Any Ideas on this guy's identity?

[breeze671]

Hello,

Found this site while looking for some information on this bear hoping someone can help me.



I got the bear in 1989 from my grandmother. It was not hers, she found him at a garage sale. She was looking through a box of fabrics and found him at the very bottom in a plastic bag. She took him to the people who were holding the yard sale to find out if it was really for sale. Since no one there claimed the bear they sold him to her for 50 cents. He has since spent his days sitting on a shelf or china cabinet coming down for a visit here and there. I have never attempted to clean him since I didn’t know how to and didn’t want to destroy him. This year I decided to see about getting him restored but first I want to know what kind of bear he is, that way I know I get him restored properly. Someone told me that he may be 1920s English, but no one can tell me a maker.

Info about the bear:

· No tag or buttons on him to identify his maker.

· Moveable arms, legs, and head.

· Fur is Mohair, kinda long seems curly

· Paw & Foot pads feel like felt

· Stuffing, not sure, but he’s not like a plush toy it’s kinda firm

· There is a box in his tummy (growler?) but it doesn’t work only makes a knocking sound when you turn him upside down

· Eyes seem to be made of glass

· No Claw stitching on any foot or paw

· Sitting he is about 11 inches tall and laying down he is about 16 inches

If anyone happens to know anything about him I would appreciate the info.

:thanks:

[elize]

breeze671 This is a beautiful bear. :happy3:

What colour is his glass eyes, is it a light around the black pupil or is it dark?
He is probably stuffed with woodwool/excelsior and the paw and footpads look like felt.

Will be looking through my books and will let you know:)

[breeze671]

Thank you elize!:) I knew he would be appeciated here!

His pupils are black and around the pupil it is clear.

Let me know if there is any other info you need.


Thank you for your help!!! :D

[breeze671]

I have included a close up picture of his face so you can get a better look at his eyes.

I did another hug test on him and while the middle part of his body is hard, I would guess like wood wool around the growler, his arms, legs,and rest of his body is soft, not like polyfil but like cotton, maybe. Also his head is not soft, it is filled with woodwool I think, or something hard. Maybe this will help identify him.

Also I double checked his pads and there is no cardboard behind them. I saw on this site and others where makers put cardboard behind the paw and foot pads.

It doesn't look like his pads have been replaced and it doesn't look like hes been opened up and restuffed but I could be incorrect. I also included some pics of his paws too.

Thanks again for the help!

[elize]

Sounds like he is stuffed with woodwool in some areas and with kapok. Kapok was used after World War I to stuff toys. (Kapok should never be made wet)

The paw and footpads are in a very good condition and have not been replaced.

The eyes look like they are painted on the back.

I am still going through my books but my guess is this bear is circa 1920 - 1930's

[elize]

I found information on "hand painted on the back of eyes."

"German painted eyes" were much more uniform and almost had a "dipped" quality to them, where as the "English eyes" did not.

"Soft Toys" A Collectors Guide

[breeze671]

Thanks Elize! Every little bit helps. :applause: His eyes aren't uniform one pupil is bigger than the other so that must confirm that he is English.

I read somewhere recently that the more expensive bears were stuffed with kapok with the heads being stuffed with woodwool, while the cheaper bears were stuffed with all woodwool. Don't know how true that is.

Thank you for being so determined to find info on him.

-breeze671

[elize]

breeze671 - We have to try and find out where this bear came form:)


I read somewhere recently that the more expensive bears were stuffed with kapok with the heads being stuffed with woodwool, while the cheaper bears were stuffed with all woodwool. Don't know how true that is.
-breeze671
Woodwool was used from the earliest times in stuffing toys, but in the 1920's kapok was introduced (sometimes a combination of the two is used in toys)

Deans had 2 grades of bears and by 1926 the A1 first grade examples were stuffed with kapok and the cheaper second grade examples were stuffed with wood wool.
Teddy bears - A complete Collectors Guide - Sue Pearson

Kapok was used after WWI. It is light and soft and could be firmly stuffed. It is less vulnerable than wood shavings. - Soft Toys - A collectors Guide

Can you check to see if the whole arm is stuffed with kapok and if it is only the paw section that is soft?

[TushTeds]

hi breeze!

your little ted has stolen my heart - his face is so adorable! and he's in fairly good condtion too! :cute:

here's my guess.... i've also been studying my books and my educated guess would be that you probably have a DEAN'S ted from around 1930. here are some clues that brought me to this conclusion:

*) round face with ears set far apart and low down (called L-shaped ears) with inner ear side sewn into the facial seams
*) large eyes set wide apart
*) arms and legs match the size and form for dean's bears from that time
*) head filled with woodwool, body with a mix of woodwool and kapok, and arms and legs filled only with kapok is typical for dean's teds
*) vertically stitched nose (from what i could gather, thanks to your close-up of his face)
*) felt pads on paws
*) long, curly mohair

what you might want to check out, is if you can see any remains of black stitching on the paws, indicating that your ted once had claws. (the fact that i can't see anything is rather puzzling!)

you uploaded a pic of his left foot paw... deans teds usually had a narrow tag sewn onto the right foot paw. check to see if you can make out any tiny holes, or slightly lighter felt colouring, telling us that he might have had a tag there once.

anyway - there's never (or rarely) 100% proof, but the more clues one has, the easier it becomes to pinpoint the ted's exact origin.

should i find more info, i'll let you know... :Winking:

[breeze671]

Thanks Elize & TushTeds!

I was not able to find any indication that he had claws, I can't see any holes or left over thread.

I also cannot see anything on his right paw that would indicate the he had a tag of any kind.

But his head is stuffed with woodwool in his head and his arms & legs are stuffed completely with kapok and his body seems to be almost all kapok except for around the growler it seems kinda hard maybe some woodwool around it?

I have a picture of his right paw, maybe the experts can see something that I cannot. :)

[austrobear]

Hi,
Your bear could be by the American manufacturer Knickerbocker possibly from the 1930's there are similar ones in Pauline Cockrill' Teddy Encyclopedia' and Knickerbocker were well known for making cinnamon coloured teddies.Looking at the remaining stitching the nose would have been stitched vertically which also fits in with this maker.

[breeze671]

Thank you Austobear"happy6:

I will have to look up Knickerbocker and see. Do you know if they made bears without claw stitching? I have looked and looked and cannot find any remants of stitching or any holes in his paws or feet that would indicate that he had claw stitching.

[elize]

breeze671 I found this bear in a book last night and I think he looks like your bear?"happy6:

The book I found him in is old so those values are not accurate anymore.

[breeze671]

He looks similar but I don't think that's him, unfortunately. My bear has felt pads not velveteen and this bears head looks smaller than my bear but at times I have thought that my bear looks a little squished.

Thank you for looking Elize :Winking: It is appreciated.

breeze