ANTIQUE TEDDY BEARS LOVE THEIR KITTIES

The antique teddy bears have two new friends. After losing our best buddy of 19 years, Calvin the cat, we recently rescued two new kitties. I know, they don't look like kitties, but Ollie and Otto are 10 month old brothers and best buds. Watching their crazy antics, tearing all around the house and getting into everything, I was a bit worried about the teddy bears. As it turns out, the kitties are so gentle with the bears. Of course, there's an occasional mishap of knocking one off his rocking horse, but luckily they don't view them as their toys. Instead, they like to cuddle up with them. My house has bears everywhere, not in glass cases where I know they should be. But this is my bear family...that's just the way I roll. Guess the kitties know that (they're so smart!).

VINTAGE SOCK MONKIES

My collecting habits are ever changing and after I acquire a new item, it seems like it starts a new collection. So be it with the vintage sock monkeys. I see them in an all new light as I realize that the vintage ones are all different. Being homemade by mothers, every one is different and so charming in their own right. Even though they're made of basically the same sock, they all have different expressions... fat, skinny, long tail, short tail, hats, clothes... on and on. The little green girl is a little different, made of men's dress socks and dressed in a vintage dress. The bears like to snuggle in with them as well as the cats. I'm sure there will be more to come.

ANTIQUE SHOOFLY ROCKING HORSE

I always have a hard time buying in Florida, but I always find a few fun things. At Mt. Dora, selling was good, buying was challenging, but persistence found me a couple of great things. My favorite was an antique shoofly rocking horse, early one. I love these rockers and I do already have a few, but this one I particularly liked due to its smaller size. It also has wonderful stenciling and remains of red paint. I guess I just can't resist these wonderful little rockers, and the bears just love it. This same dealer had some wonderful primitives and I also purchased (among other things) an early abacus. I've never seen one quite like this...I'm wondering if it's a homemade one. This will look great on the bears old school desk along with their bear books.

ANTIQUE TEDDY BEARS TRAVEL TO FLORIDA

After the holidays it's time to leave the Michigan cold and snow behind and head down to sunny Florida. Life just seems simpler and carefree on the beach. The bears are wondering who will be chosen to accompany me to the beach. Last years chosen, Beach Bum Murphy, has traveled to a new beach in Hawaii, I know he's a happy camper in his new home. The bears have already attended Florida antique shows in Mt. Dora and Arcadia. A couple of bears found new homes, and primitives were hot, but picking wasn't as good and I came home with some nice early lighting, but no early teddy bears. They're so hard to find in Florida (or anywhere). I did find tiny Teddy B and Teddy G, those lovable Roosevelt Bears, complete with their own travel trunk. Not old, but just too cute. I can never resist a Roosevelt Bear! More Florida adventures to come.

Antique Bing Teddy Bears and Toys

I have to share some more teddy bears from the Chelsea Teddy Bear Museum. Ken Yenke, museum curator, is a big fan of Bing bears and toys, so many are featured in the museum. I too have a special fondness for Bing bears. The first one here is an early bell toy featuring a bear pulling the wheeled bells. This early Bing toy is from 1900. Also in this picture is the Roosevelt Stock Farm, a wood barn with great lithographs. The second one is hard to tell the size, but it's the largest bear that Bing ever made, at a whopping 34". This one dates to 1919. Also pictured is an 1880 German bear and baby. The third picture is Bing's windup jalopy bear from 1908. I just love these little guys. Also pictured is Schuco's Trippel Trappel dog, circa 1914. Bing also made one of these Trippel Trappel dogs which rolls along on little wheels on its feet.

Chelsea Teddy Bear & Toy Museum

I finally visited the Chelsea Teddy Bear & Toy Museum in Chelsea, Michigan. The museum curator, Ken Yenke, is a noted antique teddy bear authority, and shares his wonderful antique teddy bear collection in this excellent museum. I can't even pick my favorites, but I have to share a few here. I have a special love for the circus, and clown bears, so this first one just cracked me up. This is a Strunz clown bear from 1908. Love his chubby body. Next is a real oldie, German made from 1880, this Mom and baby bear are made of paper mache and worsted wool. Love these 1800's bears, reminds me of an old German nodder I have with the same worsted wool. In 1907 Columbia made their laughing Roosevelt bear. Certainly none other like it, smiling with glass teeth. Cute touch here with a pipe added. Can't wait to visit the museum again. I'm sure they'll have a nice Christmas display soon.

Antique Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The classic story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears has been around a long time. It evolved over many years, with the earliest having many different names for Goldilocks...Silverhair, Goldenhair and Silverlocks were some of the names before Goldilocks. In 1888 the first book was published which named the characters, Goldilocks and the three bears. At this time, bears were bears...not the cuddly teddy bears we all love today. Most experts agree that there were no known teddy bears before 1903, the first teddy bears being manufactured in 1904. What is so interesting...in the 1888 Goldilocks book, there are clear pictures of baby bear with his little teddy bear friend, propped up in bed, being pulled by baby bear in his wagon, sitting on the kitchen floor, etc. This was 15 years before the production of the teddy bear.
Over the years Goldilocks and the Three Bears has become a classic. Books abound, and all sorts of soft stuffed toys have been produced. My first set of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears were soft stuffed dolls from the 1920's. These dolls were Kellogg's cereal premiums. Wonderfully detailed fabric would be offered for mothers to sew and stuff for their children. My most recent acquisition is a set of the three bears made by Dean's Rag Book. When I first purchased it I fell in love with them, but had never seen them before. I was thrilled to find a label which identified them as Dean's Rag Book. The green label I believe dates it to the 1930's, which seems to fit looking at the clothes. Baby bear is a tad different, with shorter fur and I'm wondering if he's a later version. Could there have been a Goldilocks with this set as well? If anyone has any other info, I'd love to hear from you.
AntiqueTeddyBearCrossing.com