Posted 9 years ago
Axolotl
(7 items)
I found this Teddy Bear recently at an Estate Sale in an old box with assorted dolls and puppets. I'm not a Teddy Bear collector (well, I do have one Steiff Teddy from when I was a child) and know next to nothing about them, but there was something about this bear that just caught my eye. His fur is somewhat "silky"and he seems to have a fair amount of hand stitching. His eyes are made of glass and it feels as though he is stuffed with rags or some other heavy fill; he also has a "cranium'. The height of the bear is 9 inches. He has a tiny bell in his tail! Any information any one has about this Teddy would be greatly appreciated.
I like teddy bears even if they are sideways.
I wonder if this one has been doctored up a bit. I had one like this 1920s, old Gund, but the eyes were different (and this fur looks polyester where as mine was mohair, but sometimes pics are deceiving).
Anyway, the eyes on here seem bright and modern which is why some of the details (eyes, any brighter thread in hand-stitching, etc) lead me to think that this might be a repaired piece.
In terms of content, mine was filled with hay and old wool scraps. Whether it started life that way or whether mine was also repaired, I don't know.
The "cranium" part is interesting. I've had several vintage bears come through my house (most have since been sent on) but I can't remember any having a structure that maintained the head in the way a cranium would. Do you think it's plastic? I've seen some interesting techniques with plastic from the 50s, 60s, etc but I wouldn't have been inclined to pick up a stuffed animal with plastic components. Wood, metal, fiber...ok...but plastic, I never really liked.
BTW - depending on the stuffing, keep it very well taken care of. I loved my mohair Gund (a 50cent auction buy but it was the teddy bear that started my later collection - it was precious), but the hay/wool contents attracted bugs while it was in outdoor storage (even though it was wrapped and stored in a box in a box...). They destroyed the bear. It was a sad discovery.
Loveeee it!!!!