Please meet Bailey, an antique 1950s English(?) Teddy bear

Please meet Bailey, a 1950s antique Teddy bear.    Based on his short arms and his pointed feet, I believe he's English, but he's not exactly the chatty type of bear, so he's not saying.  He has had some loss to his mohair, and his face is an odd golden color, which probably is a result of his face being against a piece of metal for an extended period.  He has a mild attic smell to him, but it's not offensive.   He's had repairs made to him by others, over his right eye and by his right cheek, but it's hard to notice.   His paw pads are corduroy, and he wears an old red ribbon with a bell.   His head is stuffed with straw, but his body is a softer material.   He's about 14 inches tall and in relatively very good condition for his age.    

The first thing you notice about Bailey is the heavy discoloration to his face, a weird orangy color.   When his childhood friend and owner Miles moved out of the family home to start a new life abroad, he was stored in a large steamer trunk in the attic with other toys.   He was a mite disappointed, but he couldn't say he was surprised.   He saw it happen to other toys over the years.   At least he didn't end up in the dustbin.   There were nice wool blankets to keep him warm, but he was placed facedown over a little collection of steel army men and his forehead and cheeks changed color with time.    

When Miles returned to England, Bailey was taken out of the trunk and given a huge hug, and a new ribbon and bell was placed around his neck.   It had been a long time, and Bailey was very excited to see his old friend.   That night, he proudly sat on top of a chest of drawers, and the next morning, Miles placed him in the front seat of his automobile as they drove down the high street on the way to a special local shop in the village.   They were headed to Clare's Bear Care Repair for a consultation on Bailey's condition.

"I've given him a good stare, and I have an opinion to share," said Clare.  "I'll be fair and square.  I dare say this bear has much wear and tear, but don't despair!  I swear there's rare mohair here from Weston-On-Mare somewhere.  Put him there on that chair, and under my care, he'll soon be a debonair bear.  Are you prepared for his repair?  Do you need some fresh air?"

"Thank you for your thoughts," Miles responded.  "This is quite overwhelming.  Let me think about it, and I'll be in touch."

"That's fair.  Take care," said Clare.

"She's full of hot air," Miles whispered to Bailey.   "I like you just as you are, orange face and all."

Bailey giggled.   "Now, given the current state of affairs, if you dare, how about we share eclairs at the Apple & Pear.   Is that fair?"

"Yes, Bailey," Miles answered, "For you, I have plenty of time to spare." 




                    

Please meet Dottie, Steiff's Dally Dalmatian!

Please meet Dottie, Steiff's Dally Dalmatian!!   She was produced in West Germany between 1953 and 1969, so she considers herself a vintage puppy.   She does have her Steiff button in her ear, but no other identification.  She's made out of white mohair that has airbrushed spots.   She is stuffed with straw and only her head is jointed.   She is about 6 inches tall.   There is one loose stitch on her nose, but she is otherwise in excellent condition.   

Dottie always was one of those creative types.   You know, the kind whose imagination runs in overdrive.    From the time she was a young pup, Dottie was obsessed with color.   Yes, your typical dog can only distinguish different shades of blue and yellow, but Dottie was different.    She dreamed in rainbow hues.   When she was dashing through the garden, the red, pink and purple flowers would blur together until her head started to spin.   The colors made her so happy that she would burst out with a loud yelp and roll on the ground twisting and tossing and turning.

Her littermates didn't quite understand what Dottie was talking about when she described a ball she was searching for on the edge of the property one day after a game of fetch as a bright purply red color.   When she finally located it and proudly brought it home, her brothers and sisters thought it was rather gray.  

At the age of eight weeks, Dottie was adopted by an older couple on Long Island, New York.   Bart and Margarite Thompson owned a Labrador Retriever named Dutch, and Dottie was to be his companion.  Shortly after she settled into her new home, she was sent to puppy camp for behavioral training.   At the end of the first week of instruction, when she told Dutch about her day with the orange cones she had to run through, and how she sped up and down the yellow ramp on the obstacle course and the green frisbee she tried catch but missed,  Dutch just stared at her in disbelief.   Though Dutch loved her enthusiasm, he just rolled his eyes when she related her experiences in Technicolor.

To celebrate her first birthday, the Thompsons shepherded Dottie and Dutch into the car and headed toward New York City for the weekend.    They stayed at the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South in dog-friendly accommodations.  She couldn't believe the sounds as she lead the way down Fifth Avenue.   The restaurant they ate at on Madison Avenue made her drool for more, and when she saw those tulips down the middle of Park Avenue, it made her bark with delight.  But the best part of the weekend was when they visited Central Park.    She threw herself down in exhaustion after exercising on the great lawn.   She never saw so many different breeds of dogs in a city:   Big ones, little ones, mutts, show dogs.   There was no end to the variety.   She even had the chance to sniff at Jeff Koons' puppy sculpture outside the Guggenheim.

Today, now that she's a little older, she lives a quieter life, but she still enjoys vibrant colors.   Much to Bart's amusement and Margarite's distress, Dottie took up painting of sorts.   When the opportunity arises, she sneaks into his workshop, puts a paint brush in her mouth, tips over a can of paint, dips the brush in, and starts dripping paint on the floor.   Dottie has become quite the artist.  Dutch is of the opinion her splattered paint is beginning to look a lot like a Jackson Pollack masterpiece.



    

Please meet Whittington P. Bearsford and his little friend Boo, two Cute Boyds bears.

Please meet Whittington P. Bearsford and his little friend, Boo, two cute Boyds bears.   Whittington, who has all his tags, is the larger of the two, stretching out to 16 inches, and very soft, and Boo is a petite 7 inches with a rougher coat under his little Halloween-themed sweater.  They make a great pair together and are quite inseparable. 

Whittington and Boo met several years ago at a swap meet in Fullerton, California near Cal State University.    At the time, Whittington was collecting old music albums and vintage toys, and Boo had an interest in classic guitars and model train sets.   There was always plenty to see and do there, all sorts of geegaws, from furniture to antique board games.   The food vendors were terrific -- from fancy foods like caviar crudites to cotton candy and corn dogs from Iowa.   It felt like the aisles of stuff went on forever.   It was surprising they ever made contact at all.

The first Sunday of every month, they both headed from their respective homes, located in totally opposite directions,  to see what bargains they could find among all those items.  Boo, being a littler shorter than the average ted, was at a bit of a disadvantage and sometimes had to push other bears out of the way to climb on top of  the tables to get a good look, while Whittington was more patient and would bide his time and strike up  conversations with  different dealers, figuring if he was on a first-name basis with the sellers, he might be able to get himself a good price.   Sometimes it worked, and sometimes not.

The October day they met, it turned out they were there for the same reason:   Picking out birthday presents for their significant others.    Whittington was hoping to find a classy rhinestone necklace for his girlfriend Rey, short for Audrey, while Boo was looking for the perfect hat for his beau Hortense, nicknamed Hoo.   Providentially, they arrived at the same booth at the exact same time.    Whittington spied a beautiful choker he thought Rey  would adore, and Boo found a felt cloche hat with a silk hatband and matching silk scarf which would suit Hoo.

As Boo watched Whittington examine the sparkly jewelry with a loupe, he couldn't help but notice how sharp the other bear was, asking all the right questions and negotiating to a good price.   And when Whittington observed Boo trying on the hat and scarf, he may have raised his one eyebrow just a little bit, but he admired Boo's fashion sense.

Boo caught Whittington's eye.  "I'm shopping for a birthday present for my honey," he shyly explained.

"Same here -- my girl's birthday is tonight," Whittington admitted.

"And we're going out for an elegant dinner this evening," said Boo.

"We are too," Whittington said.

"At the River Cafe," said Boo.

"I know it well.  Maybe I'll see you there," replied Whittington.

"Seven p.m. reservations?"

"Why, yes!"

"Name's Boo," said Boo, reaching out his paw.

"Whittington P. Bearsford.  Pleased to meet you."

And so, a friendship was born.  They discovered not only were their girlfriend's born on the same day, but the two bruins had the same taste in music, sports and politics.   Every year thereafter, they'd meet at the same vintage booth, pick something up for their mates, and wave to each other while eating at the same fancy restaurant, and their girlfriends would ooh and aah over each other's presents.   The two couples became close, eventually opening up a vintage Teddy bear clothing shop, Hoo-Rey's, on the main avenue in town.

If you should drive by in the evenings, you may see the two lady bears' heads together, discussing the most recent fashion trends while sorting the clothes, but in the back of the store, you'll find two Teddy bear best friends, one playing an old music record, the other playing along on his classic guitar.       

Please meet Elke, a Steiff Teddy bear hand puppet

Please meet Elke, a Steiff Teddy bear hand puppet.   She has no identification, but she swears she's a Steiff, and I believe her.   According to my research, she would be EAN (European Article Number)  0317,00 and was produced between 1959 and 1967 in West Germany.   She wears her original pink ribbon.  She's made of brown mohair.  Her head is excelsior stuffed, and she has glass eyes.  She is six inches tall and in excellent condition.

Elke has a very serious facial expression, but don't let that fool you.    She's one of the funniest bears you'll ever meet.   (How do Teddy bears cool their homes?   They turn on the bear conditioning!)   She's a very gregarious Ted, and she's always the life of the party.   She's like a magnet for attention.  She has a warm, wonderful laugh and is never afraid to tell an old joke. (What’s a teddy bears favorite pasta?: Tagliateddy!)

When times were tough and money was tight, Elke loved to have fun.  (What did the Teddy bear say when he was offered a second helping? “No thanks; I’m already stuffed!”)  Her family was a cheery bunch and would swap tall tales around the dinner table after noshing on bowls of berries and honey.   That's where she learned about life and was able to practice her silly routines.   Sometimes when she offered a new joke, the other bears would just shake their heads and sigh, but she was not discouraged.  (What's a Teddy bear's favorite drink?   Coca-Koala!)   Life was supposed to be an adventure, wasn't it?

It's not that Elke couldn't be serious.   She was a really good student and graduated school at the top of her class, but when giving her valedictorian speech, she couldn't help herself from throwing in a one-liner just for pure entertainment of the crowd.   (What do you call a Teddy bear with no teeth?  A gummy bear!)  

When she started her first job as a portrait photographer, she wouldn't ask her subject to say, "Cheese," but would get them to smile another way.   (How do you get a bear to stop charging?   Take away his credit cards!)   She works now as a photojournalist for a famous news organization, and she's very much in demand.    She has a sunny disposition, but she also knows there's benefits to doing a good job.   (Why did the Teddy bear get fired from his job?  Because he would only do the bear minimum.)

Sometimes when she's off on an assignment and it's been a long day, she gets in her car, heads for her hotel room, puts on her favorite movie, opens up a bag of popcorn,  and just sits back and relaxes.  (What doesn't a Teddy bear use a GPS?  They never lose their bearings!)   She calls home from time to time just to make everyone giggle.   (Why did the Teddy bear quit her second job?  Because she wanted koala-ty time with her family!)    

As far as relationships go, she's waiting for that special bruin to show up in her life, but for now with all the traveling she does, she's content to be on her own.   (Why did the two bears break up at the North Pole?   They were polar opposites!)   

She's looking forward to a bright future with lots of chuckles and chortles.  (What kind of car does a successful Teddy bear photojournalist drive?   A furrari!)  I think she's on her way.



 

Please meet Daniel, a handsome Artist Teddy polar bear handcrafted by Carrousel bears by well-know Teddy bear experts and artists Terry and Doris Michaud in Chesaning, Michigan.   He's made of white mohair and is a limited edition bear, number 22 of only 100 made, and he wears a ribbon to prove it!   He has a pronounced hump and is solidly stuffed and very clean.   I believe he was made in the 1990s.   He is 14 inches tall, and is in excellent condition.

Daniel is slightly embarrassed when other bears refer to him as handsome.   Of course, when you're only one of one hundred polar bears in your clan, it does make you rather special, but Daniel has never thought of himself that way, though he does have his certificate on hand in case some black bear questions what he's doing in Michigan.    He knows there are other polar bears out there more deserving than him.

Polar bears love to travel, and Daniel is no exception.   When his friends ask him about his favorite place to visit, with no hesitation he mentions the White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Troy, Michigan.   He can tell you all about the large marble statute of a polar bear erected in 1930 to honor the forgotten heroes of the Polar Bear Expedition during World War I.  

Near the end of the Great War, the local Army Regiment was sent to Archangel, Russia in September of 1918 to fight the Russian Army in an attempt to keep stockpiles of supplies from falling into enemy hands.   The commanders thought being from Michigan, they would be used to the cold, but Daniel knows even polar bears wouldn't like temperatures 40 degrees below zero.  The Russians had 45,000 troops compared to the American troops of only 5,000.  Even after the war was over in November 2018, they were in conflict with the Red Army and spent the coming winter there, fighting in deep snow.  Just like real polar bears, they had white coats so they wouldn't be seen too easily.  When they were finally recalled by President Wilson in July of 2019, more than 200 men had died on Russian soil and over 300 were wounded.   Until 1983, there were memorials held at the monument, but all the Polar Bears have passed away now.

Daniel knows he would be hard to find in the snow with his white fur.    He's quite comfortable in the cold, but he wouldn't want to go to war in Russia.   He is glad to he's learned about this little-known Allied intervention, and he hopes others will discover it, too.  

Sometimes Daniel sits below the memorial on a hot summer evening, thinking about the men from Michigan Polar Bears who suffered and died in Russia and lifts his frosty ice drink in a toast, proud to be a polar bear himself.


 

Please meet Doris, a Lovely Chad Valley Chiltern Hygenic Teddy Bear

Please meet Doris, a lovely Teddy bear made by Chad Valley Chiltern Hygenic Toy Company in England.  She has a green side label which was used for only a short time when Chad Valley acquired Chiltern in 1967.   Her mohair is thick and luxurious, so she was well cared for.   She is quite hard stuffed and has a nonworking squeaker, but wears her original orange ribbon.   She is about 14 inches tall and in excellent condition.

Doris is very pleased she was so treasured.   She grew up in a home on the outskirts of Birmingham where there was no central heating, so she could often be found in the kitchen near the old, hot Aga, while the children were doing their homework around the table.   She remembers many evenings when a cold wind was howling outside, but inside, the home was warm and cozy.   She loved the feeling of her toes being so warm and toasty.   She didn't like to put  her delicate paws on the cold stone floor, so she was carefully transported between rooms.

She was crafted in a factory in the West Midlands by the largest toy manufacturer in England at the time, and Doris wouldn't want to live anywhere else.   She has walked the Malvern Hills many times, with its breathtaking views over the Severn Valley.   Well, okay, she hasn't really WALKED, more like tagged along with friends who were kind enough to carry her up to the summit, but still, she feels a sense of accomplishment every time she reaches the top.   And who could blame her for wanting to cuddle up with a few companions in a fine local pub afterwards?  She loves being the center of attention. 

When summer came around, Doris would often travel to the southwest, staying in caravan parks on the Jurassic coast.   She was careful to avoid the direct sunlight and would wear a big floppy hat.   She wouldn't want to get sunburned, but she did so enjoy the sunshine.   Even when she stopped for an ice cream cornet (with a flake, of course) at her favorite treat shop, she was careful not to drip anything on her fur.

Doris always made sure to keep herself very clean, since too much dust can wreak havoc to a Teddy bear's coat.   One very light brushing a week and an occasional spritz with water has kept her mohair in beautiful shape.   She's seen plenty of bears from her generation  look ragged with age, but she wisely prefers to take care of herself.   You'll find be no wear on Doris' paws, and all her seams are pristine.  She's a very health-conscious bear.  Still, there have been a few times when she wished she threw caution to the wind and indulged in oat cakes slathered in honey or loads of strawberry jam on toast.

Ah, well, to each its own, she supposes.   Now that she's an older bear, she tries not to be too judgmental.   When she spies young bruins lying in the sun at the beach on their phones with ear buds in the furry ears listening to podcasts (whatever they are), she just smiles and waves.   New Teddy bears are just not what they used to be, but that's perfectly okay.

Before she climbs into her bed at night, if there's a little chill in the air in the north of England, Doris heats up the water on her old Aga and fills her little hot water bottle.   She often thinks about past times while she's settling in, getting comfy under her wool blanket.   She likes those toes nice and toasty. 


   

Please meet Priscilla, a Cherished Teddy bear from Enesco

Please meet Priscilla,  who was made for Enesco's Cherished Teddy line.   She is unjointed, and when she's in her preferred sitting position, she's about 9 inches tall.   She is very softly stuffed and is made of a short-pile tan plush.   She wears a pink ribbon on her head and has a little pink heart on her chest.  She would be a perfect companion to the young Teddy bear collector.

Priscilla learned early in life that some Teddy bears look down their nose at her.    Some of those fancy German bears that cost a bundle and have buttons in their ears, they are very proud their fur is made from the coat of an Angora goat or an Alpaca.   Then there's the antique Teddy bears with their excelsior stuffed bodies and time-worn felt paw pads.  They are well aware their long histories and provenances increase their value.  The Teddy bears carefully and lovingly crafted by artists are thrilled to have websites, magazines and Facebook pages where they are showcased and admired by people all over the world.   Even the collectible bears manufactured in the thousands are a bit conceited whenever they meet Priscilla.   They think she has very little value.   But she knows better.

Priscilla may not have the expensive pedigrees other bears have, but she's learned a lot in her life.   She first lived with a family where she was the best friend and confidante of a  little girl who dragged her around the house all day and whispered secrets into Priscilla's ears.   Priscilla gave all the cuddles she could and she felt she made a difference, but when the young lady entered her tweens, Priscilla was delegated to a shelf with the much more expensive Teddy bears in that very pink room and was occasionally dusted off by the housekeeper.  That's where Priscilla learned what the other Teddy bears  thought of her.   When the family eventually decided to move to a newer, bigger home in the countryside, Priscilla was part of the tag sale and had a sticker on her that simply said, "Free."   She was picked up several times, but no one seemed interested, but as luck would have it, at the very end of the day, a nice woman gathered her into her arms and promised she would take good care of her.

And she did.   Judy had a toy collection like no other Priscilla had ever seen before.   Her bear hug was composed of a dozen or so bears that Judy picked up at garage sales on the weekend that seemed destined to end up at the local charity shop.   But Judy loved bears, no matter what their background.   She was that kind of lady.

When Judy took the bears to a picnic lunch in the park, Priscilla couldn't help but notice how passersby smiled.   At the drive-through, Priscilla was sure the man handing Judy a coffee winked at her with a little grin.  Judy even took all the bears to choir practice one day, the bears sitting in the pew at the back of the church humming along with the music.   Priscilla thought the choir sounded best when Teddy bears were harmonizing.   When Judy's friend was not feeling well, Priscilla went with her for a visit and offered her a big bear hug.   The friend's mood lifted right away.

Priscilla makes sure when Judy comes home from work, all the bears are nice and neat and on their best behavior, which in ordinary circumstances would be a difficult job, but these bears are up to the task.   They all want Judy to come home to a warm loving home.

You see, Priscilla and the other bears have learned a good lesson:   That while it's nice to be important, it's even more important to be nice.