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BFB-Lyn Brimbin Forest Bears
NSW, Australia
Posts: 3,915
Website

OldTedSideTop.jpgOldTedBk.jpgOldTedSide.jpgOldTedFt.jpgbear_original  I inherited this old bear some years back from hubby's aunt after she had died and all I know is that he is from the 1930's. So, if any of you ladies out there can tell me more I would love to hear from you  bear_original The poor thing is quite beaten up and I think I would rather leave him that way rather than have him restored  bear_rolleyes not sure, hmmmm!

Hugs Lyn  bear_flower

Carolynn Teenytinyteddybears
Posts: 444

What ever he is he has sure been loved. I also wouldnt have him restored.

Carolyn Green Draffin Bears
Auckland New Zealand
Posts: 5,354
Website

He is such a quaint old bear and yes, very much loved.
Sorry I am not able to tell you who the maker is.

Hugs
Carolyn
bear_flower

Densteds Densteds
Posts: 2,056
Website

Hi Lyn,

I collect vintage bears and his body shape, rexine paw pads, the club foot pads & the way the claws have been stitched remind me  very much of a New Zealand Pedigree bear....many of these bears were made with rexine inner ears , and although this fellow doesn't have these, he does look very much like one.  Australian Barton Waugh bruno bears also had the same pointed paw pads, but the shape of his footpads look more like a Pedigree.

Us Bears Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,479

We agree with Denise's appraisal on your Bear.
Additionally, we would note that your Bear's two-color glass eyes were fashionable for Bears in the 1930's.  They started to become popular near the end of World War I and lasted until the 1950's and 1960's when safety rules for toys began to get more strict.  The height of their popularity was in the 1930's and 1940's.

Given his material and his eyes, 1930 seems to be a good approximate birth date for your Bear.

We must defer to Denise's comments on your Bear's design.  She has direct experience where we only learn from reading Teddy Bear encyclopedias.

So long as the Bear is intact and, if he still has any trademarks such as the button in a Steiff's left ear there is no shame in a worn Teddy Bear.

A Teddy Bear who has a few bare spots and is a little ragged around the ears is a Bear who has taken good care of his human for a long time.  It is the greatest honor for a Bear to give his all for the love of his human.

Your Bear has lived a good long life in service to his human.  He has given everything a Bear can give.  He is well loved and well worn.  We know he will be very happy to live with you and he will give you the same love he gave his first human for many more years to come.

If he needs to be stitched up or have his nose resewn or have his eyes repaired, he would appreciate your efforts and he would return your loving care as long as he lives.  But Old Teddy Bears wear their bare spots like medals of valor.  He doesn't want to be repaired line new.  He only wants you to love him.

Give him a hug.  Feed him some cookies and hot chocolate.  Let him sit on the sofa beside you and watch some television. 

If you catch him in the right mood, me might tell you some stories from the "Old Days."   bear_grin

Linda Benson Bears
Tasmania
Posts: 562

Hi Lyn, does the bear have a jointed head or is it unjointed? This can be an important clue for antipodean bears.

BFB-Lyn Brimbin Forest Bears
NSW, Australia
Posts: 3,915
Website

bear_original Hi Lisa
Thank you to all for taking the time to think and write something about Mr Bear (that's what the aunt called him) which I have found to be interesting. The aunt lived in the UK and that is where the bear came from (sorry! forgot to mention that oops!) didn't even cross my mind to mention that before.
Ok, now for a bit more information from me.... as far as I know no extra stuffing was put in the nose and he is no where near sunlight or dust. He is jointed (wooden joints and metal pins or something like that) including the head as I can feel 2 disk in there and is stuffed with wood wool/shavings from head to toe and the paw pads and the stud collar is the Rexine fabric. It also looks like he may have had a growler as I have just found a wooden disk with a small hole in the middle and some small pieces of paper still attached to the disk. His height is 33cm (13 inches) and it seems the original colour of the mohair was a light yellow golden colour. I reckon the mohair would have been of medium density, shortish and the curly wavy type.
Not sure I would feel brave enough to tackle restoring his nose or the hole in his toe and the one in his tummy  bear_ermm

Hugs Lyn  bear_flower

OzMatilda Posts: 209

oh that's great to hear some more info Lyn..that explains Mr Ted's long 'snout'..as the earlier Aussie bears just didn't have that kind of protruding snout....Do you have Teddy Bears & Their Values by Jacki Brooks?...as if you look on page 56, you will see your ted there..Alpha Farnell...they used Rexine paws, the tops of the head gussets were broad and the ear placement is exact to your's..they also used the glass eyes.....and some of the 1930 designs of 11-14" had the straighter arms...their nose threads were generally black or blonde.....if hubbies aunt brang her from England..it could possibly be an Alpha Farnell and going by my guide books really does resemble the blonde mohair one's in shape design etc.......I could scan the page if you like, no worries... bear_flower

Us Bears Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,479
BFB-Lyn wrote:

Not sure I would feel brave enough to tackle restoring his nose or the hole in his toe and the one in his tummy

Come ON!  You're a BEAR MAKER!  There's nobody better qualified!
Besides, he'd probably be happier if he was fixed up by somebody who loved him, even if the job wasn't 100% perfect.

First decide how you want to approach the job.
Do you want to "restore" him or "conserve" him.  In other words, do you want to make him new again or just make enough repairs to keep him from getting any worse.  Purists would go for the strict conservation route.  Other people would want to completely restore him.  Us Bears vote for something in between.

The first question is about his material.  How is it holding up?  Is his material fragile?
If his material is still strong, you might just be able to sew over his tears.  If the fabric is fragile you might need to do more.

If you REALLY wanted to do it right, you could carefully unsew his back and unstuff him.  Then you could sew an unbleached white muslin patch over his tear(s) from the INSIDE.  Try to use thread that matches his material and stitch carefully so your work doesn't show.  Done right, it would be hard to tell that he was ever patched up.

We're not saying that you should do this.  We only mention it because we have seen it done.
One of our den mates had a broken leg joint.  Our human had to repair him that way.
If you are a good seamstress, it won't be very hard to do.

Just be sure to give Mr. Bear a cookie when his surgery is over.  bear_laugh

OzMatilda Posts: 209

Lyn, scanned it for you... bear_flower


View the one on bottom left page..it say's in the book that his paw pads were replaced, purchased in Edinburgh in 1929. Fully jointed, although the one photographed is 17" in height....the one directly opposite, imagine with sparse mohair..he is 12", glass eyes, long gold mohair, rexine paw pads..fully jointed c.1930's....both those bears were valued at $450 when Jacki published the book in 1998...

I'd have him professionally restored (mainly his end gusset as his worth quite a few hundred $$, so best to try and keep him as original as possible for your collection), it's a bit more complex restoring old bears as the fabric can tear further around those areas if not restored correctly...it shouldn't cost a great deal, but very worth it...I had an old Bing that i purchased some years ago that actually had 'dry rot' that the seller forgot to mention  bear_whistle trying to mend the areas, was impossible as the fabric was tearing like paper...in the end i resold it....your's  looks very repairable and mohair fabric just worn thin more than having that dreaded dry rot...most restorers have mohair swatches to match the original mohair used too..so will all blend in lovely..... bear_flower

alpha_farnell.jpg


p.s. Lyn, you mentioned your bear is fully excelsoir filled and the rexine studded collar looks to be original to him as well.....now i'm in a bit of a spin again..as many of the earlier English companies used mostly soft cotton filling or a blend mix of kapok/excelsoir/flock...so your's being totally excelsoir filled, i'm wondering if your hubbies aunt perhaps was given a 'Mutzli'...which is from Switzerland, they full excelsoir for stuffing...they had a button attached to the chest area..and are really rare to find....there are also bears listed in guide books that 'no one knows the maker' however, can have a guess only of the origin from the design....yours actually looks more Germanic to me with that side profile...but with an English/Australian designed body with a German style head...

I'm totally confused now..it's that Librian coming out in me..can never be decisive so confuse myself further..!! :crackup:  :crackup:

I so hope someone can identify your teddy..as it's nice to know the makers....

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