Sue Pearson's

Valentina was bought for me by my husband as a present on Valentines Day. She is dressed in part of an original Victorian frock owned by her family who lived in the North East of England, I have a picture of her in the arms of her former owner. She is an early Strunz bear circa 1912, she has been well played with and is not in the first condition, but I just adore her. I thought she was getting a bit lonely, so when last year I spotted this dear little American bear, which I fell in love with, I thought she would make a lovely companion to Valentina. The American bear, now called Verity, is dressed in vintage clothes to complement her friend.

This is Fredbear sitting in the snow in my garden. He arrived at my home two years ago. He had been the childhood companion of a lovely lady, Joan Merritt.

Joan and Fred used to visit Hugglets show together a few years ago, Fred wearing his sailor suit and carrying a small black umbrella. She would always come and talk to me and because she was elderly she worried about who would care for Fred when she passed away, and therefore asked me if I would adopt him when the time came.

Having forgotten about him I was surprised when he arrived in a parcel accompanied by a letter from Joan’s niece saying her Aunt had instructed her to pass the bear on to me for safe keeping. He arrived wearing the sailor suit also a pair of pyjamas and another jacket.

Fred is an early German bear from around 1915, and is a great character, and settled in well with my other bears.

Pricey is one of my most beloved bears, I’ve had him for over 30 years now and could never part with him. He was one of the first bears I ever bought, I found him sitting at the back of a junk shop. When I asked the owner ‘How much is that lovely bear?’ he answered, sucking air in through his teeth ‘Oooh, Madam, now he is pricey’ and that’s how he got his name!

Pricey is a Farnell from about 1914. When I got him home I noticed he had a rather fierce expression, probably from sitting at the back of a junk shop for too many years! So I had his mouthing stitching altered, and now he has a lovely smile that greets me everytime I walk past him as he sits on his old childs chair on my landing. And if he’s lucky, he sometimes gets a hug too!

Here’s is James, a cute 1909 Steiff, sat amongst the Halloween decorations in a wonderful shop in an old village store in Frizzleberg on the East Coast of American. This store was full of the most fantastic Americana and Laura who owns it had done a really great job for decorating for Halloween. In America they really decorate  for Halloween much more than we do, and it was lovely to see the outsides of the houses as we drove through Pennsylvania with scarecrows and pumpkins adorning their porches.

I have always had a fondness for coloured bears especially pink ones. The problem is that they are very difficult to find, particularly in unfaded condition and without being too threadbare.

This tipped pink Omega bear from the 1920’s is a really vibrant colour with no fading anywhere, so he must have been packed away for most of his life, however he is soon going to a new home where I am sure he will be very happy.

With frosted pink mohair

This standing pink bear is a very rare American electric eye bear from around 1910, several companies made these bears. The glass eyes light up with a switch at the back, and these bears were produced in various colours but pink is most unusual.

The last bear is a very unusual German bear from the 1920’s, if you look closely at the mohair you will see it’s not only pink but spotty – must have been all the rage in the Twenties!

Angus has had his photo taken on a 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, this wonderful car is in completely original condition, he had a go at driving but could not reach the pedals. This car had the radiator mascot of a lady then named the Spirit of Ecstasy which was silver plated and first used in 1911.

Angus is a 28 inch Steiff who features on page 143 in my Millers teddy bear guide. He is a gorgeous bear who came from a Scottish family who owned him from around 1908, so he is older than the car. He is wearing a waistcoat that belonged to a family member, also a St Christopher that he has worn since around 1910, hence some wear on his neck that is chain shaped. He travelled everywhere with the family and in the late 1950’s they gave him a little Steiff bear that he carries in his pocket as a Christmas present, he stayed with the family until 1990 when he was sold at Christies.

He is going to a new home where I am sure he will be very happy.

The bear on the right is a French bear, called Hugo, made by a company called FADAP. He would have been made in the 1920’s and has the very distictive nose stitching used by this company. This one has nice blonde mohair, but many of them are made from poor quality fabrics, especially after World War II, but I think French bears have a special charm.

The bear on the left is probably German or Austrian and made around in the 1950’s.  Bears like this are hard to identify, though he could easily be a Petz bear, made in Austria.

They are both hiding in our Victorian cast iron urn at the bottom of our garden from our terriers.

My name is Sue Pearson and I have collected and sold teddy bears for more years than I care to remember. I have written books and travelled to many parts of the world meeting a great variety of interesting teddy people.

My son Jasper and I are very happy in our new shop in Lewes, it has been very exciting getting it all together finding lovely old antique pieces to display our bears. Very importantly finding some comfy chairs for our customers to relax while deciding on their new bear, and enjoying a cup of coffee.

Our shop has a lovely old world atmosphere and in my next blog I will tell you about our exciting historical discovery.

We have been very busy through the summer, it has been so nice to welcome many of our regular collectors and also meeting new customers. The resident of Lewes have made us and our bears very welcome!