It started with a refusal to kill. You’ve likely heard the broad strokes of the story: President Theodore Roosevelt goes on a hunting trip, feels bad for a bear, and suddenly every child in America has a fuzzy companion. It’s a nice sentiment. But the reality of the first teddy bear invented is actually a messy, simultaneous explosion of creativity spanning two continents, a Brooklyn candy shop, and a German seamstress who didn't even like the idea of toys at first.
Honestly, the "origin story" we tell kids is sanitized. Roosevelt wasn't exactly a pacifist. In November 1902, the President was in Mississippi settling a boundary dispute. He went hunting. Everyone else in the party had bagged an animal except him. To "help" the President, his attendants tracked a black bear, beat it into submission, and tied it to a willow tree. They literally invited him to shoot it like a sitting duck. Roosevelt refused. He said it would be "unsportsmanlike," though he did ask someone else to put the poor thing out of its misery with a knife.
The Brooklyn Connection: Morris Michtom’s Gamble
When Clifford Berryman’s political cartoon of the event hit The Washington Post on November 16, 1902, it sparked something unexpected. People loved the "Teddy's Bear" imagery. In Brooklyn, a Russian Jewish immigrant named Morris Michtom saw the drawing. He and his wife, Rose, ran a small candy store and handmade stuffed animals on the side.
Rose stayed up late. She cut pieces of plush velvet and stuffed them with excelsior—basically wood shavings. It wasn't soft like the bears we have now. It was scratchy and stiff. They put two of these bears in their shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's Bear."
They sold instantly.
Michtom reportedly wrote to Roosevelt asking for permission to use his name. The President, probably thinking it wouldn't amount to much, said yes. That single decision birthed the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. It changed the American toy industry forever, turning a political cartoon into a physical object that kids could actually hug.
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Meanwhile, in a German Village...
While the Michtoms were sewing in Brooklyn, a woman named Margarete Steiff was revolutionizing toys in Giengen, Germany. This is where the story gets nuanced. Steiff had polio as a child and used a wheelchair, but she was a master seamstress. She started by making a felt elephant pincushion. Kids loved it. Soon, she was making a whole menagerie.
In 1902—the exact same year as the Mississippi hunt—Margarete’s nephew, Richard Steiff, visited the Nill Circus in Stuttgart. He spent hours sketching the brown bears. He wanted to create a toy bear that could move like a real one. He designed the "Bear 55 PB."
It was a beast. It had a cord-jointed system, humped back, and long snout. It looked like a predator, not a baby. When they debuted it at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903, it initially flopped. Nobody wanted it. Then, an American buyer named Hermann Berg saw the potential, knowing the Roosevelt craze back home. He ordered 3,000.
So, who created the first teddy bear invented? It depends on who you ask. Michtom gave it the name and the political soul. Steiff gave it the engineering and the iconic "button in ear" quality.
Why the First Teddy Bear Invented Changed Childhood
Before 1902, dolls were mostly for girls, and they were almost always human-shaped. They were training tools for motherhood. If a boy played with a doll, it was looked down upon. The teddy bear broke that. It was an animal. It was "masculine" by association with a rough-riding President, yet soft enough for comfort.
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It was the first gender-neutral toy.
The design of these early bears was vastly different from the "cute" versions we see today. If you held an original 1903 Steiff, you’d notice it’s actually quite intimidating.
- The limbs are incredibly long.
- The "hump" on the back is pronounced, mimicking a real grizzly.
- The eyes were often shoe buttons.
- The mohair was coarse.
Psychologists often point out that as the decades went by, the "Teddy" underwent "neoteny." This is a fancy way of saying we made them look more like babies. The snouts got shorter. The foreheads got bigger. The eyes moved closer together. We evolved the toy to trigger our nurturing instincts.
The Rarity and the Market
If you find an original Michtom bear in your grandmother’s attic, you’re looking at a museum piece. Because the Michtoms didn’t trademark the name "Teddy’s Bear" (and didn't initially have a distinct tag), authenticating the earliest Brooklyn bears is notoriously difficult. Most ended up loved to death—the wood shavings inside eventually turned to dust, and the velvet wore away.
Steiff bears are a different story. Because of that "Knopf im Ohr" (Button in Ear) trademark introduced in 1904, we can track their lineage. Collectors pay staggering amounts for them. In 1994, a 1904 Steiff bear sold at Christie’s for over $170,000.
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Why the "First" Label is Complicated
Some historians argue that "stuffed bears" existed before 1902. They’re right. There are records of bear-shaped pillows and felt bears in European catalogs in the late 1800s. But they weren't Teddy Bears. The distinction is the cultural connection to Roosevelt. The name transformed the object from a generic animal toy into a character with a backstory.
It’s about the narrative. We don't just buy a plush toy; we buy the idea of the "mercy" shown by a President. It was a brilliant, perhaps accidental, marketing masterclass.
Essential Identification Marks of Early Bears
If you’re hunting for a piece of history, look for these specific "primitive" traits:
- Boot Button Eyes: Early makers didn't use safety glass. They used literal buttons from shoes.
- Excelsior Stuffing: If the bear "crunches" when you squeeze it, it’s stuffed with wood slivers.
- Long Arms: Early bears have arms that often reach past their "knees."
- The Hump: A genuine early 1900s bear will have a distinct bulge at the top of the spine.
How to Preserve a Piece of Toy History
Don't wash it. Seriously. If you happen to inherit an antique bear, the worst thing you can do is use modern detergents. The mohair and natural fibers will disintegrate. Keep it out of direct sunlight—UV rays are the enemy of 100-year-old dyes.
If you're looking to start a collection, don't just look for "old." Look for "character." The value of the first teddy bear invented and its immediate successors lies in the hand-stitched personality. No two noses were embroidered exactly the same.
Actionable Next Steps for Enthusiasts
- Visit the Smithsonian: If you want to see the "real deal," the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., houses an original Michtom bear donated by Roosevelt’s grandchildren.
- Check for the Button: On any old bear, look for a small hole or a metal stud in the left ear. Even if the button is gone, the evidence of it proves a Steiff origin.
- Read "The Teddy Bear Encyclopedia": Pauline Cockrill’s work is the gold standard for identifying variations between the 1902 and 1910 models.
- Evaluate the "Growler": Many early high-end bears had a tilt-activated voice box. If you tip an antique bear and hear a low "grrr," you've found a mechanical gem that significantly increases its value.
The teddy bear didn't just happen. It was a collision of German engineering and American grit, fueled by a President who was too tired to shoot a tied-up animal. That's the real story. It’s less of a fairy tale and more of a lucky break in the history of manufacturing. Keep your eyes peeled at estate sales—you never know when a scratchy, humped-back bear might actually be a six-figure relic of 1902.