Why Are They Called "Teddy Bears"?

In 1902, US President Theodore Roosevelt was in Mississippi to help settle a border dispute between Mississippi and its neighboring state of Louisiana.

The President's local hosts knew of his interest in hunting and arranged a bear hunt. When Roosevelt's outing proved unsuccessful, a member of the hunting party snared a black bear, tied it to a tree, and offered it as a target for the President. Roosevelt flatly refused, thinking it unsportsmanlike and ordering the bear's release.

Editorial Cartoonist Clifford Berryman heard the story and developed a political cartoon titled "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" – referencing both the President's refusal and the border dispute. In his cartoon, Berryman changed one important detail of the incident: he replaced the adult bear with an adorable cub. The cartoon first appeared in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902, but was quickly reprinted throughout the country.

The cartoon inspired Brooklyn candy store owners Morris and Rose Mitchom to create a small, jointed stuffed bear, and display it in their store window with a copy of the cartoon and sign reading, "Teddy's Bear." (Mitchom had requested permission from President Roosevelt himself to use the nickname. Roosevelt reportedly replied, "I don't think my name is likely to be worth much in the toy bear business, but you are welcome to use it.") Customers immediately began purchasing the bears, and within a year, the Mitchoms closed their candy store and founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company with Butler Brothers, a large wholesaling company.

Meanwhile in Germany, Richard Steiff was searching for a new toy idea. He attended a visiting American circus in late October 1902 and found his inspiration in a group of performing bears. Unlike the current toy bears of the time that mimicked real bears, Richard imagined an upright bear with jointed limbs similar to dolls.

Richard Steiff presented his idea to his aunt and founder of the Steiff toy company, Margarete Steiff. She liked the idea and created a mohair prototype from Richard's designs; "Friend Petz" (also known as Baer 55PB) made his debut at the 1903 Spring Toy Fair in Leipzig.

Legend has it, however, that no one seemed interested in the new stuffed toy. It was only as Steiff was packing up his booth that an American buyer named Herman Berg spotted the bear and ordered 3,000 for George Borgfeldt and Co. By the end of the year, the order had increased to 12,000. Steiff later redesigned the bear's face with more appealing features – a countenance that would influence Teddy bears for the next 50 years.

The term "Teddy Bear" without the apostrophe-s first appeared in print in the October 1906 issue of Playthings magazine and quickly became the accepted term for these plush toys.