A Teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, named after President Theodore Roosevelt, became a popular children's toy and has been celebrated in story, song, and film.
A replica Steiff model 55PB displayed at the Steiff-Museum, Giengen, Germany, 2006; no original examples of the 55PB are known to survive
A 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the teddy bear name.
Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in soft toys, especially teddy bears. Merrythought has handmade traditional teddy bears in the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge, Shropshire, UK since 1930.
A Merrythought teddy bear from the 2000s, made with mohair and with a bow decorated with Iron Bridges.
The shop and museum, which first opened in 1988, is one of the visitor attractions in the area. It is run and managed directly by Merrythought, though it used to be part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
A limited edition "Henry" teddy bear, made in 2011 with brindle-grey hair