The development of the Teddy Bear originated in Germany in 1902 and the development of mohair material coincidentally happened at the same time The technique of jointing occurred at this period and by 1904, the Teddy Bear as we know it was more or less complete. There is a great deal of circumstantial evidence that Dean's, who made jointed dolls in the early 1900s, were producing unbranded jointed mohair bears for a particular importer as early as 1906. Over the years, many different types of fabric for Teddy Bear plush have been the subject of experimentation including rayon in the 30s (Art silk),cotton and nylon in the 50s and acrylic in the 70s up to the present day. However, nothing has approached the popularity of mohair material, even though it is by far the most expensive and all the bears at auction which reach high prices are made of mohair. The current trend, especially in Britain, for acrylic bears is unlikely to topple the popularity of mohair. The evidence is that if you want a bear for posterity, mohair is the way to go!

Murphy

Price: £120.00

Polly Panda

Price: £99.00