a blank disc, from 1904 to 190; and thereafter a stud stamped with the name "Steiff.''

The teddy bear craze

Whatever the real story, both Steiff bears and Michtom bears are the most valuable because the early versions are rare. Those that do come onto the market are usually from 1904 or later.

It didn’t take long for teddy bears to catch on and by 1906 they were all the rage in the United States when manufacturers started coming out with a plethora of colors and styles. Some bears even had embellishments such as electric eyes. The term “teddy bear” (without the apostrophe “s”) was first printed in Playthings Magazine’s October 1906 issue.

The current wave of collecting started in the mid-1960s, when toymaker Margaret Hutchings published Teddy Bears and How to Make Them, which included a brief history of the toy. Then in 1969, English actor Peter Bull published Bear With Me, (the Teddy Bear Book in the U.S.). The two books gave legitimacy to teddy bear collecting brought closet arctophiles -- those who collect bears -- out into the open. Soon, the teddy bear became more than just a comforting toy for a child. It became a valuable collectible for adults.

Explore the World of Teddy Bears

Explore the World of Teddy Bears

Besides Steiff and Michtom, many other famous and popular bears have become collectible over the years:

• Merrythought teddy bears: Merrythought teddy bears date from the 1930s, and feature large round ears and joined claws.    

• Chad Valley teddy bears: Chad Valley teddy bears, were first produced in the 1920s. The earliest examples were made of soft, lush gold mohair and had cuddly limbs stuffed with silky fibers.    

• JK Farnell & Co. teddy bears: JK Farnell & Co. is rumored to have made the original Winnie the Pooh bear. It is also well-known for the bears it supplied to the famed Harrods department store in the 1920s. Farnell bears usually have amber glass eyes and ears set at an angle.    

• Schuco teddy bears: Novelty bears that played music and did tricks were the fashion during the 1920s and 1930s. Schuco, a German manufacturer, made bears that could dance, do somersaults, walk, and play with a ball.

• Boyds Bears: Boyds Bears is a popular brand that got its start in the 1980s when founder G.M. Lowenthal quit his job at Bloomingdales and started an antiques business.   

• Care Bears: Care Bears started as illustrations on greeting cards and morphed into real teddy bears in the 1980s.   

• Cherished Teddies: Cherished Teddies are really figurines designed by Priscilla Hillman.

Collect and Value Teddy Bears

Collect and Value Teddy Bears

So why should you get into collecting teddy bears? It’s a matter of taste. It's possible to collect on so many different levels. You could choose vintage teddy bears, artist teddy bears, limited-edition teddy bears, teddy bears from particular regions, themed bears, or miniature bears.

Some teddy bear collectors come to eBay to collect because of the investment. Countless fads have come and gone, but teddy bears continue to survive, perhaps because, of all the things you can collect, teddy bears are one of the few that you can hug. That alone is priceless.

Collect with your heart, but be smart. Make sure your antique teddy bear is authentic. Don’t be confused by artist bears, which can often be heavily aged, but don’t claim to be old. Be sure to pay close attention to the teddy bear’s look and construction.

• Teddy bear’s label: The label won’t lie. Even if most of the label on a teddy bear has worn away, you can compare what remains to pictures in books in order to identify your bear.    

• Teddy bear’s hump: Unlike most modern teddy bears, early teddy bears were designed to look like real bears, with a muscled hump between the shoulders. A bigger hump could indicate an older bear.    

• Teddy bear’s limbs: Early teddy bears can be distinguished by their long, thin curved arms. The legs usually have narrow ankles ending in big feet, and the hips are wide.    

• Teddy bear’s nose: A long nose indicates an earlier bear. The long nose was meant to mimic the look of a real bear.     

• Teddy bear’s eyes and footpads: A teddy bear with plastic eyes and synthetic footpads generally dates from the 1950s and 1960s. Early makers of bears used boot buttons or glass for eyes, and velvet or felt for the footpads.    

• Teddy bear’s joints: Most teddy bears made from about 1905 on have wooden disc joints that allow their limbs to move. The limbs of earlier teddy bears may be connected to the body with metal rods, but usually, those rods are only seen in low-quality teddy bears. An upper-end bear will have two arm joints, two leg joints, and a head joint, while other teddy bears often skip the head joint.    

• Hand-sewn seam: Traditionally, the body was the last part of a teddy bear to be stuffed, and it was usually sewn up by hand. Most often, the hand-sewn seam runs down the back of the bear, but Steiff, Bing and Farnell bears all have seams in the front. To identify hand sewing, look at the quality of the stitching. Puckers may also indicate that the seam was finished by hand.    

• Fabrics: Soft yet durable, mohair was the fabric of choice for most early bears. Made from goat hair, mohair feels like real hair. Bears made after 1930 may have silk plush fabric, while bears made in the 1950s are often made of synthetics.    

• Teddy bear’s stuffing: The earliest bears are stuffed with wood shavings, called wood wool. In the 1920s, other fibers, such as kapok and wool waste, began to be used for the body and limbs, but the heads were still made of wood wool.      

• Teddy bear’s pads: Felt pads are associated with high-quality bears. Lower-quality bears had pads made of brushed cotton.    

• Stitching: Although most bears featured straight claws, bears from Merrythought and Farnell usually have stitched “webbed” claws on the back of their paws.

Find Teddy Bears on eBay

Find Teddy Bears on eBay

Once you know what type of bear you want, go to the Dolls & Bears portal, click Bears, and start searching for items on eBay.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Antique, Steiff, Care Bears, Artist, and more. As you dig deeper into the site you'll also be able to narrow down your choice.     

• Keyword search: Search eBay listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a vintage Steiff bear, type "Steiff bear antique" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Teddy Bears With Confidence

Buy Teddy Bears With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,000.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.