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The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear for small children. However, due to the diverse shapes, sizes and quantity of them, they are of immense interest to collectors.
Popularity
Teddy Bears are a very popular item to collect in the UK and they are appreciated by a great many people.
Location
Teddy bears can be obtained from a variety of sources, such as car boot sales, collectors fairs, flea markets and jumble sales, as well as antique dealers and antique fairs. The Internet is another good source, especially on-line auctions.
Age
Collectors can be of all ages and you are never too young or old to start a collection.
Ability
There is no real ability required for collecting teddy bears, collectors just need the appreciation of them. Whether they think of it as a object of beauty or appreciate it for its design, or just that its nice and cuddly (the main appeal of bears!).
Description
Teddy bears got their name thanks to the American Ideal Toy Company. Its founder Morris Michtom was inspired by a cartoon showing Theodore Roosevelt, the US president, sparing the life of a grizzly bear. Teddy bears are hugely popular with collectors. You can find English-made bears from the first half of the 20th century for a few hundred pounds, or pay thousands for rare early ones produced by famous bear makers such as Steiff.
Dedication
To build up a collection of teddy bears collectors need to be resourceful in their attempts to obtain items to add to their collection. You must be prepared to spend time rummaging through lots of items to find the one piece of treasure that you need to add to your collection. Much of the fun of collecting is the seeking of that elusive next item, whether it be at a car boot sale which could yield some great finds, or at a dealer where you may have to pay top prices.
Closely
Related Activities
Collecting 116, Collecting Toys and Dolls 151,
Cost
Modern bears can be bought for a few pounds, but collectors seeking rarer and older bears may have to pay hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
Level of Demand
The table below shows the maximum levels of demand that this activity requires. NOTE: These are not entry levels or levels of requirement and has nothing to do with ability.
Energy |
Arms
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Legs
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Sight
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Hearing
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Speech |
Learning |
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