Teddy bear - wikipedia Teddy bear This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 13 December 2017. For other uses, see Teddy bear ( disambiguation ). A German teddy bear from around 1954 A teddy bear is a soft toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff in Germany in the early years of the 20th century, and named after President Theodore `` Teddy '' Roosevelt, the teddy bear became an iconic children 's toy, celebrated in story, song, and film. Since the creation of the first teddy bears which sought to imitate the form of real bear cubs, `` teddies '' have greatly varied in form, style, color, and material. They have become collector 's items, with older and rarer `` teddies '' appearing at public auctions. Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy. Contents 1 History 2 Production 2.1 Commercial 2.2 Amateur 2.3 Antiques 3 Impact 3.1 `` The Teddy Bears ' Picnic '' 3.2 Teddy bear museums 3.3 Teddy Bear Cops program 3.4 Brunus edwardii April fool 3.5 In popular culture 4 References 5 External links History A 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the teddy bear name. The name teddy bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who was commonly known as `` Teddy '' ( though he loathed being referred to as such ). The name originated from an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902, to which Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already killed an animal. A suite of Roosevelt 's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied an American black bear to a willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter. Bear formerly owned by Kermit Roosevelt, thought to be made by Michtom, early 1900s ; Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, 2012 A replica Steiff model 55PB displayed at the Steiff - Museum, Giengen, Germany, 2006 ; no original examples of the 55PB are known to survive Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and was inspired to create a teddy bear. He created a tiny soft bear cub and put it in the shop window with a sign `` Teddy 's bear, '' after sending a bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to use his name. The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. At the same time in Germany, the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom 's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff 's designs. Steiff exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, where it was seen by Hermann Berg, a buyer for George Borgfeldt & Company in New York ( and the brother of composer Alban Berg ). He ordered 3000 to be sent to the United States. Although Steiff 's records show that the bears were produced, they are not recorded as arriving in the U.S., and no example of the type, `` 55 PB '', has ever been seen, leading to the story that the bears were shipwrecked. However, the story is disputed - Gunther Pfieffer notes that it was only recorded in 1953 and says it is more likely that the 55 PB was not sufficiently durable to survive until the present day. Although Steiff and Michtom were both making teddy bears at around the same time, neither would have known of the other 's creation due to poor transatlantic communication. North American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children 's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while composer John Walter Bratton wrote an instrumental `` The Teddy Bears ' Picnic '', a `` characteristic two - step '', in 1907, which later had words written to it by lyricist Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. Early teddy bears were made to look like real bears, with extended snouts and beady eyes. Modern teddy bears tend to have larger eyes and foreheads and smaller noses, babylike features that enhance the toy 's cuteness. Teddy bears are also manufactured to represent different species of bear, such as polar bears and grizzly bears, as well as pandas. While early teddy bears were covered in tawny mohair fur, modern teddy bears are manufactured in a wide variety of commercially available fabrics, most commonly synthetic fur, but also velour, denim, cotton, satin, and canvas. Production Commercial Commercially made, mass - produced teddy bears are predominantly made as toys for children. These bears either have safety joints for attaching arms, legs, and heads, or else the joints are sewn and not articulated. They must have securely fastened eyes that do not pose a choking hazard for small children. These `` plush '' bears must meet a rigid standard of construction in order to be marketed to children in the United States and in the European Union. There are also companies, like Steiff, that sell handmade collectible bears that can be purchased in stores or over the Internet. The majority of teddy bears are manufactured in countries such as China and Indonesia. A few small, single - person producers in the United States make unique, non-mass - produced teddy bears. In the United Kingdom one small, traditional teddy bear company remains, Merrythought, which was established in 1930. Mohair, the fur shorn or combed from a breed of long haired goats, is woven into cloth, dyed and trimmed. Alpaca teddy bears are made from the pelt of an alpaca because the fiber is too soft to weave. In addition to mohair and alpaca, there is a huge selection of `` plush '' or synthetic fur made for the teddy bear market. Both these types of fur are commercially produced. Making of a teddy bear 1 : Cutting 2 : Sewing and turning 3 : Filling 4 : Assembling Amateur Teddy bears are a favourite form of soft toy for amateur toy makers, with many patterns commercially produced or available online. Many `` teddies '' are home - made as gifts or for charity, while `` teddy bear artists '' often create `` teddies '' for retail, decorating them individually with commercial and recycled ornaments such as sequins, beads and ribbons. Sewn teddy bears are made from a wide range of materials including felt, cotton and velour. While many are stitched, others are made from yarn, either knitted or crocheted. Teddy bears are also made of plywood and a range of other craft materials. Antiques Michtom 's jointed mohair `` Teddy 's bear '' was very popular when first designed and remains so with collectors today. Fake bears look suspiciously new and unhandled : their noses are unworn, and their seams may be thick and uneven. All Ideal bears have jointed hips, necks, and shoulders. Early examples have a characteristic `` American football '' shape and are mostly made of short gold or beige mohair plush with matching felt paws, and distinctive, sharply pointed foot pads. They have shoe - button or glass eyes, and the fur around the muzzle may be shorn. Later bears were made in a large variety of colours and types -- for example, pandas -- and had longer fur. Other collectible bears include ones by the Knickerbocker Toy Co. ( active 1924 -- 1925 ) in New York, which are clearly marked with a label in the front seam. Similar to many early American bears, Knickerbocker bears usually have long bodies, small feet, and short, straight arms and legs. Their later bears can be recognized by their large inverted ears and big noses. Other collectible bears include Gund Manufacturing Co. ( est. 1898 ), now in New York, and `` Hershey 's bears '', which were designed to promote The Hershey Company 's chocolate bars. Impact An RAF Boulton Paul Defiant crew pose with their teddy bear mascot at RAF Biggin Hill during World War II Retail sales of stuffed plush animals including teddy bears totaled $1.3 billion in 2006. The most commonly sold brands include Gund and Ty Inc. Brands associated with teddy bears that enjoyed strong popularity in the 1980s and 1990s are Teddy Ruxpin and Care Bears. Various TV shows and movies have a teddy bear depicted, such as Super Ted and Mr. Bean. Teddy bears have seen a resurgence in popularity as international `` do - it - yourself '' chains have opened. Among the largest and best - known are Build - A-Bear Workshop and Vermont Teddy Bear Company. Some popular mass - marketed teddy bears made today include Rupert, Sooty, Paddington, and Pudsey Bear. Books have also been written with the teddy bear featured as their main character. These include Winnie - the - Pooh, Corduroy, Teddy Tells Time, Tristan the Teddy Bear ( from the Teddy Bear Tales ) and Teddy Dressing. `` The teddy bears ' Picnic '' The popularity of the toy inspired John Walter Bratton to compose the melody `` The Teddy Bears ' Picnic '' ( 1907 ). The lyrics were added in 1932 by Jimmy Kennedy. Teddy bear museums The world 's first teddy bear museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. These were closed in 2006 and 2005 respectively, and the bears were sold in auctions, but there are many teddy bear museums around the world today. Teddy bear Cops program Because police, fire and emergency officials found that giving a teddy bear to a child during a crisis stabilized and calmed them, NAPLC created the Teddy Bear Cops program to distribute teddy bears to police, fire, and emergency officials throughout the United States, for their use in providing teddy bears to children in emergencies. Brunus edwardii April fool On April Fools ' Day 1972, issue 90 of The Veterinary Record published a paper on the diseases of Brunus edwardii detailing common afflictions of teddy bears. In popular culture Winnie - the - Pooh is the name of a fictional character created by A.A. Milne, based on a teddy bear owned by his son Christopher Robin, who was the basis of the eponymous character in A.A. Milne 's work. Milne wrote many stories featuring Pooh Bear, some of which were adapted by the Walt Disney Company into theatrical shorts and / or compiled into movies such as 1977 's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the 2011 film Winnie the Pooh. Ted ( 2012 ), and its sequel, Ted 2 ( 2015 ), are comedy movies, raunchy spoofs of stories where children 's teddy bears come to life. References Jump up ^ David Cannadine, A point of view - The Grownups with teddy bears, 1 February 2013, ( accessed 2013 - 02 - 01 ) Jump up ^ `` A STEIFF HARLEQUIN TEDDY BEAR, jointed, half red and half blue mohair, one blue and black and one brown and black glass eye, black stitching, yellow felt pads and FF button, circa 1925 -- 131⁄2in. ( 34cm. ) high ( small bald spot below right ear, some fading mainly to the blue, blue eye cracked, patch to right pad and some general wear ) Christie 's ''. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 12. Estimate £ 50,000 -- £ 80,000 Jump up ^ Matuz, Roger ( 2004 ). The Handy Presidents Answer Book. Canton, MI : Visible Ink Press. Jump up ^ `` Holt Collier '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` History of the Teddy Bear ''. Retrieved March 7, 2006. ^ Jump up to : `` Teddy Bears ''. Library Of Congress. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 10. ^ Jump up to : Clay, Marianne ( 2002 ). `` The History of the Teddy Bear ''. Teddy Bear & Friends. Madavor Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 2011 - 07 - 23. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Theodore Roosevelt Association. The story of The Teddy Bear ''. Theodoreroosevelt.org. 2013 - 02 - 01. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Bring on the Berg ''. Alex Ross : The Rest Is Noise. Jump up ^ Teddy bear celebrates 100th birthday BBC, 2002 - 12 - 03 Jump up ^ The great teddy bear shipwreck mystery, BBC News, Francis Cronin, 26 July 2011 Jump up ^ `` Seymour Eaton ''. Greater Lansdowne Civic Association ( GLCA ). 2003. Retrieved 2007 - 12 - 10. Jump up ^ BBC News Britain 's last surviving teddy bear factory Jump up ^ Beazley, Mitchell. `` Teddy Bears ''. Miller 's Antiques Encyclopedia. Credo Reference. Retrieved 2013 - 02 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Build - A-Bear Workshop Inc '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Officers using the Teddy Bear Cops program ''. Teddybearcop.com. Retrieved 2013 - 09 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Brunus edwardii ( 1972 ) ''. Retrieved 27 March 2010. Jump up ^ Blackmore, DK ; DG Owen ; CM Young ( 1972 ). `` Some observations on the diseases of Brunus edwardii ( Species nova ) ''. Veterinary Record. 90 ( 14 ) : 382 -- 385. doi : 10.1136 / vr. 90.14. 382. Retrieved 27 March 2010. External links Look up teddy bear in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to : Teddy bear ( category ) Teddy bears Manufacturers Build - A-Bear Workshop Chad Valley J.K. Farnell Gund Ideal Toy Company Margarete Steiff GmbH Merrythought Teddy Atelier Stursberg Teddy - Hermann Ty Inc. Vermont Teddy Bear Company Types AG Bear Beanie Babies Boyds Bears Care Bears Coffee Bean Bears Forever Friends Freddy Teddy Gund Snuffles Holiday Beanie Babies Me to You Bears WereBears Museums Dorset Teddy Bear Museum Teddy bear museum Teddy Bear Museum of Naples Famous teddies Aloysius Archibald Ormsby - Gore Benjamin Bear Berlino Duffy the Disney Bear Corduroy Fozzie Bear Freddy Fazbear Grizzly Teddy Lotso Microsoft Bear Misha Nassur Nev Paddington Bear Pooky Pudsey Bear Rilakkuma Roosevelt Rupert Bear Rupert ( Family Guy ) Smokey Sooty SuperTed Teddy ( Mr. Bean ) Teddy Ruxpin Uszatek Mr Whoppit Winnie - the - Pooh Yogi Bear Film and television The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin Bear Behaving Badly Becky and Barnaby Bear Boonie Bears C Bear and Jamal Colargol Disney 's Adventures of the Gummi Bears Issi Noho Old Bear Stories Paddington The Secret World of Benjamin Bear SuperTed Ted Ted 2 Teddybears The Teddy Bear Master Teddy Edward The Upstairs Downstairs Bears The Yogi Bear Show Books Corduroy Little Bear Old Bear and Friends Teddy Dressing The Berenstain Bears Polar the Titanic Bear Uppo - Nalle Winkie Winnie - the - Pooh Music `` ( Let Me Be Your ) Teddy Bear '' `` Psycho Teddy '' `` Teddy Bears ' Picnic '' `` The Teddy Bear Song '' Video games Build - A-Bear Workshop Hubert the Teddy Bear : Winter Games Opération Teddy Bear Teddy Together Related topics The Bear Club Peter Bull Gummy bears Round and round the garden SGUL Teddy Bear Hospital Richard Steiff Stuffed toys Sudanese blasphemy case Teddybear Airdrop Minsk 2012 Teddy bear parachuting Teddy Bear Review Teddy bear toss Teddy Grahams Theodore Roosevelt 26th President of the United States, 1901 -- 1909 25th Vice President of the United States, 1901 33rd Governor of New York, 1899 -- 1900 Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1897 -- 1898 New York City Police Commissioner, 1895 -- 1897 New York State Assemblyman, 1882 1883 1884 Presidency First inauguration historic site Second inauguiration `` Square Deal '' Booker T. Washington dinner Conservation Newlands Reclamation Act Transfer Act of 1905 Antiquities Act Pelican Island Devils Tower National Monument Muir Woods National Monument Other National Monuments United States Forest Service, United States Reclamation Service National Wildlife Refuge System Roosevelt Arch Conference of Governors Northern Securities Company breakup court case Coal strike of 1902 Pure Food and Drug Act Food and Drug Administration Meat Inspection Act Expediting Act Elkins Act Hepburn Act Aldrich -- Vreeland Act Federal Employers Liability Act Kinkaid Act Big Stick ideology Hay -- Bunau - Varilla Treaty Panama Canal Zone Panama Canal Venezuelan crisis Roosevelt Corollary Occupation of Cuba Russo - Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth 1906 Nobel Peace Prize Gentlemen 's Agreement of 1907 College football meetings Bureau of Investigation Department of Commerce and Labor Bureau of Corporations Keep Commission Inland Waterways Commission Bureau of the Census Great White Fleet Perdicaris incident Cabinet White House West Wing State of the Union Address, 1901 1906 1908 White House desk Federal judiciary appointments Other events Spanish -- American War Rough Riders Battle of Las Guasimas Battle of San Juan Hill `` Bull Moose '' Progressive Party New Nationalism Assassination attempt Boone and Crockett Club Smithsonian -- Roosevelt African Expedition `` River of Doubt '' Amazonian expedition Life and homes Birthplace, boyhood home replica Sagamore Hill Home and Museum Oyster Bay Elkhorn Ranch Maltese Cross Cabin Pine Knot cabin Gravesite Writings and speeches Theodore Roosevelt bibliography The Naval War of 1812 ( 1882 book ) `` The Strenuous Life '' ( 1899 speech ) `` Citizenship in a Republic '' ( 1910 speech ) `` I have just been shot '' ( 1912 speech ) Theodore Roosevelt : An Autobiography ( 1913 book ) The Forum magazine articles Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia Archival collections Elections New York state election, 1898 Republican National Convention, 1900 1904 1912 1916 United States presidential election, 1900 1904 1912 Legacy Mount Rushmore Theodore Roosevelt Center and Digital Library White House Roosevelt Room Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness Theodore Roosevelt Island Roosevelt National Forest Roosevelt Study Center Theodore Roosevelt Association Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park Monument Assemblage Roosevelt River Theodore Roosevelt Award Roosevelt Road U.S. Postage stamps Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider sculpture Equestrian statue Popular culture Teddy bear `` Speak softly, and carry a big stick '' Books Films Roosevelt in Africa 1910 documentary The Roosevelts 2014 documentary Related Political positions `` Bully pulpit '' Ananias Club `` Nature fakers '' Progressive Era A Guest of Honor Porcellian Club `` Muckraker '' National Collegiate Athletic Association `` Roosevelt Republican '' Family Alice Hathaway Lee ( first wife ) Edith Kermit Carow ( second wife ) Alice Lee Roosevelt ( daughter ) Theodore Roosevelt III ( son ) Kermit Roosevelt ( son ) Ethel Carow Roosevelt ( daughter ) Archibald Roosevelt ( son ) Quentin Roosevelt ( son ) Theodore Roosevelt Sr. ( father ) Martha Stewart Bulloch ( mother ) Anna Roosevelt ( sister ) Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt ( brother ) Corinne Roosevelt ( sister ) Cornelius Roosevelt ( grandfather ) James Stephens Bulloch ( grandfather ) James A. Roosevelt ( uncle ) Robert Roosevelt ( uncle ) James Dunwoody Bulloch ( half - uncle ) Irvine Bulloch ( uncle ) Theodore Douglas Robinson ( nephew ) Corinne Robinson ( niece ) Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( niece ) Hall Roosevelt ( nephew ) ← William McKinley William Howard Taft → Living things in culture Academic disciplines Anthrozoology Ethnobiology Ethnobotany Ethnoecology Ethnoentomology Ethnoherpetology Ethnoichthyology Ethnolichenology Ethnomycology Ethnoornithology Ethnoprimatology Ethnozoology Groups Animals Arthropods Insects Topics Beekeeping Entomophagy Flea circus Insects in art Insects in literature Insects in medicine Insects in music Insects in mythology Insects in religion Sericulture Types Ant Bee Mythology Beetle Beetlewing Butterfly Cicada Cricket Dragonfly Flea Flea circus Fly Grasshopper Ladybird Louse Praying mantis Scarab Termite Wasp Woodworm Other Arthropods in film Crab Lobster Scorpion Spider Arachnophobia Tarantella Tick Molluscs Conch ( instrument ) Conchology Pearl Seashell Sea silk Shell money Shipworm Tyrian purple List of edible molluscs Octopus Pitar dione Vertebrates Amphibians Frog Salamander Toad Toadstone Birds Aviculture Birdwatching Bird conservation Birds in culture Cockfighting Falconry Game bird Pigeon racing Poultry Archaeopteryx Barnacle goose Eagle Fish Fishing History Fish farming Fishkeeping Recreational fishing Mammals Topics Animal husbandry Fur farming Hunting In sport In professional wrestling Laboratory animal Livestock Pack animal Working animal Types Bat Bear Baiting Hunting Teddy bear Cattle Deer Elephant Fox Horse Riding Worship Leopard Lion Primate Gorilla Gorilla suit Monkey Orangutan Seal hunting Sheep Whale Tay Whale Whaling Whale watching Wolf Werewolf Reptiles Crocodile Attacks Farming Crocodile tears Dinosaur Dragon Lizard Snake Caduceus In the Bible Rod of Asclepius Snakebite Snake charming Symbolism Worship Turtle Bixi World Turtle Other phyla Coral Jellyfish Starfish Other Aesop 's Fables Animal epithet Animal husbandry In heraldry Lists of legendary creatures Zodiac Plants Agriculture History Botanical illustration Floral design Ikebana Gardening Herbalism Fictional plants Magical plants Mandrake Medicinal plants Pharmacognosy Plant epithet Sacred grove In India Sacred plants Bodhi Tree Lime tree Sacred lotus Sacred herb In mythology Barnacle tree Fig Trees Yggdrasil Fungi Medicinal fungi Amanita muscaria Edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus Psilocybin mushroom Microbes Biological warfare Fermentation In food processing List of microbes Microbial art Microbes and Man Pathogen Protein production Bacteria Economic importance Tuberculosis Protist Virus Yeast Bread Beer Wine Related Anthropomorphism Legendary creature Lists of fictional species Parasitoid Template : Insects in culture Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teddy_bear&oldid=815259184 '' Categories : Teddy bears 1900s toys 2000s toys Bears in popular culture Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt Products introduced in 1902 Stuffed toys Toy animals Hidden categories : Wikipedia pending changes protected pages ( level 1 ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikimedia Commons বাংলা Български Català Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Lëtzebuergesch Magyar മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Basa Sunda Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ไทย Türkçe Українська Vepsän kel ' Tiếng Việt Winaray 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 13 December 2017, at 19 : 31. 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Question: where does the term teddy bear come from
Answer: President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt