February 15 In History: The Origins Of Teddy Bear, Inspired By Thedore Roosevelt’s Bear Hunt

Teddy Bear (Unsplash / Barret Ward)

JAKARTA - On February 15, 1903, toy shop owner and inventor Morris Michtom displayed two bear dolls in his shop window. They called the doll a teddy bear. Michtom then petitioned the President of the United States (US) Theodore Roosevelt for permission to use his nickname, Teddy, for the doll. Roosevelt agreed.

Quoted from History, Monday, February 15, 2021, Teddy's call for a teddy bear originated from one of Theodore Roosevelt's hunting stories. Ironically, even though he was a conservationist, Roosevelt's hunting trips often resulted in excessive carnage.

One of the worst was on a trip to Africa, where his party killed more than six thousand animals for sport and trophies. However, the idea for a teddy bear likely emerged from one of Roosevelt's more loving acts.

Many versions

There are various accounts of the detailed certainty of the inspiration behind the teddy bear. The most strongly estimated is from the Roosevelt hunt in Mississippi in 1902.

Roosevelt finds an injured old black bear tied to a tree. Meanwhile, some reports claim Roosevelt shot the bear out of pity for his suffering.

Other reports insist Roosevelt freed the bear. Political cartoonists later described the state of the hunt, implying that under Roosevelt's tough and masculine image lay a much more delicate and sensitive interior.

The creation of the Teddy Bear

The cartoon that inspired the creation of the Teddy Bear (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Morris Michtom and his wife Rose saw the cartoon. They owned a candy shop and decided to have a good time making plush bears and displaying them in the windows in Roosevelt's honor.

Rose cut a few pieces of cloth and sewn a few buttons and put them on the window under the name Teddy Bear. The doll became popular overnight.

The Mitchtoms then asked if they could use the name Teddy for the bear. Their business is growing rapidly.

Instead of selling candy, the couple decided to start a toy company. Then, a multi-generational love was created, named Teddy Bear.

Teddy Bear (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Roosevelt's children were among the first to play with the Teddy Bear. Although it was not confirmed.

It is said that they had it as a gift, Michtom gave the teddy bear to Kermit Roosevelt, who was thirteen years old. The bear always reminded the children of their father's tenderness and his deep connection with nature.

Another teddy bear

Around the same time as the development of the Michtom's teddy bear, a German company founded in 1880 by tailor Margarete Steiff began making their own plush dolls. The doll was designed in 1902 by Steiff's nephew, Richard.

Richard made a model of the doll after drawing a sketch of a bear in the zoo. A mohair bear and jointed limbs made their debut at a German toy fair in 1903.

A buyer for a US toy company ordered a large quantity of the dolls. Steiff's teddy bears became popular quickly and helped drive the teddy bear craze internationally.

Other companies soon started production of their own versions of teddy bears. More than a century later, Steiff continues to make their classic teddy bears and their classic teddy bears were demanded by collectors at great prices when they were auctioned off.

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