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David Harcourt
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Posted: 31 Jul 2006 12:50 am |
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I have more Steiff bears to list, but here is something different: a limited edition ROBIN RIVE mohair bear entitled "Celebration Ted".
This 5-way jointed bear is part of the Countrylife Series, hand made in New Zealand.
It is #65 in an edition of 300 and is 37cms (15") high/tall:Attached Image (viewed 1162 times):
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 31 Jul 2006 12:54 am |
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And lastly (for today, anyway) I have three bears from the English company MERRY THOUGHT.
This first one is a Scottish bear named "Balmoral". It's a "five-way jointed" bear wearing a kilt, sporran and bonnet, and has a loud growler.
It is #89 in an edition of 950 and is 36cms (14") high/tall.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 31 Jul 2006 12:57 am |
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Next is this limited edition Merry Thought "Attic bear" - on a wooden tricycle!
It is #170 in an edition of 500 and is 32cms (12.5") high/tall.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 31 Jul 2006 01:10 am |
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The third and last MERRY THOUGHT bear is "Branson", a 5-way jointed bear was made exclusively for Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airline.
It is #1402 in an edition of 2000 and 27cms (10.5") high/tall.
And if you have read this far you must be really keen on bears, so here's a small reward: any member of TUW who would like to purchase any of these bears will be given a 10% discount on the Buy Now price (which is the same as the reserve in each case).
If interested, please contact me through this site, or post a message here. If there are no bids I will end the auction.
These Steiff and other bears have been priced very keenly - at about two-thirds (and in some cases even less) of the price which other sellers on trademe are asking. The condition in all cases is near-new.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 12:40 am |
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Tragic news for bear lovers:
TEDDY BEARS' MASSACRE
Elvis Presley's cherished teddy bear Mabel on loan to a British museum has been mauled irreparably by a guard dog hired to protect it.
The toy was on loan by local aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade and was disemboweled of her stuffing and had her head severed in the attack.
The rare toy, made in 1909 by German manufacturer Steiff, was valued at more than A$100,000.
Mabel was to have formed the centrepiece of a valuable collection on display at Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset in south-west England.
However the bear upset Barney, the Doberman pinscher charged with protecting Mabel and other fluffy exhibits, and the dog launched into a frenzied attack.
All I've been able to find to illustrate the story so far is this tiny pic from CNN:
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 12:47 am |
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There's a long report in the New York Times which I can't copy for some reason, but you may wish to read. Here's the link:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/03/europe/web.0803teddy.php
And here's a better (?) photo, from the Washington Post:
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 12:49 am |
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Finally, here is the Independent's version of the story:
London - Elvis Presley's cherished teddy bear Mabel was all shook up after being mauled by an apparently jealous guard dog hired to protect her at a British museum, newspapers reported on Thursday.
The rare toy, made in 1909 by German manufacturer Steiff and valued at £40 000, was to have formed the centrepiece of a valuable collection on display at Wookey Hole Caves, in Somerset, south-western England.
But for some reason Barney, the Dobermann pinscher charged with protecting the precious cuddly toy and the other fluffy exhibits, turned against them, going on the rampage in a frenzied after-hours attack.
Mabel was disembowled of her soft stuffing and had her head severed. The damage is believed to be irreperable.
"Barney has been a model guard dog for more than six years. I still can't believe what happened," security guard Greg West was quoted as saying after the attack on Tuesday night.
"Either there was a rogue scent of some kind on Mabel, which switched on Barney's deepest instincts, or it could have been jealousy. I was just stroking Mabel and saying what a nice bear she was."
Mabel was bought by local aristocrat Sir Benjamin Slade at an auction in Memphis, Tennessee, and was on a work surface while a glass case was being built for her.
Wookey Hall general manager Daniel Medley was quoted as saying he had spoken to Sir Benjamin.
"He is not very pleased at all," he added.
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yowie_power
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 01:11 am |
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That Dobermann ain't nothing but a hound dog! 
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 02:28 am |
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yowie_power wrote: That Dobermann ain't nothing but a hound dog!
In the NYT article the (British) reporter says that there's no question of the dog being put down.
They may have a different view in Steiff. Oy maybe not, as it's a German breed.
And another thought:
During the Second World War, did Steiff make bears dressed as little stormtroopers and Gestapo officers, with one paw stretched?
I would really like to know (or is it impolite to ask?).
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 03:21 am |
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I shouldn't have thoughts. Now I really have to find out whether German toy manufacturers made Nazi bears during the Second World War. The first thing I've come across is this 2005 report, which is only tangentially relevant, but interesting just the same:
Teddy bear manufacturers go classical in tough market
It's official. The trend in teddy bears this year is strictly classical, as manufacturers from across Germany confirmed at this year's "Teddy Baerlinale" in Berlin.
The German teddy bear industry stretches back generations, and manufacturers take their furry creations very seriously.
Susanne Ludwig, co-founder of Balu-Baeren in Braunschweig, was among the dozens of bear makers from across Germany displaying their wares in Berlin. Ludwig talked solemnly about the recent spate of terror attacks worldwide, saying they had increased people's "feelings of insecurity and fear."
"No teddy bear or soft toy can change such things, but they can help transmit a sense of security, comfort and warmth in dark moments," she said without a trace of pathos.
Baerenstark is probably Berlin's largest teddy bear shop, just off the central Friedrichstrasse. Renate Ernst, the store manager, says the return by bear makers to classical designs points to a difficult time for the market. "You still find bears of zany, odd-ball appearance, produced by teddy artists. But with the market tougher, there is now less experimentation," she said.
The 1980s saw a boom in teddy bear sales in Germany, but with unemployment at 11 percent, people have less money to fork out on branded bears, she said.
Steiff, Hermann Teddy Bear, Grisley Spielwaren GmbH and Clemens are among the heavyweights in Germany's teddy bear manufacturing. Their products, made with the finest mohair, are found in shops and department stores nationwide, alongside the creations of countless independent teddy designers.
With the domestic market in the doldrums, most are now looking to overseas markets to shore up their sales. The US, Canada, UK, France, Belgium, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have all become importers of German teddies in recent decades.
German manufacturers are hoping for a boost on the home front next year when a film about Margarete Steiff (1847-1909), the founder of the famous Giengen toymaking company, will be shown on prime-time television. The talented German actress Heike Makatsch plays the role of the doughty Steiff, who faced discrimination for most of her life as a polio sufferer and displayed enormous willpower, courage and skill, in building up the family empire.
Horst Wieder, organizer of the annual Teddy Baerlinale, admits the German market for teddy bears has shown signs of fatigue. "It's not that Germany is without rich people, but rather it's a case of the middle and lower ends of society having less money to spend on items of pleasure," he said.
The Nazi rise to power sounded the death knell for several famous names in the industry, including the Bing Spielwarenfabrik toy factory in Nuremberg, which specialized in metal toys. In 1907 Bing employed 6000 people and was hailed the world's largest manufacturer of toys. The artist-inventor Kunz Weidlich played an enormous part in that success, after he began designing traditional, fully jointed bears for the firm. Their clockwork bears moved their heads from side to side, while others walked, skied or skated along when their mechanisms were wound up. Such inventiveness helped the firm to flourish in the years after World War I, but when Hitler came to power it was clear the company's days were numbered. The Bing family were Jewish.
In the early 1930s the factory's contents had to be auctioned off. Today surviving Bing bears are regarded as collectors items, and fetch huge prices at auctions in London, Munich and New York.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 4 Aug 2006 10:57 pm |
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I now have 49 collectable bears to list or already listed on trademe, seven of which have already been sold, so I have been getting further and further behind with my pictures of them here.
("Thank God for that," murmur the arctophobes in the audience.)
I must show you this one, however, because it has been sold to one of us i.e. a member of The Unscrambled Web, thereby earning for this lucky person a 10% discount on the auction price.
It is a Steiff Millenium Bear made for the Danbury Mint (US). It is a 5-way jointed bear with a woollen jersey and a gold-plated Millenium medallion around its neck, and is 30cms (just under 12") high/tall.
I thought it was a charming bear, but what do I know?
("Not very much," murmur the majority of the audience.)
If the first seven sales are any guide, traditional/conventionally appealing bears are selling rather better than bears which are obviously designed for the collector.
Why do I find this encouraging?
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 02:45 am |
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A quick thought which I will write down before I forget it:
Do the children of people living in areas where bears are a menace have teddy bears?
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Teddy Bear
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 03:02 am |
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| In regards to the Teddy Bear massacre, as a Teddy Bear lover & collector I am horrified at the thought of my own bears being ripped apart by a dog, and have great sympathy for the owners of the Bears in this case. What has amazed me is any one I have spoken to about this incident, thinks it's the funniest thing they have heard in ages. Why is it so funny? If it had been antique vases or paintings the same people would say "oh no that's terrible' . But Teddy Bears, well it's a great joke so thay say....so can anyone explain to me the funny side, I just dont get it.
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giraffeinfall
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| Location: | Australia |
| Posts: | 193 |
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 06:54 am |
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I can't answer your question, teddy bear, but I do know that anyone who injects even a shade of surprise into the comment " it could have been jealousy"
when that comment is followed by
" I was just stroking Mabel and saying what a nice bear she was"
either doesn't know much about how dogs' minds work,
or simply didnt think to put that ( fairly basic, in the circumstances) essential knowledge into practice on this occasion.
Given that the poor old aristocratic Pom who owned those fragments that were Once A Bear apparently specifically stipulated that the security arrangements MUST include a guard dog... there's a more than a touch of irony about that little lot.
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giraffeinfall
Member
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| Location: | Australia |
| Posts: | 193 |
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 07:12 am |
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... those fragments were once about a hundred bears, in fact, I find upon reading the artice linked to above.
Yep, that's how many bears Barney the Badly Broken-hearted got through, before his handler could stop him, once he got started...
He was all shook up, alright, wasnt he?
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 09:13 am |
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I listed some more bears today. While I'm watching/listening to the rugby, and praying for a Springbok victory, I will add photos of some of them.
These are Steiff bears. Paddington Bear is wonderful.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 09:18 am |
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| Here are three more Steiff bears. The Chimney Sweep will be listed tomorrow. Attached Image (viewed 935 times):
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 09:24 am |
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This group comprises, from the left:
* an Anniversary Bear made for the famous London store, Harrods. The "anniversary" is the 100th anniversary of the first teddy bear, made in 1902. This is a polyester bear, not mohair. It is 45cms (18") high/tall. The reserve is $149.
* a limited edition Merrythought (UK) plush bear made for Harrods. It is "Cheeky Bear", #97 in an edition of 500. It is offered for sale in its original Harrods gift box.
It is 23cms (9.5") high/tall. The reserve is $149.
* a Merrythought (UK) plush bear - a Guardsman Bear. It is 45cms (18") high/tall. The reserve is $49.99.
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Ichardray
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Posted: 5 Aug 2006 10:52 pm |
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That guard dog was probably bored and got playful. Muffin slaughters all soft toys that are left within easy reach.
I started making my own bears because the named brands were beyond my meagre means.
That is a fine collection of bears you have for sale, David. My pick is still the koala.
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David Harcourt
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Posted: 9 Aug 2006 09:43 pm |
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I have sold a second Steiff bear to a member of The Unscrambled Web (the 10% discount still applies, people: don't hold back).
It is the VICTORIAN GENTLEMAN bear, a five-way jointed bear 36cms (14") high/tall.
If you search for COLLECTABLE BEAR on trademe you will get a list of 339, but the 39 which are mine are on the first page, with pictures of reasonable quality, so you won't have difficulty finding them.
More this weekend!
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