Teddy bear, the bedtime companion of the Western world, goes back only about 100 years. More or less at the same time it was developed as a toy in Germany by Steiff (which still produces cuddly animals under the same name) and in American by Michtom. The two were producing bears in the early 1900s. Indisputable is the fact that the name goes back to Theodore (or “Teddy”) Roosevelt, the President of the United States. It all goes back to a cartoon about a bear hunt Roosevelt was involved in which featured a cute bear. Michtom saw this and started manufacturing “Teddy’s bear”. A clever businessman, he had already secured the name rights by sending a prototype to the President and asking for permission to use his name. Now over USD 1 billion of such toys are sold every year. And there are Teddy Bear museums in England, Japan and Korea.
2 May /13
