Teddy bear sells for £2,500 after three generations in Dorset family (From Dorset Echo)

Teddy bear sells for £2,500 after three generations in Dorset family

10:18am Thursday 8th October 2009 in

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A TEDDY bear handed down through the generations has fetched £2,500 at auction.

Private collectors battled it out at the Duke’s Grove Auctions house in Dorchester before it came down to two telephone bidders.

The bear, known as Old Ted by the seller, had been in the same Dorset family for at least three generations before being offered for sale. John Holmes, who is manager at Duke’s Grove Auctions, said: “Few bears as early as this come on to the market, simply because as toys, they were often so well loved that many did not survive and were simply discarded when their owners grew-up. “The purchaser of this bear, a private collector, was determined to own it and was prepared to pay a premium to secure it.’ The bear was fitted with a long limbs and swivel joints as well as an internal ‘growler’ to give it a bear sound.

Old Ted’s growler wasn’t working but his overall condition was good and attracted bidders.

A spokesman for Dukes experts said: “Antique bears are quite different in appearance to teddy bears today.

“Most of the early bears produced in Germany and America were designed to look like a real bear cub with elongated snouts and slightly humped backs.”

It is believed the basic first teddy bears were produced in 1902.