by Steve Moss

Created on: July 20, 2010   Last Updated: August 27, 2011

For most people, teddy bear collecting starts with a gift of a bear at a very young age. A present from ones Grandmother, parents or a close relative begins a friendship that in some cases lasts a lifetime.

The initial gift will often be a low cost plush bear but will still be of vital importance during the child's infant and junior years - the two will be inseparable especially at bedtime. Often, many other soft toys will come along but the first teddy will always have a special place.

After a few years some children will lose their interest in their "special friend" , rather like "Puff the Magic Dragon" and, whilst this is sad, it is a fact of life. But for many grown-ups the passion for the first bear continues and for some, their love of teddy bears in general prompts them to become avid collectors or arctophiles.

For some lucky youngsters their first teddy would be a really good mohair bear made by a famous manufacturer such as Steiff or Merrythought; this bear could then become the foundation of the subsequent collection.

Often collectors will start with any bear that they like the look of. "This teddy has a nice face".........."This bear needs a good home"......and so on, but later, the more  discerning collector will almost certainly look for quality bears, providing they still have character and charm.,

So what bears should the serious arctophile have? It is important to have a range of teddies. Certainly Steiff must play a major role and if one is lucky enough to find and purchase an early example from the first few decades of the 20th century, then they are blessed with good luck and that's fabulous; if you then find a Farnell bear (which looks like Milne's original Pooh bear) then that's great too. There are other manufacturer's who one should seek out. An Irish Bear is always a good idea and the history of the teddy bear in Ireland is interesting. Also the  American manufacturers such as Ideal and and UK makers such as Chad Valley and Twyford all add interest and sparkle to a collection. Virtually all of the old teddies were made of mohair.

The most important thing is to always try to buy what you like. Sadly most of the old original manufacturers have long since gone. Steiff, Hermann, Merrythought and a few others remain and still produce some quality items but much of the low cost bear production has moved to the far east.
Similarly most bear makers now utilise synthetic plush because mohair has become very expensive and even today these quality bears are difficult to afford.

So if a youngster receives a mohair teddy as their first gift they are indeed fortunate. It's a great start to the collection!

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