Interpreting Photographic Images: Teddy Bears


Figure 1.--This little curly haired boy was photographed with his favorite stuffed animal which I think is Piglet. He looks to be about 5 years old and his wearing matching knit shirt and shorts with kneesocks. I believe this is an English image, but can not be sure. It looks like it was taken in the 1930s.

The Teddy Bear has been embraced by children all over the world. For many it was a cherished childhood companion. Many still have their teddies or wonderful memmories of him. The teddy bear, however, does not feature prominently in historical photographs. This is of course because it did not appear until 1902. Thus the teddy bear is a very effective chronological indicator. The teddy bear is usually considered to be an American creation, but there are other historical accounts. The teddy bear immediately became popular in America and Britain, but the chronology is a bit different in other European countries. Germany became a major manufacturer of teddy bears, I'm less sure how popular they were with German children. A French reader indicated that teddies ("nounours") were not common in France until the 1930s. Teddy bears are not as an effective indicator of gender as of chronology. Both boys and girls had teddies. However, after 1902 a younger American boy was much more likely to have a teddy than a doll. The chronology varied in other countries, but the same basic tendency is observable.

Stuffed Animals

The Teddy Bear emerged as the most popular stuffed animal for boys after the turn of the 20th century, especially in America. The Teddy or even stuffed bears in general were not the only stuffed animals available. Many 19th century portraits show children, especially younger children, photographed with their stuffed animals. Our information on 19th century stuffed animals is limited. We do not know which animals were the most popular or chronological trends. Neither are we sure of the gender conventions. Stuffed animals may have been more popular for boys than dolls. We are also unsure as to girl's preferences. There probably were also variations among countries and over time. This would be useful information to develop as it would help to assess gender in old photographs. Even after the success of the Teddy Bear in the 20th century, there were many other popular stuffed animals. Note the English boy here playing with what looks like Piglet from Winnie the Poo (figure 1).

Chronology

The teddy bear does not feature prominently in historical photographs. One report indicted that stuffed bears were created by Margarete Steiff in 1877. (See "Germany" below.) The Steiff company was established in 1880. Their bears were not at first, however, what we would call true teddies. A German reader tells us, "They started producing different kinds of animals, including bears, but not teddies. A teddy is a fully jointed bear doll, everything else is just a stuffed bear." Richard Steiff in 1902 developed the first real teddy bear. He called it the "Bärle". He introduced it at Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903. The first big order came from an American importer. The name teddy came after the bears began to be sold in America. The teddy acquired its name from President Theodote "Teddy" Roosevelt who was enormously popular. A political cartoonist in 1902 depicted an incident in which President Roosevelt, a noted hunter, refused to shoot a bear cub. After the Steiff bears appeared in America and American companies began making them as well, the name teddy quickly caught on. Thus the teddy bear, at least in America, is a very effective chronological indicator, as least to demonstrate that an image was taken after the turn-of-the-20th century. After the turn-of-the-century, the time line is more complicated. The chronology varies in different countries.

President Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear

The teddy teddy bear is usually considered to be an American creation, named after the very popular president at the time--Theodore Roosevelt, also an enthusiastic outdoorsman and hunter. It should be stressed that it was the name that is associated with President Roosevelt, not the actual stuffed bear itself. The president's nickname was "Teddy". The President who was an ardent hunter was was bear hunting in Mississippi during 1902. He declined to shhot an orphaned bear cub as unsporting. The event was importalized by Washington Post political cartoonist Clifford Berryman who captioned his cartoon, "Drawing the Line in Mississippi". The cartoon appeared in newspapers all over America. Two of the viewers were Morris and Rose Michtom who owned a toy and novelty store in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by Berryman's cartoon, Mrs. Michtom made a toy bear and displayed it in the shop window. The bear was an enormous success. Mr. Michtom wrote to President Roosevelt and requested his permission to to name the bear "Teddy". This was infact the birth of one of America's largest toy companies: the Ideal Novelty Toy Company. The company in 1938 changed its name to the Ideal Toy Company.

Country Trends

The teddy bear is usually considered to be an American creation, but there are other historical accounts. The teddy bear immediately became popular in America and Britain, but the chronology is a bit different in other European countries. Germany became a major manufacturer of teddy bears, I'm less sure how popular they were with German children. A French reader indicated that teddies ("nounours") were not common in France until the 1930s. Teddy bears are not as an effective indicator of gender as of chronology. Both boys and girls had teddies. However, after 1902 a younger American boy was much more likely to have a teddy than a doll. The chronology varied in other countries, but the same basic tendency is observable.

Album1900: Teddies

In 1902 Richard Steiff in Germany developed the first teddy bear which he named the "Bärle". In 1903 the teddy had its introductin at the toy fair in Leipzig. At first it seemed that the teddy would not succeed. But at the end of the fair there was an order of 3,000 bears from the U.S. The teddy bear got his name from Theodore Roosevelt. It was inspired by a caricature drawing in a newspaper that made fun of Roosevelt's unwilling to kill a cub bear chained to a tree, "Teddy's bear". 1907 was the "teddy year" where nearly 1 million teddies left the Steiff company. The success continued and other companies started to produce the teddy as well. The teddies were a wonderful addition as a toy for boys. Finally boys had some kind of "doll" they could cuddle and hold. Of course also many girls had their teddies but they also had their dolls to play with which were considered inappropriate for a boy. To this day teddies continue to be one of the best-loved toy.






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Last updated: 10:05 PM 10/3/2007