Miniature Teddy Bears

As we are all more than aware, collecting Teddy Bears is extremely addictive and once you get the bug there really is no going back, you just collect more and more and more Teddy Bears, not accounting for the Teddy Bear items that you collect alongside them.

Collecting Teddy Bears is wonderful and I cannot think of anything better or more beautiful to collect but, it can be a real problem if space is tight.  There is an answer, however, and that is to collect Miniature Teddy Bears.  True, you cannot hug these Teddy Bears in the same way as their larger cousins, but there is no doubt that these little bears can be both charming and adorable.

These little Teddy Bears have a big plus on bigger Teddy Bears, for example, if you want to have a Teddy Bear with you always, for either a good luck mascot or as a companion, a little Teddy Bear will fit into your handbag (if you are a lady) or in a pocket (if you are a man).  No-one need ever know you are carrying a well loved friend, if you don't want them to.

The earliest known miniature Teddy Bear was made by the famous German Teddy Bear Company, Steiff (inventors of the Teddy Bear), way back in 1905.  Many other manufacturers followed their lead, including another German firm call Schreyer & Co – who we now know as Schuco.  Miniature Schuco Teddy Bears, are probably the most adored and collected little Teddy Bears in the world.  They set the world on fire.  They are indeed well made, adorable and as full of character and charm as any Teddy Bear could possibly be.

I don't have to explain in this article the connection between Theodore Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear I am sure.  Roosevelt was very quick to see the potential of the link between himself and the Teddy so, when he stood for re-election way back in 1904, his supporters were given commemorative campaign badges depicting, yes you've guessed it, the Teddy Bear.  This wonderful piece of Teddy Bear memorabilia, which was made by an unknown manufacturer, was the first occasion on which a Teddy Bear was used in this type of connection.  This commemorative Teddy dates back to 1904 and was made from metal wire on an armature, this was covered with chenille and he wore a red, white and blue ribbon.  Of course, this little Teddy Bear is very delicate and extremely susceptible to damage, hence these little Lapel Teddy Bears are very very difficult to find, especially in reasonable condition today.

A very old and very collectible little Teddy Bear is the Atomiser Bear and you could say he is one of the strangest ever of little Teddy Bears.  The Atomiser Bear looks a bit like Humpty Dumpty, comprising a flat round receptacle, which is filled with a favourite perfume through a small screw base.  Then, by squeezing the little bear's rather wide body, a spray of perfume would come from a tube that squirts out of the little Teddy's nose.  These extremely collectible of Miniature Teddy Bears was made around 1930.  He has a fixed head with stubby arms and his feet are attached directly onto his rotund body – he has no legs!   There are no records to say who made this miniature Teddy Bear, but it seems more than likely that Schuco was responsible.  He measures just 3 ¼ inches tall and he is very rare.  If you love unusual Teddy Bears, you really would love him.

Once again, looking at Schuco Miniature Teddy Bears, Heinrich Muller, the founding partner of Schuco (or Schreyer & Co.) had lots of imagination and this led to the lovely and highly collectible Schuco Piccolo range of Teddy Bears.  This wonderful little bear was popular with ladies of fashion and style as he made a perfume bottle from one of his little Teddy Bears.  In 1925, Muller applied for a patent on this little bear .  The little Teddy Bear was made in two sizes, 3 inches (7 ½ cms) tall and 5 inches (12 ½ cms) tall.  These beautiful little perfume bottle bears were made in a variety of colours and included the wonderful lavender colour.  However, the most popular colour was the golden bear.  This amazing little Teddy Bear was made in 1930 and bless him, he was fully jointed.  He is probably rated as the most desired of old miniature Teddy Bears for collectors.

During the last few decades, we have seen the rise of the Artist Teddy Bear.  Artist Bears seemed to begin in the United States in the 1970's and their popularity was so great that by the late 1980's Teddy Bear Artists had sprung up all over the world.  Miniature Teddy Bears seemed to become very popular with them, as they showed an unusual, certainly challenging and important part of the Teddy Bear Artists creations.  These little bears seemed to be made in every colour, style and material imaginable.  Some Teddy Bear Artists stopped making the larger Teddy Bear and concentrated solely on making one-off miniature bears.

A collection of charming miniature Teddy Bears can be exciting and as worthwhile to collect as bigger bears.  Once again, you can collect old or new miniature bears, or a mixture of both, just like their bigger Teddy Bear cousins.  As per larger bears, their colours can be equally stunning, perhaps even more so.

Most famous Teddy Bear makers produce miniature Teddy Bears, including Steiff and Merrythought and there are lots of old miniature Teddy Bears to collect from a whole host of makers, including the French Company Pintel.  Prices vary according to makers, condition, etc. just like bigger Teddy Bears. 

So, if you are short of space, don't let it become a problem, you can still enjoy the wonderful world of Teddy Bear Collecting.