Teddy Bear Plush and the New Look of Teddy Bears in the United States

Teddy Bear Plush and the New Look of Teddy Bears in the United States

You would be hard pressed to find a child's nursery that doesn't have its share of teddy bear plush. What started out, in fact, as a humble nursery companion, has gone on to become a valuable collector's item that continues to dominate the soft-toy market today. Both young and old confess to loving their teddy bear plush, and really, can you blame them?

In the 1950s, the United States got very experimental when it came to the creation of teddy bears. Any company that was going to go on and grow (and survive), embraced the latest materials and designs. They also recognized how important film and television were on the nation's culture many teddy bears that were the most successful during this period, had a cartoonlike appearance.

One such company that is still doing well today was the Gund Manufacturing Co. It was founded by Adolph Gund in 1898 a German immigrant. The company was based in Connecticut before it moved to New York, where it went on to produce novelty toys. The teddy bear joined it's range of products in 1906 but the early examples of them are very rare.

Gund's success goes to one Jacob Swedlin. He was a Russian immigrant who joined Gund in 1909 when he was just 14 years old. Swedlin became very interested in soft toy productions and his hard work and enthusiasm were eventually rewarded. He trained in cutting, patternmaking, and design before moving on to become personal assistant to Adolph Gund. Since Gund had no children, in 1925, he sold the company for a small amount to Swedlin when he retired. Three of Swedlin's brothers joined [the company] after its purchase and they helped manage and develop it. While they changed the company name to J. Swedlin Inc., they kept Gund as their trade name.

Following World War II, the Gund company enjoyed major success; in 1948, Walt Disney granted its exclusive rights to produce soft-toy versions of Disney animations. It went on to produce stuffed versions of King Features and Hanna Barbera cartoons such as Yogi Bear. When Yogi was introduced to U.S. television viewers in the 1960s, he was a huge success, guaranteeing sales for Gund's merchandise. Gund was one of the first U.S. companies to produce teddy bears that had inset vinyl faces, along with Knickerbocker, Ideal, and a few lesser known companies.

Following in Gund's footsteps, was the Ideal Toy Corporation, which was located in Brooklyn, New York. It too formed very important relationships with character bears, including Smokey the Bear in 1953 which was introduced as a soft toy. It was in 1944 that Smokey was introduced as the symbol of the U.S. Forest Fire Prevention Campaign. Ideal won the licence to manufacture Smokey the Bear models in 1953 and went on to produce hugely popular dressed bears that had vinyl faces and paws. When prompted, some of the toys even had a fire-safety message. Ideal lost the Smokey licence to Knickerbocker in 1968 and they then went on to make the bears until the late 1970s.

Teddy bear plush have a come a long way since those early days with Gund and Ideal. Although, cartoonlike teddies can still be found today, all made following the popularity of movies and cartoons (including characters from Disney). Teddy bear plush, however, don't have to be 'famous' to be enjoyed they all do well no matter who they are.

large teddy bears

teddy bear plush

Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

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