Teddy Bear Day

In Scandinavian countries, the USA and Great Britain, Teddy Bear Day is celebrated on 27 October. And in Russia this day is celebrated on the 19th of November. Teddy Bear toys already have a whole history, traditions, directions and of course a legend: It all started with a not quite successful bear hunt of the then President Theodore Roosevelt. Probably to please the president, the huntsmen caught a bear cub and tied it to a tree. Roosevelt refused to shoot the unfortunate animal and, according to legend, ordered it to be released into the wild immediately. Journalists accompanying President Roosevelt told the story to cartoonist Clifford Barryman, who created a cartoon on the subject entitled "Drawing the Boundary in Mississippi", which depicted US President Theodore Roosevelt and a cute little bear cub during the historic hunt. The Washington Post, the newspaper in which the cartoon was printed, was a popular publication with a huge circulation, and the cartoon was reprinted in other publications and seen by many people. This included Morris Michtom, a Russian immigrant who owned a candle shop in Brooklyn. He suggested that his wife sew a small stuffed toy. Michtom then wrote President Roosevelt a letter requesting permission to name the teddy bear after him. According to eyewitnesses, Roosevelt was surprised by this very unusual request, but still gave a favourable answer.

In those days, Roosevelt was simply called Teddy, and so was the teddy bear. The Teddy bear was labelled "Teddy`s bear" in a shop window. To the surprise of Michtom and his wife, the teddy bears became a favourite, they were instantly swept off the shelves, and soon orders for their manufacture began to come in.

In 1903 Morris organised the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co, a toy company that still thrives today. But, alas, it did not make its first owner rich, as he did not patent either the name or the toy. And demand, as you know, gives birth to supply, and other companies began to produce exactly the same bears.