Hamlyn's Bear, London, 1991

In the United States, the connection is with President Theodore Roosevelt (also nicknamed "Teddy"). While bear hunting in Mississippi in 1902, Roosevelt decided to spare the life of a bear cub which had been orphaned during the hunt. The event was the subject of a cartoon by Clifford Berryman of the Washington Post whose cartoon was captioned "Drawing the Line in Mississippi", a copy of which is included for your viewing.

The cartoon was seen byhusband and wife shopowners, Morris and Rose Michtom. They owned a toy and novelty store in Brooklyn, New York and, inspired by the cartoon, Mrs Michtom made a toy bear and displayed it in the shop window. The bear proved enormously popular with the public.

Mr Michtom wrote to Roosevelt requesting permission to name the bear "Teddy" after the President. Thus was born one of the largest toy companies of the United States: the Ideal Novelty Toy Company, which changed its name in 1938 to become the Ideal Toy Company.

Wherever their origin, the Teddy Bear has been embraced world wide as a childhood companion, which some "children" continue to hold dear well into their latter years. It is this special relationship between people of all ages and their bears.