Famous Teddy Bears

Teddy bears, teddy bears everywhere. Teddy bears are the most popular of all toys. Cute, soft and cuddly, they have a way of comforting us when we are lonely, ill or afraid. Teddy bears listen to our opinions without argument, hear our problems without attempting to solve them, and understand when we need a hug.

Over the past 100 years there have been a few teddy bears that have reached celebrity status. These particular teddy bears have been so popular they are recognized by name.

Winnie The Pooh is right up there when we think of famous teddy bears. He was created by A.A. Milne with much inspiration from his wife Daphne, and his young son, Christopher Robin. The idea of Pooh began with a trip to the zoo where, Christopher Robin Milne, fell in love with a small, black bear. This prompted Milne to write about the adventures of Christopher Robin, his teddy bear pooh, and their friends. Today you will find Pooh everywhere. There are Winnie The Pooh clothes, bedding, animated cartoons, web sites and, of course, the teddy bear himself.

Paddington Bear is quite famous in his own right. Paddington was created by Michael Bond, a British writer who wrote his first book about the bear in 1958. A Bear Called Paddington, was the first in a series of books about Paddington Bear. In 1967 Bond's books became so successful that he was able to quit his job to become a full-time writer. Paddington is the sort of bear with his paws settled firmly on the ground. He has a great sense of right and wrong and tends to get involved in everyday situations, no wild adventures for this bear. He gets involved with human situations, but he could never be human, it simply wouldn't work. Paddington bear has also been depicted as an animated cartoon and has had his countenance made into a huggable teddy bear, but don't hug him too tight, it just wouldn't be right.

Rupert the bear was first introduced as a comic strip in 'The Daily Express', a British newspaper. Rupert was introduced by artist Mary Toutel on November 8, 1920, and he still appears in the same paper today. Mary was forced to stop drawing the cartoon in 1935, because of her failing eyesight. Alfred Bestall took over the job and continued drawing and writing about the adventures of Rupert for 35 years, until his retirement in 1965. Since then, various artists have taken over the task. Christmas, 1936 it was decided that the previous cartoon strips be put together in an Annual, and the tradition began. Rupert is popular with children and has become a star, in his own right, through animation. He is a popular animated cartoon.

It would not be right to end this article without mentioning two other bears of note.

Yogi Bear, introduced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1957, is a very pesky, yet lovable, cartoon character who has been a teddy bear a time or two. Yogi is famous for his schemes to swindle campers out of their pic-in-ic baskets in Jellystone National park.

Smokey The Bear has been responsible for the prevention of forest fires. He has been teaching adults and children about the dangers of forest fires for over 60 years. Smokey has also been a teddy bear.

Teddy Bear Collections

The web site, www.bearhollow.net, belongs to a teddy bear collector. They have adopted, and share their home with quite a few furry friends. They would like to show you where these 'adopted children' make themselves comfortable around the house and grounds.

You will find links to the kitchen, the family room, the library, the office, the bear room, the living room, the dining room, the powder room, the garage, the picnic area, the guest room, the stairway, the lily pond, the sun room, the laundry room, the hallway and two bear hollow rooms. Wow, with a family like that I wonder how much the honey bill is!

The web address, http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/8514/, will lead you to The Beary Blue Bear Nook. A site owned by Trish a woman of 37 who loves collecting bears. She will show you her collection, and offer you links to sites where you can find kits and accessories to make your own teddy bear. She also has links to teddy bear artists, and the World of Miniatures page will link you to miniature artists.
Lorie's Bear Shelf is a site owned by teddy bear collector, Lorie Barnhill, you can get there by going to: http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/greenlawn/994/. Lori will show you her collection of over 200 bears.

Some teddy bear artists sell teddy bear collections. That is to say, they sell certain groups of similar teddy bears they have designed to go together. Others sell unique, one of a kind teddy bears just right for you to start your own collection.

One site, www.designsbyterri.com offers adorable, miniature teddy bears. 23/4 inch-tall Domino is a bent knee bear made from off white and black medium pile non-shiny upholstery velvet. He is cotter pin and disk jointed and is stuffed with polyfil. Domino comes with a reproduction, die cast, taxi pedal car.