Toy Teddy Bear
Toy Teddy Bear
The Jumbo Plush Toy and How the Teddy Bear Remained Popular
Every toy collection should have a jumbo plush toy or two in it. That’s not to say the collection is lacking without a jumbo plush toy, but it’s by no means complete.
Between the 1950′s and the 1960′s, there was a major rise in the West of living standards. This all took place at the same time that an unprecedented number of babies were being born. With more disposable income and the rise of the birth rate, it meant nothing but good news for the toy industry, however, competition was also fierce. This was the same period when Barbie (1959), G.I Joe (1964) and Action Man (1966) were all introduced. Teddy bears were already seen as a traditional toy which was loved by parents but not so much by a younger generation that was quickly becoming novelty hungry. In order to come up with a range of bears that would meet the need of the age, the industry had to react quickly and leading the way was Steiff (creator of the teddy bear) in Germany.
Steiff knew that its range of products needed to be updated if it was going to part of the economic recovery that was taking place. It started the process by moving away from the traditional designs of Richard Steiff (which are treasured today) and moving to a more modern classic teddy bear. In 1950, the new bear was registered and was offered at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. The new look of this teddy was more like a bear cub than that of a grizzly bear. As it became evident that fewer and fewer children in the ten year old age range would admit to loving their old friend, the teddy bear had no choice but to set its sights on a younger audience.
During the 1950′s and 1960′s, the head of the classic teddy bear became rounder and larger in proportion to the rest of its body. His muzzle also became less pronounced and its fur was cut short. Finally, his body was made fatter and younger looking and his ‘arms’ and legs’ were less exaggerated in shape and length.
In the next year, Steiff introduced Zotty whose name came from the German word zottig, which means ‘shaggy.’ Zotty had long curly brown-tipped mohair with a peach-colored bib that was set into his chest. His mouth was open and lined with felt and his paws pointed downward. A less popular version of Zotty was also designed – Sleeping or Flopping Zotty, positioned lying down with eyes closed. The idea behind this new bear was to produce a softer playmate for small children that would be an essential childhood friend that could be held and comforted, and, that could also give comfort in return. Zotty was a major success and as a result was imitated by many other German firms.
If deciding that a jumbo plush toy will in fact make it into to a collection of stuffed animals, it can be whatever soft toy you want it to be. It goes without saying, however, that in order for the collection to truly be ‘complete,’ a jumbo plush toy teddy bear will have to be added.
Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
About the Author
Shelley Vassall is a writer and collector of the jumbo plush toy
Toy Teddy bears come to life
|
|
2.7m x 2.7m Base Size BARBIE PINK Gazebo #100604 £20.00 |
|
|
BARBIE Girl licensed 2pc summer pyjamas pajamas pjs set pink BNWT sizes 3-7 £8.77 |
|
|
NEW 12 DIFFERENT COLOR OF BARBIE GLITTER INK BLINK PENS SY04a £0.99 |
|
|
New Handmade Party Dress Barbie Clothes Gown For Barbie Doll 329 £0.99 |
|
|
AA Happy Family pregnant Barbie & Barbie dentist £63.29 |
|
|
Vintage Skipper Doll w Lots of Clothes/Outfits (Barbie’s Friend) £6.30 |
|
|
Barbie 2 Seater Jeep £175.00 |
|
|
Fisher Price – Digital Arts & Crafts Studio – Barbie Fairytopia £12.50 |
|
|
New Fashion Princess Wedding Clothes Dresses Gown Outfit for Barbie Doll 001yb £0.99 |
|
|
Barbie Sweethearts: Pacific Pageant (Barbie Sweethearts), , Good Book £2.99 |
|
|
Barbie Sweethearts: Holiday Magic (Barbie Sweethearts), Suzanne Weyn, Good Book £2.99 |
|
|
Vintage Blond Ken (1983 Malaysia) & Barbie (1966 Taiwan) Dolls £5.03 |
|
|
Vintage Black Barbie Dolls in Evening Gowns: 1987 Indonesia + 1990 Indonesia. £5.03 |
|
|
RED HOTS & OKRA BY BARBIE TIDWELL /ETCHINGS/FRAMED 12X6(385/1200 & 412/1200) £17.93 |
|
|
BARBIE PLAYING CARD SET: NOSTALGIC IMAGES OF BARBIE FROM 1959-1969 NEW £10.75 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £2.08 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £2.08 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £2.08 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £14.55 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £14.55 |
|
|
7/8″22mm BARBIE Girl Silhouette&flower grosgrain ribbon hairbows 5 Yards 50yards £14.55 |
|
|
Barbie White Pink Roses Long Sleeves Winter Girls Top £6.23 |
|
|
Barbie White Pink Roses Long Sleeves Winter Girls Top £6.23 |
|
|
Barbie White Pink Roses Long Sleeves Winter Girls Top £6.23 |
|
|
Barbie White Pink Roses Long Sleeves Winter Girls Top £6.23 |
|
|
Barbie Colouring Set £0.01 Set of 8 colouring sheets, 6 colouring pencils and 15 resuable stickers Age 3+… |
|
|
Zap Barbie Mono Single Duvet £7.99 Loads more Barbie products at our store. Please click on logo for many more products. Fast shipping. Competitive prices. Great bedroom items…. |
|
|
Barbie busy pack fashion colouring stickers girls birthday present gift £2.49 Barbie busy pack fashion colouring stickers girls birthday present gift… |
|
|
Disney Princess -Ultimate £2.80 … |
|
|
Barbie of Swan Lake [DVD] £3.49 … |
|
|
Barbie In The Nutcracker [DVD] £3.11 Look who became a star. Barbie comes to life in the computer-animated Barbie in the Nutcracker, taking the longtime-favorite doll into a new realm. The 76-minute tale is a slight variation on the traditional story based on Tchaikovsky’s music. Instead of an open-ended dream, Barbie and her escort, the Nutcracker (soon to be Ken, natch), are on an adventurous quest. Along the way there are more cre… |
|
|
Barbie Wallpaper Border £28.00 Wallpaper Border (not self-adhesive) - Width 12 cm, length 17 m. - For a better and convenient stick, the border us cutted in 70cm pieces and used together. The pattern fits together exactly, infinitely expandable. The special, hard-wearing paper with elevated white clay has the strength of 120g / m². The vibrant colors make aware the perfect color scale…. |
|
|
Night Light Barbie £8.28 NULL… |
|
|
RoomMates RMK1615GM Barbie Peel and Stick Giant Wall Decal Bring the style and fashion of Barbie into any room with this peel & stick wall decal. Standing over three feet tall this giant wall decal of the world s favorite doll is absolutely fabulous! Barbie s also brought along a friendly pet poodle and many other stylish accents to apply to your wall furniture windows or any other flat surface. There s no better way to bring Barbie into your room! Pair t… |
|
|
Barbie: Jet, Set and Style (Nintendo DS) £9.95 Jet the Globe with Barbie as her top fashionista in this all-new, ultra-glamorous video game, Barbie Jet, Set & Style. There are tons of styling activities for you to do in the jet salon as you travel with Barbie to 10 different exotic cities from Paris to Los Angeles to Milan and more. Design totally-new HAIRtastic hairstyles using “real styling moves” with the Wii Remote and stylus; cut, hi… |
|
|
Slide & Find: Eric Carle’s Brown Bear Brown Bear Martin, Bill £11.64 |
|
|
Bright Baby Noisy Bears Priddy, Roger £4.98 |
|
|
STEERING STEM BEARING HEAD KIT 250 EGS EXC MXC SX F W XC SXS 94-11 KTM £25.31 |
|
|
New Ladies Japanese Cosplay Emo Raccoon Panda Bear Ear Top Shirt Hoodie – White £10.44 |
|
|
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Martin, Bill, Jr./ Carle, Eric £11.67 |
|
|
Settler Bears – Sebastian 23″ – Baby Boy Pram Collection £63.29 |
|
|
FRANZ – Handmade teddy bear Swan Hill Bear Company – Free Post £31.33 |
|
|
“I Am a Man”: Chief Standing Bear: a Native Son’s Search for Justice Starita, Jo £20.12 |
|
|
Steiff “Golden Age of Circus” Original Hippo Seal Elephant Bear Wagon Box £164.58 |
|
|
REAR WHEEL BEARING SEAL KIT SUZUKI DR250S DR350S DR650 £17.40 |
|
|
lovely bear case Cover For iPhone 4 4g 4s white hard shell skin gifts box UK £3.97 |
|
|
Cute Brown Bear Design Hard Case Cover for Apple iPhone 4S 4G 4 £0.99 |
|
|
5YD 3/8″ cute lot penguin polar bear red scarf white winter grosgrain ribbon £0.97 |
|
|
Steering Head Bearings (Lower) Suzuki OR 50 ET 80 £20.82 |
|
|
Settler Bears – Antoinette 23″ – Kensington Collection £70.89 |
|
|
Cute Bear Earphone Cable Cord Rubber Winder for iPhone – Gray £2.20 |
|
|
Peef: The Christmas Bear Hegg, Tom/ Hanson, Warren (Illustrator) £12.79 |
|
|
Settler Bears – Cherry 23″ – Baby Girl Pram Collection £59.49 |
|
|
Steering Head Bearings (Lower) Suzuki GT 380 72-77 £20.82 |
|
|
Yamaha Big Bear / Bruin 250 350 400 450 Owners Manual £6.32 |
|
|
Steering Head Bearing (Lower) Suzuki RM 60 N-D 79-83 £20.82 |
|
|
Settler Bears – Jacqueline 38″ – Kensington Collection £120.26 |
|
|
SOLID Sterling Silver 3D Scuba Dive Diving Snorkel Diver BEAR Pendant Necklace £34.52 |
|
|
Steering Head Bearing (Lower) Suzuki TS 90 71-73 £20.82 |
|
|
Sprocket Carrier Bearing Kawasaki Z 440 (B1-B2) 80-81 £8.62 |
|
|
Prince Lionheart Original Slumber Bear – Cream £19.97 Invented by a doctor, and effectively used in hospital nurseries for over 25 years! The Original Slumber Bear contains the ONLY actual intra-uterine, recorded womb sound to help lull your Baby to sleep in minutes! Sound and motion sensors re-activate recording when Baby cries or jostles bear. Additional hook and loop straps allow you to secure the removable audio box to crib rails, strollers and m… |
|
|
Character World Me To You Bear Shaped Plush Cushion £7.50 Loads more Me To You products at our store. Please click on logo for many more products. Fast shipping. Competitive prices. Great bedroom items…. |
|
|
Amscan 9-inch Little Charlie Bear Plate £2.49 Little Charley bear party plates… |
|
|
The Jungle Book (Disney) (1967) [VHS] [1968] £2.97 Disney’s 1967 animated feature seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Based on fiction by Rudyard Kipling, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (Louis Prima as “King Louie” of the Apes; George Sanders as th… |
|
|
Brother Bear [VHS] [2003] £8.99 Disney’s Brother Bear boasts a dramatic story–after he kills a bear, a young hunter named Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix) in prehistoric North America is turned into a bear himself and hunted by his own brother–but the animated movie’s tone is more earnest and warm than tragic, focusing on the unfolding relationship between Kenai and an orphaned bear cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez). H… |
|
|
Kissyfur 1-Bear Roots [VHS] £7.99 Running time 30 minutes. They call him Kissyfur because they can’t pronounce his real name, Christopher. You’ll simply call him irresistible!… |
|
|
Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter £11.25 Bear Grylls Survival Series Fire Starter… |
|
|
Bear Grylls Ultimate Multi-Tool £28.49 Bear Grylls Ultimate Multi-tool, Nylon Sheath… |
|
|
Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit £34.99 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit… |
|
|
Little Charley Bear (Nintendo DS) £15.99 LITTLE CHARLEY BEAR… |
