From Kay's private collection, a 1945 red Teddy Bear sent to her from New Hebrides during WWII.
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu.
The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th Century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the island. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium,
which lasted from 1906 until 1980, when the New Hebrides gained their independence as Vanuatu. Vanuatu, a nation of about 200,000 people, is about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Australia.
It is located in the Pacific's "Ring of Fire" region where earthquakes and volcanic activity are relatively prevalent.
Kay's personal bears, the 1945 Red Teddy Bear and the 1946 Brown and Gold colored bear.
An assortment of six Teddy Bears, including one from the Hard Rock Cafe and one advertising "Del Monte" foods.
A little gray "Green Mountain Bear".
Two bean stuffed bears. The white bear is by Plushland and commemorates September 11th. The blue bear, "USA Bear" boast an American flag on his chest and is by Mary Meyers.
"Harlow", Pickford Bears, Ltd, Brass Button Pendant Bears. Approximately 9 inches tall.
"Tubby" from 1979 by Russ-Berrie. This plush bear looks similar to the Monchhichi Bears by Sekiguchi that were made in Japan and were popular during the 1970s, but this one is made by Russ-Berrie. The one noticable difference appears to be that the real Monchhichi Bears have vinyl ears and most of the other brands do not. This plush bear has a vinyl face, hands and feet to go with his plush furry body.
"Moonbear" copyright 1994 by Frank Asch. Manufactured by MerryMakers, Inc. Author Frank Asch is probably most well known for his Moonbear books but has written many other children's books. Visit Frank Asch's site: Books by Frank Asch and learn more about this well known author's books for children.
"Kiss Me Bears" manufactured for and copyrighted by Hallmark Cards, Inc. This is girl "Kiss" with light colored fur and wearing a pink dress with a heart on it. When boy "Kiss" is around they have magnetic noses for kissing. The two bears will hold hands (they both have Velcro on their paws). The boy bear (not shown) wears purple overalls with a heart and has dark brown fur.
This curly furry bear is a hand-puppet. He has magnets in his paws and wears a removable sweater with a big red heart on it. When sitting he is about 9 inches tall.
American Girl Bitty Baby's 5" bear by Pleasant Company.
"Eighty-five years ago, the President of the United States Teddy Roosevelt, went on a hunting trip. In the forest he found a bear cub, and refused to shoot it. Newspapers across the country printed a cartoon of the President and the Bear Cub. It was seen by millions of people including a man in NewYork who decided to make a toy bear that looked just as soft and cuddly as the one in the newspaper. With the President's permission, he called it Teddy's Bear. That man was Morris Michtom, founder of the Ideal Toy Corporation. From then on the increasingly popular Toy Bears became known as Teddy Bears. Caltoy has been given the honor of introducing a replica of the original Teddy Bear in celebration of the 85th anniversary." Caltoy, Inc. a subsidiary of View-Master Ideal Group, Inc., Nat L. Gorman, President. This 1987 Teddy's Bear is approximately 15 inches tall with a soft brown fuzzy coat.
Kuddle Me Toys by Kelly Toys, London. This small gray 5 inch bear has a keychain connected to his head.
"Be My Valentine Dress", a tulip print sundress for Muffy from the North American Bear Company. The dress is tagged Muffy Clothesline #5449-Muffy, 1999.
2001 Teddy Bear by Hug Fun comes complete with a lavender colored case and extra clothes.
Russ-Berrie February Birthday Bear. Purple colored bear with faux amethyst necklace. Pellet and Polyester filled teddybear that is approximately 8 inches tall.
Russ-Berrie teddy bear "Cookie". He is all dressed for Christmas in his gingerbread man suit. The suit is trimmed with rick-rack and decorations making it appear as though it has been decorated with icing to look like a gingerbread man. "Cookie" is approximately 15 inches tall.
Russ-Berrie teddy bear that is approximately 8 inches tall made from white fabric. A colorful rainbow and the words "I Love You" on his tummy and a small pink heart on his left palm.
Sweet Hugs Bear by Hallmark, squeeze him and his heart lights up (non-replaceable battery).
Nascar #2 bear.
Nascar #94 bear.
A "Plush from Paradies' Collection" Monchhichi-type bear. This little pink plush 7 inch bear is not dated but the Monchhichi bears became popular in the mid-1970s.
A retired Gund purple bear "Cabearnet" #6457. He is a pretty 15 inch bear that is a deep dark purple with black button eyes.
Briarberry Bear Berrybeth by Fisher-Price a division of Mattel. The bottom of her foot is embroidered with her signature. She does not have her original dress but has a non-removable soft bodysuit. Copyright 2000, #75097, #75098, #75099.
Winnie the Pooh with his honeypot. Pooh is copyrighted by Disney, he is 15 inches tall and made by Mattel, 1994.
A small pink bear by Gi-Go. He is only four inches tall.
Russ-Berrie teddy bear "Cookie". Russ-Berrie made Cookie in two sizes and this is the smaller size bear. He is all dressed for Christmas in his gingerbread man suit. The suit is trimmed with rick-rack and decorations making it appear as though it has been decorated with icing to look like a gingerbread man. "Cookie" is approximately 10 inches tall.
A newer "Care Bear", copyright 2003 TCFC, manufacturered by Play Along, Ltd. This little green Care Bear has the heart shaped button on his back that has symbolizes the Care Bears. He is approximately 13 inches tall with his white tummy full of happy stars and the bottom of his feet embroidered with a heart on each foot.
Boyd's "Happy Bearwish" from Spring 2002. A 1-800-Flowers.com exclusive. He is 14 inches tall, poseable with a soft caramel colored fur. He is wearing an embroidered party hat with a colorful yarn tassel and silky ribbons around his neck.
An official Chevrolet bean filled green bear by Kabor, copyright 2002. He is 7 inches tall with a blue Chevrolet logo.
Paddington Bear dressed in his yellow slicker and hat. He is carrying a red umbrella and his yellow raincoat is trimmed in dark blue corduroy. He wears a tag around his neck that says, "Darkest Peru to London, England via Paddington Stn." On the back of the tag it says, "Please look after this bear. Thank you."
Michael Bond wrote several books in the late 1950s about a bear called Paddington from the darkest Peru who stowed away on a ship and ended up at the Lost and Found Department at Paddington Station in London, England. He is known for his distinctive hat and coat, his Wellington boots, his love of orange marmalade and his sign that says, "Please look after this bear. Thank you.". The first stuffed Paddington bears were made about 1971 by Gabrielle Designs and then in 1975 Eden Toys acquired the North American rights and began making them. In due course Eden Toys found that the appeal of Paddington spanned a far broader age range than they had originally anticipated and so they diversified their range accordingly, eventually introducing a standing, booted version, red and blue colour combinations, a Paddington dressed in yellow slicker and others dressed in outfits such as a doctor, chef, golfer, baseball, soccer and tennis player. In 1998 Eden llc (formerly Eden Toys) ceased trading and so it is no longer possible to buy new versions of their bears. However a new plush licence was recently granted to the American company Yottoy who have introduced a delightful 10" version of Paddington to their range of plush.
A Good Luck Care Bear, copyright 2002 TCFC, by Play Along Toys. This green bear is approximately 8 inches tall and has a four-leaf clover embroidered on his tummy. His tag says, "He's the Care Bear who shares his good luck with everyone. He's loaded with luck, and good fortune follows him wherever he goes. Naturally Good Luck Bear is almost always smiling. You might say he leads a charmed life! Good Luck Bear's four-leaf clover lets us know that when this bear is nearby good luck is never far behind."
Maurice Sendak's "Little Bear" by Kidpower. Maurice Sendak's "Little Bear" trademark Wild Things Productions, Little Bear characters copyright 1999 M. Sendak. Maurice Sendak's "Little Bear" written by Else Minarik. This little bear is approximately 13 inches tall and he talks when his tummy is pressed. He says, "Interesting", "growls and laughs", "I'm your little bear", and "What are we going to do today?". He has soft brown fur and big brown eyes.
A white "Patriotic" bear made in China and distributed by Atico International USA Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The bear is about the same size as a TY Beanie Baby (tm) but feels like he weighs less. He is stuffed with a soft synthetic fiber and only has pellets in his bottom. He has an American Flag embroidered on his chest, a red ribbon around his neck, and the list price on his hang tag is $1.99.
A "Houston", Texas Teddy Bear. No manufacturer is shown on this little brown bear's tag. He is approximately 6 inches tall and is stuffed with a combination of ployester [sic] polyester fiber and plastic pellets.
"Little Slugger" a bear toy made for a baby. Little Slugger is wearing a baseball cap and holding a baseball in one hand and a bat in the other. Pull on the pull-ring and he plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". First Peek (TM), New York, NY, made in China. He is about 13 inches tall and has a loop on his head so he will hang in easy reach of a baby's hands.
A bright red bear with a sheer white ribbon that has red hearts printed on it around his neck. The bear is approximately 12 inches tall with black button eyes and a black nose. He is stuffed with a soft polyester filling. The remnants of his paper tag that was sewn into the inseam of his left leg has been torn off so his manufacturer is unknown.
Furskins "Hattie" Wendy's Kids Meal promotional toy, 1986. Hattie is 7 inches tall and wearing her original clothes and boots. The boots are marked "Furskins" on the bottoms. She does not have her hat.
Pleasant Company Bitty Teddy Bear. This 5 inch bear is tagged 1995.
"Minky" the chocolate brown teddy bear designed by plush toy manufacturer First & Main, Inc., item number 1404. He is approximately 15 inches tall (10 inches when sitting), crafted from faux mink material with corduroy soles on his feet and a suede ribbon tied around his neck.
"Baby Cub Surprise" from Hasbro, tagged 1992. Room for baby cubs in the enclosure that closes with Velcro on the bear's back. This bear does not have any cubs.
Laurell's Attic "Hope and Hannah" by Dan Dee. A pastel plaid teddy bear holding a lavender colored baby teddy bear. The sitting bear is approximately 7 inches tall while sitting and the baby bear is about 4.5 inches long.
Dingle B. Bumbles from The Boyds Collection Archive Series, copyright 1990-1998. A six inch bear who looks like a bumble bee with antennae, wings and black stripes around his middle.
A "Waco, Texas" bear celebrating Waco's 150th birthday.
This cute little bear is tagged 1979, Russ Berrie. He is approximately 4 inches tall when sitting. He is stuffed with ground nut shells and synthetic fibers.
Madame Alexander's "Well Dressed Bears". Here comes the bride, a bear wearing a beautiful wedding dress.
He's wired! Was it from too much caffeine? Here's the 2005 Starbuck's bear dressed in his winter clothes, his backpack on his back, and carrying his mittens. This is the 42nd Edition Bearista (TM) Bear Collection, made exclusively for Starbucks Coffee Company.
A Gund Teddybear wearing a sheer pink and green ribbon around his neck. He is a cinnamon-rose color with a brown nose and brown eyes. He is in a sitting position and measures approximately 10 inches while sitting. He is tagged 12N86.
A pink "Victoria's Secret" Teddy bear with "V.S." on the bottom of his foot.
"Tedwina" North American Bear Company, 1997. Tedwina is approximately 7 inches tall and a ballet dancer.
An Original Appalacian Artworks "Furskins" that is only three inches tall.
A perfect day to enjoy a tea party.
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