
Some bruins were wind-up toys covered in fur others were carved out of wood. They were often called "bruins," an old name for bears. Toy bears started showing up in children's books and on their toy shelves in the late 19th century. Of course, performing in the streets probably wasn't a great life for the bears. Now you can see them in zoos or the woods, but for hundreds of years people in Europe and North America thought it was funny to watch performing bears. Of course, people have liked bears for a long time. A new version of that first bear, called 55PB by Steiff, costs $100. The Ideal Novelty and Toy Company is long gone, but you can still buy Steiff stuffed animals - if you can afford them. The toy was unpopular at first, but it took off in 1903. Steiff's nephew had based the toy on bears he saw in the Stuttgart Zoo.

teddy bear manufacturer.īut at the same time in Germany, a toy company founded by Margaret Steiff already was making a stuffed bear that looked a lot like the teddy bears to come.

The toy's label read, "Teddy's bear." People loved it, and soon Michtom started the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, probably the first U.S. Who should get credit for the teddy bear? No one is completely sure.Īccording to Pauline Cockrill in the book "The Teddy Bear Encyclopedia," soon after a famous cartoon of President Teddy Roosevelt ran in The Washington Post, New Yorker Morris Michtom stuck a furry bear made by his wife, Rose, in his store window.
