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Posts: 32you've all heard of a 'wolf dressed in sheeps clothing' right?...well I have an odd tale of a bear dressed in...erm...bears clothing!
As some of you know I was awaiting a parcel from ebay containg two badly photographed bears, one a pedigree white bear, and a more intruiging dark brown bear, unlabelled, joints stitched up, button eyes ...I was actually more interested in the Dark brown bear, as he had button eyes and was jointed, proffered to be from the 40's or 50's, in that vague ebay-esque way so common!
Well, they arrived today, the first thing I noticed was that around the tops of the leg joints, there seemed to be protruding some light colour mohair (blondish)...I checked, it wasnt but stuffing, but I thought no more of it, he was sweet enough, a bit oddly shaped, in his tummy was a defunct squeaker protruding out, which I decided to I would fix later.
When later came I thought I would pop open a convienant side or tummy seam ad either sink the seaker further inside or failing that, remove it....how ever there was no back, side or tummy seam....but, along near the bottom of the bear near the top of his legs, there was a very odd seam that ran horizontally across.... I unpicked it way to easily and suddenly realised that this dark brown facade was hiding something EVEN more interesting!
I called my partner over and we both stared in amazement as I began carefully unpicking more and more of the dark fur, the leg skins came off like a pair of boots revealing a very bald blond bear leg!....same with the arms, the body !
Gradually one after the other ears appeared, then the back of the head. The finally uwrapping was a bit like in the films when someone is taking the bandage off of someone who has had plastic surgery, an exciting moment of unveiling a new face for the first time! At last dear little sewn on black eyes on top of some brown stitching peeped back at us!
I shall post pics soon as I was so excited that I took pics a long the way...it really was one of those 'kodak moments!'
Anyway, on to describe him!...There is hardly any of his fur left, but he was a beige-ish colour.
His stuffing is wood wool, which has been topped up at some point with what looks like cotton waste in his body & scraps of odd bits of fabric in his arms.
He has had three sets of paw pads, the original are very pale blue faded brushed cotton pads.
No signs of any claws
Sewn woollen eyes (poss not original)
he has back and tummy seam, was hand closed when finished at back.
He has very long arms, down to his knees, they are tapered to pointy hands that point slightly upwards.
He has very fat chunky legs, slightly pointed feet....an interesting point is he has teardrop shape paw pads, with the point to the front.
His shape of head is almost mouselike, he has quite large ears that stand well, they are set into the seam across his head AND the external edge of ear is set in to the face seam.
The ears are close together
The face seams are wide apart. there are irregular seams in the back of his head and only one side of his head has a side seam.
He has a high, humped back.
The squeak box had a very strong spring in it and appeared to be made from wood and a kind of waxed paper.
arm and head discs are heavey alluminimum.
the nose stitching had been gone over so many times it was imposible to find which was the original, upon taking that off we were able to find a small patch of fur under all the stitching condusive with him having a very small nose on the end of his snout.
We'll be giving all his joints some attention, adding a tad more stuffing and a new nose.
Do any of his features sound specific to any age/type of bear????...if anyone has any ideas please share!
I am so delighted with this unique little fellow & had to tell you all !....he was just happy to be himself once more, he said
' It was very hot in there!...I never thought I was ever coming out!'
Past Time BearsThat is an incredible story - and rather puzzling, too. But what a fantastic discovery . . . a bear within a bear. Thanks so much for sharing this mystery with us!
DoodlebearsPictures please, I am so intrigued to see your wonderful mummified bear out of his wrappings.
Hugs Jane. 
YorkshireHow exciting, look forward to a piccie :photo:
Hugs Ali
Matilda Huggington-beareYou have me really intrigued......I shall stay tuned for the next chapter. 
What a great story! Mysteries and treasure hunts are always great! :clap:
This was wonderful to read! I'm very eager to see pics.
It was really an interesting way for someone to "save" an old bear. Perhaps the bear costume preserved the old fellow and made him huggable to someone. (I've very glad you let him out, though:)
Becky
Posts: 32Hi sorry for not returning sooner I should have 'watched' this thread!
I have the pics to show you!
Posts: 32 Posts: 32He looks so sad in those pictures doesnt he... He's currently awaiting some surgery including a restitched nose!... I will post another photo of him when he's feeling more up to it!
Thanks for adding the pics. What a pathetic, yet sweet bear! I bet it was someone's favorite and they loved it until it was worn out. Then, mom probably got a great idea and covered it to give it a second life. Sounds like a feasible story.
Hugs,
Alison
Posts: 32I would agree!
its a nice thought too!
So interesting!
It's going to be like getting a new life for the little guy, once he's got eyes and a proper nose again.
There are things about the look of this bear that make me think he was home-made from the start. That might explain his unusual "restoration" too, if someone in the house knew how to make bears. (Are those metal joints? Or just a trick of the camera?)
He's a special character, and just like with a stray animal, you know there's a background story, but he's not talking!
Becky
Posts: 32I dont think he is home made, as i said, his discs are very heavy aluminimum... you cant tell from the pics but he has that early mouse-like look to him, he has a pointy turned up nose... i will leave hi eyes as is, stitched, they may not be authentic but they were obviously there prior to being covered. the covered fur was hand stitched round him, the original bear has been machined
Matilda Huggington-beareOh the poor wee love. He looks like a plucked bird. I've only seen mohair in this state after insects got to it. What a shame. But just think...if he wasnt wrapped he would never have survived to this day.
I'm really interested in how his restoration goes. Can you keep us posted?
Wendy
Fulrfun BearsWhat an incredible story. Some years ago Australian Bear Review (sadly no longer in print) did a story on these bears that were given new life by doing exactly what your bear had done to it. I will see if I can find it and send you a copy of the article. Also, I have an old Alpha farnell Bear that yours reminded me of as soon as I saw him 'undressed'. I will try and post a photo later. The Alpha Farnell had a very distinctive turned up nose that was rather pointy and usually stiched in a very pale beige thread. What a great story please keep us informed.
Posts: 32Hello everyone!
Well I'm pleased to say that although he has lost the majority of his fur, the fabric is actually seems very strong and not disintegrating as you may think, I cant find any evidence of insects & I have had a good look in his stuffing!
I'm waiting for some suitable fabric at the moment to strengthen the fabric behind the metal discs, I don't want to make a shoddy repair on him for the sake of haste, as tempting as it is to just want to get him in one piece!...I will post pictures when i do though!!
I'm really intrigued to see the Alpha Farnell now & will keep looking around to!
I've bought a couple of 'bear encyclopedias' now, one arrived so far, so hopefully I wont have to keep pestering you guys every time I find a new bear! (which seems to be ever more increasing!)
Posts: 32I would really love to read the artical too clarebear!
