Most Expensive teddy bear

[elize]

One of the most expensive Teddy bears in the world was sold on auction for £91, 750 on 4 December 2000. He is 50cm tall and dates back to 1912, he was made to mourn the Titanic:)

[theprofessor]

Do you by any chance have a picture and some more information on this bear. Jacques

[Pietero]

What about this one?:) He looks expensive too.


http://www.ananova.com/images/web/318592.jpghttp://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1454112.html

[Pietero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Q2x88176A

[Pietero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Q2x88176A

http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainn ameatlonglast.com/expensive25.html

[elize]

Teddy Girl broke all existing records when she was sold for £110 000 on 4 December 1994. She was the lifelong companion of the late Colonel Bob Henderson. (Colonel Henderson served in World War II with Teddy Girl at his side.) The richly documented provenance was responsible for her achieving such a remarkable price. Teddy Girl is in the IZU Teddy Bear Museum in Japan.

[elize]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Q2x88176A
This bear was dressed by Louis Vuitton and fetched £130 000 in October 2000. He was sold at a charity event - and perhaps does not reflect the state of the teddy bear market, but it was a record.

[Izzy Bear]

Teddy Girl attended the launch of "Teddy Bear and other furry friends" magazine at the Bethnal Green Museum of childhood just after she had been sold and (obviously) just before she went to Japan. She was accompanied by two beefy body guards, as you would expect.

I also attended that launch as I was the original Teddy Bear Doctor in the magazine. After talking nice to the guards and promising on my life to be on my best behaviour I was lucky enough to be allowed to give her a gentle cuddle for quite a few minutes. She is a lovely bear, and I just find it a little sad that she will be behind glass in a museum for the rest of her life.

Lotsaluv Izzy
www.izzyscubs.com (http://www.izzyscubs.com)

[elize]

Teddy Girl looks so cuddly and cute. I found the museum website on the internet, where Teddy Girl is now but it is not very user friendly and all in Japanese.

[Blondheart]

I was lucky enough to see Teddy Girl at the museum when I went to Japan for a bear show.

[elize]

I was lucky enough to see Teddy Girl at the museum when I went to Japan for a bear show. Were you by any chance allowed to take a picture of Teddy Girl in the museum?

[Blondheart]

I have no idea, I wasn't smart enough to bring my camera. :ashamed:

[elize]

Hi, I did a bit of searching on the net and I found this picture of Teddy Girl in the Izu museum. http://www.teddies-world.net/

[austrobear]

:new:Hi, I,ve just joined the forum and found this thread.you may be interested to know I was at the auction on monday 5th december 1994 at Christies in London and saw 'Teddy Girl' sold along with other lovely items from Bob Hendersons collection, my favourite was 'Boots'. I still have the catalogue from the sale which includes a full page picture of 'Teddy Girl'.It was very sad that she left Europe for Japan as there no longer seems to be a great interest in teddies there like there was at the turn of the century[20th to 21st!!].For anyone wanting to see an excellent collection of old bears dolls etc do visit the Puppenhaus museum in Basel Switzerland I've been several times and is well worth a visit.

[elize]

I agree it is sad that Teddy Girl left Europe. :( Maybe you can post us a picture of the catalogue and show us Boots? In the Steiff Club magazine of Feb 08 Jürgen Hubbert says about his collection of Steiff animals "But my children and I did not want them to be auctioned one day" and he donated them to the town of Sindelfingen which is in the course of building a new museum.:)

[oldbearsandfriends]

:new:Hi, I,ve just joined the forum and found this thread.you may be interested to know I was at the auction on monday 5th december 1994 at Christies in London and saw 'Teddy Girl' sold along with other lovely items from Bob Hendersons collection, my favourite was 'Boots'. I still have the catalogue from the sale which includes a full page picture of 'Teddy Girl'.It was very sad that she left Europe for Japan as there no longer seems to be a great interest in teddies there like there was at the turn of the century[20th to 21st!!].For anyone wanting to see an excellent collection of old bears dolls etc do visit the Puppenhaus museum in Basel Switzerland I've been several times and is well worth a visit.

Hi Astrobear and :welcome:
wow, what an exciting event to of attended, I bet your heart was pounding during TG's sale, have you got a pic of boots, would love to she who this is.

One of these days I am going to go visit the Puppenhaus Museum, I have done the virtual tour on the web but nothing would compare to the actual experience I bet.:)

[oldbearsandfriends]

Dose anyone know why the collection was sold off?

[lovenshire]

WOW, I wish I had a teddy like that...I'd sell it. However, I do not like the thought of her living in a glass cage the rest of her life either...

[elize]

I think some collectors do not buy a teddy bear because they like teddy bears, they ONLY buy it because they can sell it one day for more money. :huh:

[wubbiebear]

I was just curious and decided to dust off old threads. That's just all kinds of wrong keeping a Teddy bear in a glass case to never be loved again.

[Romafree]

I agree!! A teddy bear should be loved. I don't own a single teddy bear that I don't love!!

[TushTeds]

That's just all kinds of wrong keeping a Teddy bear in a glass case to never be loved again.

i think we need to differentiate between bear collectors: when you collect antique bears (older than 50 years) you keep them in sheltered surroundings because you love them! the aim is to preserve them, so that further generations can enjoy the charisma these wonderful old teddies have. i would rather invest money in suitable glass cabinets, than to have my old bears sitting somewhere in my house - being exposed to sunlight, dust, cats and dogs and typical household smells. that would be detrimental to the "already delicate health" of the bear!!

i talk to my bears regularly, remove them from their vitrine and hold them gently, admiring their looks and personalities. twice a year they get a soft vacuum, or rubdown. i have a huge respect for them - having survived so many historical disasters, like one (or both) of the world wars. i particularly love the teds that have been "loved almost to death" - a sign that they were special to someone once. old teds are very huggable - and feel great when you cuddle them! :cute:

collecting "soft toys" is different - you can sleep on them, drop them on the floor or throw them in the washing machine when they get dirty. they're more resiliant - since most of them are made for toddlers or young kids!

just like you wouldn't give an antique porcelain doll to a young child to play with - or let you kids play with your inherited antique jewellery - antique teds need to be treasured... which is what we collectors do by keeping them in a safe environment.

so please don't judge - but try to understand that there is reason behind what you consider "wrong"....

TIP: if possible - try to get to an antique teddy fair - just to be able to hold such an old ted. i'm sure once you have him in your arms you'll understand what i mean... but be careful - that's how i got hooked on collecting antique bears.... holding one is an unforgetable experience! it's a feeling no "modern" ted can ever give you! :Winking:

[wubbiebear]

I see your point. I wasn't trying to judge. Sorry if I sounded like a straightie.

[TushTeds]

glad you can see my point, wubbie... i just wanted to shed some light on the "glass-case matter" ... and on the definition of "loving one's bears" ...

how can one sound like a straightie?? :huh:

[wubbiebear]

Straightie is sort of my favorite expression that I made up. It has several definitions. It is usually someone who is very proper or it could be someone who is being hard to live with or acting like a jerk. It just depends how I use it. I'm a dork.

Regarding my previous post, I guess I just feel bad for bears that are in museums because they probably don't get a lot of hugs. I hope people come and hug those bears from time to time. I'm not saying everybody should be allowed to hug them, but just certain people who know how to be careful with antique bears.

[TushTeds]

i like the word "straightie" - will take it up in my vocab if i may... thanks for defining it though - open to free interpretation it could mean soo many things... :happy3:

museum bears get tons of "virtual" hugs ... they have the pleasure of large audiences who look at them with loving gentle eyes and automatically speak in hushed tones while admiring them ... so don't fret - they get plenty of special attention - which is what they deserve!

[lovenshire]

I don't have any antique bears but I do protect my bears from some people...especially young ones and my fur baby who loves to play with them if she can get them!
I put a lot of money and time into making my bears so I am careful with them but I only want bears that I can hug! I do enjoy looking at the antique bears some collect. It is wonderful to have them cared for and protected after all the years of loving they have had...

[wubbiebear]

What do you mean by "virtual hugs"? If I went to a teddy bear museum, would I get anything out of it, or is it a purely visual experience? Just curious. Oh, and feel free to use straightie all you want to.

[lovenshire]

The museum I went to you would not get anything at all from. There was a huge wall of glass where you could look through and see all the Teddy Bears. They had plackards in front of them describing them. There was no one to explain them to you.

[TushTeds]

for me a "virtual hug" is a huge bear hug that happens without direct contact - i.e. a hug that comes from the heart and is sent over the eyes.

museums are not what they used to be. very few still have guides who walk you through the halls and actually tell you about the pieces on display. in all art museums they now have these audio gadgets - where a very monotone voice tells you about the artist, the artpiece and the era. very informative, but very impersonal!!

[wubbiebear]

TushTeds, can I steal that expression virtual hugs?

[TushTeds]

since i'm not a straightie - yes of course you may... :laughing:

[wubbiebear]

Anyone who loves bears could never be a straightie. And I'm sending a big virtual bearhug to all the teddy bears on this forum.

[elize]

And there is even a "virtual museum" on the net: http://www.myteddybearmuseum.com/

[wubbiebear]

Eyeballs are a prerequisite for that site, right?

[TushTeds]

yes, need eyeballs to see the teds - but the curator also has a lot of text - telling the story of the bear's heritage and provenence - which you could let your pc read to you.