When you start your vintage bear collecting, remember that quality is always key to value. As a beginner collector, you probably won’t have the skills you need for restoration, so unless you really love that tatty old bear, wait for another. If it was a well-loved bear, it’s bound to have signs of wear which adds to the charm for many. Watch out for replacement parts, stiff joints and new clothes as these detract from their value.
Although Steiff come with buttons that are easily recognisable and show their authenticity, many of the worthwhile bears do not have this tell-tale tag. Sometimes these may have been removed for safety reasons with young children. If they have been removed, it is sometimes possible to see where they were because of indentations in the fabric or little bits of different fabric in the seam line.
All makes of bears have different markings, so you may wish to purchase a book on vintage bear collecting that will clearly explain the features that you need to look for as well as the type of damage on the bears that should set alarm bells ringing. Unfortunately, as with most popular markets, this is necessary due to some pretty good fakes out there. If there is an authenticity certificate, you will of course expect to pay more for the bear.
There are a couple of other things that affect the bear’s value. The older, larger and scarcer the bear is the higher the value with anything that is pre World War 1 being the most prized. Looking at scarcity again, you will find that vintage bears that were produced without a smile tended not to be purchased for children. This means there were often very few made leading to them being hard to obtain now and often very valuable. An example would be the snarling Sussenguth’s Peter teddies. Finally, when vintage bear collecting look out for original intact clothing and boxes as this will add to the value.
You can of course just choose the bears that you fall in love with, but if you are serious about starting vintage bear collecting, follow the tips above and get yourself a good book so you understand properly what you are looking for and how to care for your bears.
Our suggestion for a good book is Teddy Bears: A Collector’s Guide to Selecting, Restoring, and Enjoying New and Vintage Teddy Bears
No doubt you have bears from all corners of the world, of different ages and made from different materials and with different values. I’m also sure if you are a collector, even if you have not done any restoration work, that you will have least kept them in the best condition possible. So how can you make money if you are unsure of their value?
Buying and Selling Antique Bears
The simple answer is probably to buy a good reference guide book that will list the most collectible and popular bears. You certainly need to know what you are looking for in terms of identifying certain bears, but once you have an idea, get yourself off to those second-hand shops, flea markets and auctions. At first you may like to take the book with you to sneak a look in a corner but after a bit of practice, you’ll soon get the hang of what is of value and what is not. Also keep an eye on Ebay and more particularly the lesser known auction sites and Craigs List for example. As Ebay attracts the big dealers, it may just be wise to see what’s there and the end result rather than bid yourself.
The most collectible names to look for are Steiff, Ideal, Chad Valley, Farnell, Merrythought, Hermann and Chiltern.
When it comes to selling your bears, get as much of their general and personal history as you can. Not only will this make you sound knowledgable, it will give people confidence to buy from you. And if you can’t bring yourself to sell your newly acquired antique bear, you can always keep it safe yourself!
Teddy Roosevelt was not a particularly keen hunter but was an avid sportsman. In the course of a bear hunting trip in 1902 where most of the party (but not Roosevelt) had already shot something, some of Roosevelt’s attendants after a long and sometimes violent chase, managed to subdue a black bear and tie it to a tree and suggested that Roosevelt shoot it.
Given the unsportsmanlike circumstances, Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear but had the bear killed to relieve it of its misery. It was this event that led to a political cartoon in The Washington Post.
The cartoon evolved, and later inspired Morris Michtom to create a new toy. This stuffed bear became known as ‘Teddy’s bear”. Michtom’s bear was not the only one to evolve at this time and Richard Steiff also created a similar toy in Leipzig in 1903 after which the Steiff teddy bear was exported in large numbers to the United States.
It only took a few more years for the bear to catch on with other manufacturers and they soon became prize possessions of adults as well as children. Perhaps not surprisingly, Teddy Roosevelt kept the original bear given to him by Michtom.
Although the early bears may not have been safe by today’s commercial standards, they were still much loved and cherished for years to come and the Steiff teddy bear in particular remains a collector’s item all over the world.
New Steiff Teddy Bear
Let’s take it from the inside out. Antique teddy bears were originally stuffed with wood wool, this practice continued until just after World War I when wood wool was replaced by kapok. The construction of the bear itself was from mohair that is derived from Angora goats with the bear’s paws being cut from felt or suede. In order to make the bear ‘growl’, small bellows were attached to tubes of cardboard with a reed were inserted. These worked when the bear was turned over as a weight would force the bellows open and on turning the bear again, the bellows would release the air through the reed creating the ‘growl’. The joints that made the arms, legs and head move were quite basic and worked because of metal or card discs secured by pins.
Looking at the facial features of an antique teddy bear, the eyes themselves were derived from a couple of sources; either shoe buttons or glass that had been painted at the back that were attached via a hook. The nose and mouth tended to be embroidered by hand although the exact shape of the nose tended to differ between manufacturers.
Today, although antique teddy bears still retain the charm of the collectible bears, their construction is somewhat dissimilar which is especially notable by the colours and clothing. We now even have talking bears with flashing noses!
However, one thing will never change, our children’s love of these cuddly toys will often extend into adulthood. I know my children who are now in their twenties and thirties still have their stuffed bears, whether they are collectible bears, or a vintage bear or not.
