Gund Teddy Bears

Teddy bears are well loved all over the world. They are probably even the most loved of the stuffed animals. Some kids, and even adults go as far as collecting bears.

The most collected bears of all are the Gund bears. Gund has been making beautiful, adorable teddy bears for more than a century now. The teddy bears are made of high-quality materials and are safe for kids of all ages and are indeed worth collecting.

Kids love stuffed toys. Most kids even sleep with a favorite stuffed animal. Kids sometimes feel more secure when they are hugging their favorite toy.  Alot of people still have their stuffed animal from when they were little.

In fact, stuffed toys are even used in therapy for kids who have been involved in a trauma of some sort. A stuffed toy can be a great companion, especially when a kid is lonely. It also enhances a kid’s imagination as he or she plays pretend.

There is no better companion to warm up the fall season than BLAKEFORD™ – a handsome and cuddly black bear.  He is crafted of soft black plush with stitched paw pads in brown plush.  He sports a red grosgrain (textured) ribbon around his neck and is available in 4 sizes – 13″, 18″, 28″, and 33″.  BLAKEFORD™  is available in 13″ size at  teddybearsareforever.com.

Graham Jr.™ is a 6 inch brown plush moose with honey colored stitched antlers and a striped red, green, and beige neck ribbon.  Graham is just one more indication that fall season is upon us.

Since 1898, Gund® has created huggable stuffed toys recognized worldwide for their quality and innovation. They remain the oldest and most successful soft toy manufacturer in the United States. Founded in Norwalk, Connecticut by Adolph Gund, the company was one of the first companies to design and manufacture teddy bears. The Gund® toys tradition has always been to use the best materials and craftsmanship and to promote safety standards for their products, such as securely attached eyes for their plush animals that children could not pull out. Jacob Swedlin, who took over Gund® when Adolph Gund retired in 1925, introduced the concept of industry licensing with Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Popeye and others.

The “Gotta Getta Gund®” advertising campaign began in the early 1980s, leading to widespread recognition of the company as a leading consumer brand in the toy industry. Today, the New Jersey-based company makes an extensive product line of licensed and unique characters both plus and soft under both the Gund® and BabyGund® brands.

The teddy bear was named for the 26th President of the United States, Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. On November 14, 1902, Mr. Roosevelt was involved in the settlement of a border dispute between the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. During a rest period in the settlement proceedings, Mr. Roosevelt attended a bear hunt, where he encountered a gravely injured young bear, ordering that it be killed and put out of its misery.

A political cartoon entitled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi” was published in the Washington Post depicting Roosevelt’s order for the mercy killing of the wounded bear. Cartoonist Clifford K. Berryman characterized the bear as a ferocious animal that had just killed a hunting dog in the first version of the cartoon, later revising the bear’s character into that of a cute, cuddly baby bear. The cartoon and the story it told became well-known quickly, and within a year’s time, the bear cub from the second version of the cartoon had inspired a children’s toy called the teddy bear.