Teddy bears and soft toys

The Museum’s collection of teddy bears and soft toys includes big names such as Schuco, Merrythought and Chad Valley, as well as famous characters like Paddington, Rupert, Superted, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Care Bears.

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Chad Valley

Chad Valley bears are notable for their large ears and bulbous noses that are often compared to pieces of coal.

Chiltern

Chiltern's first bear, produced in 1915, was called Master Teddy. He was a comical looking dressed bear with googly eyes.

Dean's Rag Book Co. Ltd.

The teddy bear rag sheet was produced as part of Dean's Knock-About range in about 1908.

Gebruder Bing

This bear, known as Ted, is golden mohair plush stuffed with wood wool which is made up of very fine wood shavings.

J. K. Farnell

Early Farnell bears, such as this one, had a lot of the same characteristics as German bears, such as pointed muzzles, long limbs and humps.

Merrythought

Merrythought Ltd was founded in 1930 by W G Holmes and G H Laxton who were already running a spinning and weaving business.

Noddy

Noddy is the most famous creation of children's author, Enid Blyton (1897-1968).

Schuco

Schuco was not the only company to make Baby Bär teddy bears. They were designed to look like bear cubs and often had open mouths and protruding tongues.

Queen Victoria bear

This bear was made as a limited edition in 2001 to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of Queen Victoria's death.

Steiff

This bear is called Ted. He belonged to a little girl called Muriel who was born in 1901. Muriel gave the bear to her daughter Elizabeth when she was born in 1941.

William J. Terry

This is the Museum's earliest British bear. It has all the characteristics of a Terry's bear, made from shaggy mohair and with a long straight body and high pointed hump.