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The Pink Teddy Bear and Novelty Bears
The pink teddy bear is considered a novelty bear of simply because of its unusual coloring. And, contrary to popular belief, pink teddy bears are not reserved strictly for the birth of a baby, a christening, or a baby shower; this delightful teddy can be given and purchased for any and all occasions.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the novelty teddy bear was born. Japanese manufactures – which had been producing molded, bisque, and celluloid bears since the 1920s – really came into their own.
Between 1945-50, after Japan's occupation by the U.S. army, they became very active in the toy industry and soon were leading the way when it came to technology and mechanical toys. The Kamar Toy Co. produced clockwork and battery-powered teddy bears that were both cheap and innovative - they could be wound up and moved forward.
Clockwork movement of teddy bears was also being done in Switzerland. Before the start of World War II, the Swiss had provided musical boxes which were fitted inside teddy bears belonging to all the leading manufacturers. However, in the 1950s, the first Swiss teddy bear manufacturer was established in Zurich. MCZ adopted the trademark Mutzli - meaning "little bear" - and used the name on identification tags which were attached to the teddy's ear or chest. Their range of bears included dressed boy and girl bears, bear rattles, soft-filled unjointed bears for newborn babies, a Chef bear, bears that had flexible limbs, and bears that were on all fours. Unfortunately, the company went out of production in the 1990s.
The Merrythought Co. produced the Twisty Bear Family in 1965 – Mr. And Mrs. Twisty Bear and their two children. They had blue fabric bodies and father and son wore red overalls, while mom and daughter wore red skirts and white aprons. All the bears had large feet and an internal wire frame which allowed them to stand. With the internal wire, the bears could also be twisted and would hold a position until moved again.
From the 1920s on, musical bears with clockwork or pressure-activated mechanisms were popular. Teddy manufacturers around the world had the tendency to buy their mechanisms from Swiss producers rather than making the attempt to produce them themselves. In 1928, Steiff introduced musical teddies with Musik Teddy and Musik Petsy. Clothing on the bear (such as a skirt) would hide a cylinder which contained the musical movement. When the bear was pressed down, the melody would play.
Schreyer and Co., under the brand name Schuco, were one of the finest producers of novelty teddies. They introduced a wide range of automotive, miniature, and other unusual bears to the market, using many of the ingenious techniques it had developed when it produced toy cars. There was a uniformed soldier bear produced in the 1920s which was a clockwork Bär 155 Automatic, that would march up and down when it was wound up.
In the scheme of things, the pink teddy bear is not so unusual given the different types of novelty bears that have been produced over the years. While it's still most often given to mark an occasion associated with a little girl, the pink teddy bear, like all novelty bears, doesn't have to have such a specific label associated with it.
Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
About the Author
Shelley Vassall is a writer and collector of the pink teddy bear as well as big teddy bears.
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