(from The Little History of the Teddy Bear by Michele Brown)
1834 | Robert Southey writes Goldilocks and the Three Bears | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1894 | German toy company Gebrüder Sussenguth show a stuffed bear toy in their catalogue. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1897 | Bear skittles and ‘roly-poly’ toy bears feature in the Steiff catalogue and the Steiff company takes its own stand at the Leipzig toy fair. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1899 | Margarete Steiff registers patents for 23 of her soft toy designs, including a dancing bear and a bear handler with a brown bear. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1902 | November. Morris Michtom sells the first ‘Teddy’s Bear’ in his Brooklyn shop. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1903 | March. Steiff Company sells 3000 of its 55PB bear to America. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1906 | May. First advertisement for plush bear toys, still called Bruins, in the American toy trade magazine Playthings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1906 | November. First advertisement using the words Teddy Bear, by American manufacturer E.J. Horsman, in the American toy trade magazine Playthings. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1907 | Dean’s Rag Book Company publishes Teddy Bear, by Alice Scott, illustrated by Sybil Scott Paley. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1907 | Seymour Eaton publishes The Roosevelt Bears newspaper strip in book form (USA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1907 | Music of the famous song, The Teddy Bear’s Picnic, written by American composer J.K. Bratton. Originally called The Teddy Bear Two Step. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1908 | Dean’s Rag Book Company advertises cut out and sew teddy bears in Home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1908 | Large plush bear, unidentified, appears in a Dean’s advertisement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1908 | J.K. Farnell company makes the first British teddy bears. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1909 | First cartoon animated teddy-bear cartoon, Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears, made in the USA. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1911 | The Bruin Boys first appearance in Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopaedia. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1912 | Steiff create black teddy bears to give as mourning gifts after the sinking of the Titanic. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1915 | Dean’s advertise plush teddy bears, made in their new workshop, in their Kuddlemee toys catalogue. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1919 | First non-stop Atlantic flight by teddy bears when aviation pioneers Alcock and Brown take teddy bear mascots with them on record breaking flight. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1919 | First British comic-strip teddy bear character, Bobby Bear, published in the Daily Herald | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1920 | First Rupert Bear picture story, Little Lost Bear, written and illustrated by Mary Tourtel, appears in the UK newspaper, The Daily Express. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1921 | German company Schuco patent the Yes/No bear | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1921 | J.K. Farnell set up the Alpha works, making bears designed by Cybil Kent. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1924 | First colour animation film with a teddy bear theme when Walt Disney produces Alice and the Three Bears | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1926 | First Edition of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, published. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1930 | First teddy bears made by UK firm Merrythought with designs by Florence Atwood | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1930 | Lyrics of The Teddy Bear’s Picnic written by Jimmy Kennedy and set to the original music written in 1907. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1938 | H.M. Queen Elizabeth (now The Queen Mother) grants a Royal Warrant to | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1939 | British teddy bear makers Chad Valley. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1944 | Smokey Bear adopted as the mascot of the United States Forest Fire Prevention Campaign. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1948 | 'Biffo' The Bear appears for the first time in The Beano | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1952 | First appearance of Sooty, the teddy bear glove puppet and magician, on British television. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1953 | Steiff celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Steiff bears with a new style bear, ‘a comical young bear cub’, called Jackie Baby. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1954 | Wendy Boston, Welsh toy maker, produces the first truly washable teddy bear. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1958 | Publication of the first Paddington story, A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1959 | Walt Disney acquire the rights to Winnie-the-Pooh. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1962 | Colonel Bob Henderson launches The Teddy Bear Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1962 | Margaret Baker publishes The Shoe Shop Bears | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1969 | Peter Bull publishes Bear With Me (USA The Teddy Bear Book) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1969 | Jim Ownby launches the charity Good Bears of the World. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1975 | Walt Disney’s first animated film of Winnie-the-Pooh appears. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1979 | Peter Bull designs his traditionally styled Bully Bears for House of Nisbet. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1979 | Marquis of Bath organises the Great Teddy Bear Rally at Longleat. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1981 | Peter Bull’s 1907 American bear, Delicatessen, stars in the television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1985 | Christie’s of London hold the first ever teddy bear only auction. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1988 | Gyles and Michele Brandreth found The Teddy Bear Museum in William Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford upon Avon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1989 | First British Teddy Bear Festival held in London. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1989 | Happy Anniversary, a 1926 tipped mohair Steiff bear, is sold at auction in London for £55,000 to American Paul Volpp as a 42nd wedding anniversary gift for his wife, Rosemary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1990 | First Steiff UK Limited Edition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1990 | Hermann Teddy Original 75th Anniversary Limited Edition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1990 | Merrythought Diamond Jubilee Limited Edition. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994 | Teddy Girl, a 1904 cinnamon Steiff bear formerly owned by Colonel Bob Henderson, is sold at auction in London for £110,000 to Yoshihiro Sekiguchi, founder of the Teddy Bear Museum in Izu, Japan. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1996 | Teddy Edward, the world’s most travelled bear, is bought at auction by Yoshihiro Sekiguchi of the Izu Teddy Bear Museum for £34,500 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998 | Guinness (8.5 mm tall), made by Lynn Lumb of Halifax, England, enters The Guinness Book of Records as the world’s smallest teddy bear. |