The Beginning of Big Teddy Bears

There are very few things that can warm the heart quite like big teddy bears. While apple pie, hot chocolate and even a great smile are all pretty special, nothing says warm and cuddly like big teddy bears do.



Teddy bears have been the staple of children's nurseries and bedrooms since the iconic soft toy was first designed in Germany by Margarete Steiff's brother in 1902. The way its name (the one known around the world today) was first applied to the soft toy, is not entirely known, however, as several parties claimed to have been the ones to do it.



The original teddy bear was first referred to as Bar 55 PB – when seated, he was 55 centimeters (or 22 inches tall). The letters in his name represent that he was made of plush (Plusch) and that he was moveable (Beweglich). Bar 55 PB was the first jointed bear and he made his first public appearance at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903. Although he had been born, he did not have a name. He was German by birth and was first referred to as "Petsy." To become a household name, he needed the services of Theodore Roosevelt - the 26th president of the United States.



Theodore Roosevelt – known as "Teddy" to his friends, was a dedicated big-game hunter and by the time he became president he had written several books on the subject. While in the American South in November 1902 to arbitrate a border dispute between Louisiana and Mississippi, it was natural for him to go off bear hunting in the Mississippi Delta. When four days had passed and he still had not made a kill, his embarrassed hosts went out into the woods to search for a bear for the president to shoot. They eventually found an old bear which they tied up, however, when Roosevelt saw the pitiful sitting target, he refused to shoot it. At the time, the press was in attendance and reported the event. A cartoonist for The Washington Post, Clifford K. Berryman, went one step beyond the straight reportage explicitly linking the episode to the purpose behind the president's visit. He drew a cartoon captioned 'Drawing the Line in Mississippi,' depicting Roosevelt, hand raised, refusing to shoot at close range, a small, tied up and terrified bear. Two days later, when the cartoon was published, it attracted wide attention in both Washington and New York. The term "teddy bear" was already in existence by the end of the same month, however: Berryman had drawn a pen portrait of Roosevelt and a small bear, next to which he wrote "Teddy Bear Nov.1902." It is likely that it was the cartoonist who coined the term. Berryman went on to draw other versions of the original cartoon and continued to use the bear as a motif in several later political cartoons in which he charted the remainder of Roosevelt's presidency.



Who knows if big teddy bears would have ever come to pass, if it had not been for the Steiff family; what began as nothing more than a cute felt pincushion (created by Margarete Steiff), turned into the most iconic and loveable toy of all time. It was inevitable that as time marched on, that teddy bears would eventually be available in different sizes, thus big teddy bears were born.



Angeline Hope is a collector of big teddy bears. You can view a selection of big plush bear toys at MyBigPlush.