PBC International Teddy Bear

The Pacific Balloon Company (or PBC for short) was a company established back in 1979 in Oxnard, California. When they first started, they were best known for making latex balloons. Then, in 1999, PBC starting making musical singing plush toys, starting with the "Ashley singing bear," which was the white chenille bear that wore the little red hat featured on tags of PBC items today. Unlike other companies, PBC created singing plush toys with the clearest and longest song recordings ever heard (Approx. 1 minute at least). Their motto for their musical collection was "Making history one hug at a time". The company closed in 2018 due to bankruptcy.

One of the world’s most beloved toys was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, after he refused to shoot a bear during a Mississippi hunting trip in November 1902. During the trip, guides clubbed a bear and tied it to a tree then invited the president to shoot it. Instead, Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and hunter, declined, saying it would be unsportsmanlike to kill a defenseless animal that way.

The incident generated national attention and was depicted in a popular political cartoon by Clifford Berryman. According to some sources, the newspaper cartoon, titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” was a reference not just to Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot the bruin, but also to his handling of a boundary dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana.

Other sources have suggested the cartoon was a comment on the president’s progressive stance on race relations. Inspired by the cartoon, Brooklyn, New York, shopkeeper Morris Michtom and his wife Rose made a stuffed fabric bear in honor of America’s 26th commander-in-chief and displayed it with a sign, “Teddy’s bear,” in their store window, where it attracted interest from customers. After reportedly writing to the president and getting permission to use his name for their creation, the Michtoms went on to start a successful company that manufactured teddy bears and other toys.

Meanwhile, around the same time the Michtoms developed their bear, a German company founded in 1880 by seamstress Margarete Steiff began making a plush bruin of it's own. Designed in 1902 by Steiff’s nephew Richard, who modeled it after real-life bears he’d sketched at the zoo, the mohair bear with jointed limbs debuted at a German toy fair in 1903.

***Please look at the attached photos for size and condition. Photos are part of the description representing the condition report and can be used for authentication prior to the sale date. We urge bidder's to view all attached photos in detail. All items are sold "AS IS". Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

Notes: Please inspect all photos carefully before bidding. Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

18%

Mike Marsullo | (860) 997-3332 | fil14fy@gmail.com

Pickup Details

Private Residence

Torrington, CT 06790

When to Pickup

Sunday, 12/19, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

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