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Posts: 298I recently bought my first antique bear on ebay. 
the photos showed him as a nondescript brownish-gold, pleasant enough, but not striking. Imagine my surprise when I received him today and found that the fur on the undersides of his limbs, and near his joints, is a bright, shining, reddish-orange! Similar to "cinnamon" teddies that I've seen, but not as brown. It's beautiful! In the right light, I can even see hints of it on his body. My question is this: Does the dye in antique mohair bears naturally just fade or wear off over time, or would this be a case of sunlight damage or some other improper storage? Interestingly, he retains all of his mohair, except for a small patch about the size of a thumbprint on his back, right on the edge of his growler.
Sacred Bear StudiosDefinitely. Dyes naturally fade a bit over many years, particularly the natural dyes that were used many decades ago.....but that's usually a very even fading caused by chemical decomposition. The dye on the undersides of his limbs being much fresher is tell-tale that he was left in an overly sunny spot for a time.
I have an big Dakin Elegante grizzly like that....his previous owner left him in a very sunny room, so all his exposed fur faded to a strawberry color, but under his chin and butt he's still brown.
That is definitely what happens, and I don't think it needs to be direct sunlight to cause fading. My dad's old bear from the 30s is quite a bit brighter on his whole back side. He sat on top of my grandma's dresser for many years, back to the wall, and she was one to keep rooms pretty dim (no AC). He's still a wonderful old bear--just a paler yellow on his front side--and he sits on my dad's dresser these days. 
Becky
