http://www.teddyandbears.com Stuffed toys & collectible teddy bears Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:38:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.teddyandbears.com/how-old-is-my-jakas-teddy-bear/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/how-old-is-my-jakas-teddy-bear/#comments Sat, 18 Aug 2012 06:48:54 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=531 ‘BIg Ted’   The Jakas company began producing teddy bears in the late 1950s, in Melbourne. 1950s-The earliest teddies were distinctively different to those made from the 1960s onwards. Fully jointed, and with brown glass eyes, they were made from a wool/synthetic fabric, with woven fabric for the pads (possibly being reversed pieces of the [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/how-old-is-my-jakas-teddy-bear/feed/ 3 http://www.teddyandbears.com/joy-toys-a-1970s-catalogue/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/joy-toys-a-1970s-catalogue/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:40:33 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=514 In the early 1970s, Joy Toys was competing in a changed market. The removal of tariffs meant that toys produced more cheaply in Asia were able to flood the market, and this led to the closure of a large proportion of what had previously been very successful Australian toy companies. This catalogue, produced in about [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/joy-toys-a-1970s-catalogue/feed/ 4 http://www.teddyandbears.com/schuco-schreyer-toy-company/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/schuco-schreyer-toy-company/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:40:32 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=498 The Schreyer Toy Company, more commonly known as Schuco, flourished during the first half of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1912 by Heinrich Muller who, after an apprenticeship with Gebruder Bing (toymakers), began his toy company with Heinrich Schreyer. In 1913 Schreyer introduced it’s first range of soft toys, which were wheeled animals, [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/schuco-schreyer-toy-company/feed/ 0 http://www.teddyandbears.com/merrythought-teddy-bears/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/merrythought-teddy-bears/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:03:39 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=465 The Merrythought toy factory was opened in 1930 in Shropshire, England by two business partners in a spinning mill,  H.  Lawton and W. Holmes.  The mill produced mohair yarn and so the toy factory was established to produce toys from this yarn. Florence Attwood (from the Chad Valley factory) became the head designer until her death [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/merrythought-teddy-bears/feed/ 6 http://www.teddyandbears.com/gollies/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/gollies/#comments Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:52:28 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=457 Florence Upton first published her book ‘The Adventures of the Two Dutch Dolls’ in 1895, which told the story of her two wooden dolls and their friend, a black rag doll, given to her by her Nana. (These black dolls were popular toys for Egyptian children at that time, and were brought back to England [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/gollies/feed/ 0 http://www.teddyandbears.com/barton-waugh-teddy-bears/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/barton-waugh-teddy-bears/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:22:31 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=413 The Barton Waugh company produced a range of soft toys in Hurstville, Sydney, from the late 1940s till the late 1960s. Predominately a teddy bear company, it also made a small range of dogs and other plush toys. The Barton Waugh ‘Bruno’ was the most distinctive pattern. Created in many sizes, from 30cm to 182cm, [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/barton-waugh-teddy-bears/feed/ 1 http://www.teddyandbears.com/wendy-boston-innovations-in-teddy-bear-design/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/wendy-boston-innovations-in-teddy-bear-design/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:20:12 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=387 Reflecting changes in social views of child safety and of household modernisation, the Wendy Boston soft toy company developed the modern washable teddy bear. Wendy and her husband, Ken Williams, began the company soon after WW2 (1945), in South Wales. The factory then expanded in 1948. The Wendy Boston company was known for its unjointed teddy [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/wendy-boston-innovations-in-teddy-bear-design/feed/ 13 http://www.teddyandbears.com/repairing-antique-and-vintage-teddy-bears/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/repairing-antique-and-vintage-teddy-bears/#comments Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:28:37 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=377 Many types of damage can occur to poor teddy! Play, insects, moisture, dirt and dogs can all cause grief! With very valuable bears, family heirlooms or severe damage, it is advisable to leave the repair to an expert. Many advertise online, or in the Yellow Pages under ‘Doll Hospitals’ or ‘Teddy Bear/Toy Repairers’. Professional teddy bear [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/repairing-antique-and-vintage-teddy-bears/feed/ 2 http://www.teddyandbears.com/steiff-the-oldest-stuffed-toy-company/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/steiff-the-oldest-stuffed-toy-company/#comments Sun, 26 Dec 2010 10:36:10 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=368 Margarete Steiff first began making soft toys in the 1870s. Confined to a wheelchair since the age of two, due to polio, she became popular with the children of Giengen, her hometown in Germany, with her happy stories. She owned the first sewing machine in the town, and using the skills she learnt as a [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/steiff-the-oldest-stuffed-toy-company/feed/ 6 http://www.teddyandbears.com/chiltern-teddy-bears/ http://www.teddyandbears.com/chiltern-teddy-bears/#comments Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:51:00 +0000 jo http://www.teddyandbears.com/?p=324  The Chiltern teddy factory initially began in London, in 1908, when Joseph Eisenmann opened the  Chiltern Toy Works. It produced many types of toys, with the first teddy appearing in 1915, being the ‘Master Teddy’. Unusually, the body was made from linen, and was dressed in a shirt and overalls. His head was comparatively [...]]]> http://www.teddyandbears.com/chiltern-teddy-bears/feed/ 3