First Teddy Bear was Cuddly, Lovable, Soft and Delicious

Theodore Roosevelt was the country’s 26th president from 1901 to 1909. He was a man of action who had careers as a soldier, big game hunter, politician, conservationist and human rights proponent. His nickname “Teddy” led to an iconic stuffed animal being named after him.

An avid outdoors lover, Teddy Roosevelt was pleased to accept a hunting trip invitation from the governor of Mississippi in November, 1902. The governor promised Roosevelt a chance to bag a black bear, and the president wanted to add one to his trophy collection.  

After three days of hunting, a few bears were shot by members of the party, but Roosevelt didn’t see even one. Desperate to please the president, the governor dispatched several of the guides into the forest the next day and told them to find a bear for Roosevelt.

After a few hours, the president followed the hunting guides into a thick part of the forest and saw a bear tied to a tree. It was an adolescent female bear that looked badly beaten and scared. Hunting dogs found the bear, surrounded it and attacked it. The guides beat the bear into submission and secured it to the tree.

The president, invited by one of the guides to kill the animal, had pity on the bear and refused to shoot it, saying that would be unsportsmanlike.  He ordered that the bear should be “put out of its misery.” The guides quickly gutted the bear and butchered it for the hunters to eat.

Roosevelt, the governor and members of the camp ate the young bear during the next few days of the hunt. They saved the bear’s paws to eat roasted as a delicacy on the last day.

Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman learned about the story. He drew a cartoon for “The Washington Post” that showed Roosevelt refusing to shoot the pathetic-looking animal.

The president was shown in the forefront of the sketch extending his left arm in a gesture of firm resolve to stop anyone from harming the bear. The cartoon ran immediately after the hunting incident on November 16, 1902, with the caption “Drawing the line in Mississippi.”

Roosevelt was still on the hunt when the cartoon hit the newspaper. He likely was picking the bear meat out of his teeth while readers read about his humane gesture to save the bear’s life.

Similar cartoons ran in other newspapers. The bear often was drawn to be a cub that had a frightened look with large, human-like eyes. Sympathy for the bear increased as did Roosevelt’s popularity. The fact that the president ate the bear he spared was not publicized.    

A Brooklyn, NY, candy store owner saw an opportunity in the popularity of the bear story. Morris Michtom and his wife sold stuffed animals as well as candy. Mrs. Michtom made the toys by hand. They put two stuffed bears into the store windows and called them “Teddy’s Bear.”

The two bears were sold immediately and demand for more of them grew so much that Michtom started to mass produce them. He requested permission to use the president’s name on the product. President Roosevelt thought the idea was a joke and willingly gave his approval personally to the toy maker. Michtom’s new toy business eventually became the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

A German company called Steiff specialized in making stuffed animals for children. The company soon joined the increasing demand for Roosevelt’s bear.  Margaret Steiff made her living by sewing stuffed elephants and later other animals including bears.  Seeing the potential in the American market, the Steiff Company exported their stuffed bears to the United States under the name Teddy Bear. The name stuck, and Steiff became a globally known company among stuffed animal collectors.

President Roosevelt laughed at the idea of the stuffed bear being named after him, but the toy bear’s popularity kept growing. The impact of the Teddy Bear can be seen in the number of the toys sold each year. That estimated number is somewhere in the millions. Some 2,000 specialty stores sell the toy bears in the U.S. alone. European sales probably double the number of bears sold.

“Teddy Bear and Friends” is a national magazine for stuffed bear collectors. One article appearing inside the magazine was about a woman who built a wing on her home to hold her collection of more than 2,000 teddy bears. About 24 percent of the magazine’s 40,000 readers spend at least $1,000.00 on teddy bears every year.

Internet sales of teddy bears for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day keep growing each year. Buyers can find 20,000 teddy bears for auction on eBay every day.

The Teddy Bear became a tribute to one of our most accomplished presidents even though Roosevelt laughed at the idea of the toy using his name. The 26th president had world-wide accomplishments before and after his time in office. Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, being recognized in 1906 for his role as negotiator in the Russo-Japanese War.  Theodore Roosevelt also established the National Parks System.

He was the youngest man to become president. Roosevelt, then vice president, was 42-years-old when he assumed the presidency after President McKinley was assassinated. John F. Kennedy was 43-years-old when he was elected president.

After leaving office, Roosevelt went on an African safari for two years and netted many of the specimens that stock the Smithsonian Institute. 

The man whose likeness is a 60 foot bust carved into Mt. Rushmore was accomplished as a combat leader in the Rough Riders before he became president. It’s ironic a man of such diverse talents and some grizzly experiences would be known world-wide as the inspiration for a child’s toy.

Thanks for reading this blog. A new one will be in this space in two weeks. Please read my website www.joevlatino.com. You can get information about my book of short stories “The Device.”