Welcome to The Teddy Bear Museum
This website is a pictorial record of bears in the first half of the 20th century
Unless a teddy bear has a label or other identifying marks, then it is a difficult task in many cases to be certain of make or date. There were so many makes that lasted for a very short time, many of which had no identifying marks or paper ones which were lost.
Many of the bears on this site have labels or buttons. For those that haven't we have adopted a "make like" approach in putting the bears in sections. Over time it will be added to and altered with new information from the many experts on the subject. Do tell us if you are sure of an identification so that we can amend our details.
The site has been put together as an archive or log of makes or "make likes" and types of teddies, from their conception in the early 1900s through to the 1950s.
I hope the site will help collectors or those interested, in identifying the possible make, type and date of their bears. We would like to develop a substantial bank of information, both on make and type and on date. This is just the start!
A huge thanks to Pam Pudvine who has given her time and expertise to start us off. Pam was a dealer in old bears for over 20 yrs and still does valuations and appraisals of old bears at the Chester branch of Bonhams where her main job is consigning high value items to the London salesrooms.
We welcome your bears' photos if they are old and fill a gap in our range. Some of the bears have fascinating pasts!
The "Teddy Collections" tab on the home page has the different countries or makes of bears by section. Click onto it and you'll find each bear has its own photos, click onto that and you'll find more photos and description. You can still click again to enlarge the photos.
You can use the search box to look for bears which are "For Sale" or for a bear's:-
Make, Date, Size, or Colour, or whether it has a Button or Label
Enjoy having a browse! Do get in contact to spread the information base.