The teddy bear is arguably the most iconic toy ever made. Over 120 years after the first one appeared, bears remain the default soft toy — the one people reach for as a baby gift, the one children ask for by name, the one adults keep long after they have outgrown everything else.
But how did a stuffed bear become the universal symbol of comfort? The story is better than you might expect.
The Bear That Started It All
The origin story has been told many times, but it is worth repeating because it is genuinely unusual. In November 1902, US President Theodore Roosevelt went on a bear-hunting trip in Mississippi. After days without success, his hosts tracked down a black bear, tied it to a tree, and invited Roosevelt to shoot it. He refused, calling it unsportsmanlike.
The incident was captured in a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post, showing Roosevelt turning his back on a small, cute bear. The cartoon was widely reproduced, and an enterprising Brooklyn shopkeeper named Morris Michtom saw an opportunity.
Michtom and his wife Rose made a small stuffed bear, displayed it in their shop window with a sign reading "Teddy's Bear" (after Roosevelt's nickname), and it sold immediately. They made more. Those sold too. Michtom eventually founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which became one of America's largest toy manufacturers.
Meanwhile, entirely independently, the German company Steiff was developing its own stuffed bears. Margarete Steiff, a seamstress who had been making stuffed animals since the 1880s, introduced a jointed bear designed by her nephew Richard at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903. An American buyer ordered 3,000 on the spot.
Whether credit belongs to Michtom or Steiff depends on which side of the Atlantic you ask. What is certain is that by 1906, the teddy bear was a global phenomenon.
The Golden Age of Bears
The early twentieth century saw teddy bears become a cultural fixture with remarkable speed. By the 1910s, every major toy manufacturer was producing them. Early bears had distinctive features that collectors now prize: long snouts, humped backs, long limbs, and boot-button eyes. They were typically made from mohair (angora goat fur) and stuffed with wood shavings called excelsior.
Through two World Wars, teddy bears served as comfort objects for children and, touchingly, for soldiers. Bears were sent to troops in the trenches and carried as mascots by bomber crews. The emotional significance of the teddy bear was firmly established — it was not just a toy, but a source of genuine comfort.
The post-war period brought mass production and new materials. Synthetic fabrics replaced mohair for most commercial bears. Polyester filling replaced wood shavings. Safety eyes replaced glass or button eyes. Bears became softer, more washable, and more affordable. The trade-off was character — many mid-century mass-produced bears were generic in a way that early bears were not.
Bears in British Culture
Britain has a particularly deep connection with teddy bears. Winnie-the-Pooh, created by A.A. Milne in 1926 and based on his son Christopher Robin's own teddy bear, is perhaps the most famous fictional bear in history. Paddington Bear, created by Michael Bond in 1958, became another national treasure — a polite, marmalade-loving bear from Peru who embodied a particularly British kind of gentle decency.
The Great British teddy bear industry thrived throughout the twentieth century. Companies like Merrythought (founded in 1930 in Ironbridge, Shropshire) became world-renowned for quality. Merrythought still makes bears in the same factory today, making them one of the last British soft toy manufacturers.
The Modern Bear: Sustainability and Craftsmanship
Today's teddy bear market splits broadly into two directions. On one side, there is a thriving market for keepsake bears — traditional proportions, button eyes, made to be kept rather than dragged around a garden. Our classic teddy bears sit in that tradition, and the appeal is the same as it was a century ago: a bear with a face you actually like.
On the other side, there is a growing movement toward sustainability. Makers like Aurora World have developed ranges such as Eco Nation, where bears and other animals are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. The craftsmanship is there, but the materials reflect modern environmental concerns.
Both directions represent something positive. The collectors' market preserves the artistry and emotional significance that made teddy bears special in the first place. The sustainability movement ensures that the next generation of bears does not contribute unnecessarily to environmental problems.
Why Bears Endure
After more than a century, the teddy bear shows no sign of fading. New toy trends come and go — fidget spinners, slime, whatever is currently viral on social media — but bears remain constant. They are still the most popular first toy, the most common comfort object, and the most frequently gifted soft toy.
The reason is probably simple: a bear is the right shape to hug. It has a face you can project emotions onto. It is soft and warm and reassuringly solid. Technology has not improved on that, and probably never will.
Browse our bears collection to find one worth keeping.
