Chad Valley is one of the most famous names in British toy making history. In the 1800’s the two Johnson brothers started their business making board games and stationary but of more interest to us is that they started making bears during the first world war ban on imports from Germany. As Steiff, Bing and other German makes could not import bears it provided an ideal opportunity for British manufacturers to establish themselves as quality makers of the teddy bear. The first bears made by Chad Valley in the pre 1920 period are not easy to identify as few had any labels and they experimented to find a size and identity. These early bears can sometimes be found stuffed with cork chippings which can make them rather hard and lumpy. Bears were made in central Birmingham until they needed more space to accommodate the growing demand for the British bear, and then they moved within Birmingham to the Chad Valley works called so because of the river Chad stream that ran near the factory. Ultimately this became the company name. In the 1920’s Chad Valley bears were stuffed with a new filling called kapok and they put the very first button in their bear’s ears that read ‘Chad Valley Aerolite’ referring to the new Kapok stuffing. This button was a cream colour with black writing and a wide metal band surrounding it, a similar button appeared at the same time in a blue colour that read Chad Valley British Made. During the 1930’s other buttons appeared in ears on the necks or backs of Chad valley bears and they were either blue or cream in colour with the wording Chad Valley Hygienic toys and like the others was about the size of a five pence piece but without the metal band surrounding the button. Many people think that Chad Valley could have moved the button out of the ear because of the Steiff patent of their button in ear.

During this same period an embroidered red and white label appeared on the feet of their bears so they had one or the other or both to help identify the bear. Most early bears were made of good quality mohair and had velveteen or felt pads with triangular stitched noses. These noses were stitched vertically and always had a couple of horizontal stitches across the top which was to become a trade mark for many years. Early bears have glass eyes stitched in on metal shanks. In the 1930’s they produced a range of bears called Magna and they were different to their normal design with horizontally stitched noses and a blue and white or red and white embroidered label on the foot that read Chad Valley Magna Series. By this time the company had become one of the worlds most accomplished and favoured toy manufacturers and in 1938 they were rewarded by being granted the British Royal appointment warrant. This led to a new square blue and white label with the royal coat of arms and the wording ‘By appointment toy makers to HM THE QUEEN. In 1953 this label changed with the coronation of our present Queen to read ‘By appointment to HM QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER. During this period it was also common to find an additional label in either the chest or side seam in blue and white.

During the 1930’s Chad valley perfected their coal nose an oval shape nose that had the usual horizontal stitch across the top of the nose. This nose is one of the ways to identify their bears along with rexine pads which were first seen on bears in the 1930,s but more prolific in the 1950’s. Rexine has the look of leather when new but over the years it tended to crack and come away from the cotton backing. Throughout the 1950’s Chad Valley went through a very buoyant period and sold many bears and most of us from this era will have played with one of their bears at some time or another. Perhaps it was the quality of the bears that made them popular or the fact that they were not afraid to try new styles or materials. They were certainly keen to satisfy the demand for popular bear characters of the time as they produced Toffee bear a character from the ‘Listen with Mother’ radio programme and Sooty the children’s TV favourite, both in the 50’s. Also in the 50’s they started to use plastic safety eyes. When Chad Valley took over Chiltern toys in 1967 bears were manufactured with a white and blue label with the words ‘Chad Valley Chiltern hygienic toys made in England’. During the tough times of the 70’s depression the company continued to battle on until 1978 when Palitoy took over the company. Eventually in the late 80’s the Name of Chad Valley was sold to Woolworth’s and they shipped the manufacturing of their goods to Abroad.

Certainly there is a passion among collectors for the early Chad bears and especially those from the era we all grew up in. The good thing for collectors of these bears is that they are readily available from most good bear dealers and you are guaranteed to pick one up at your next teddy bear fair. Remember look for the unusual ones with buttons, in bright colours or in good condition with a label as they will be an excellent investment and a good soul mate!

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Antique Bears

We offer antique bears, from Steiff bears worth thousands, to loveable old bears at very affordable prices. If you are looking for a particular antique bear then we can try to find it for you.

We have one of the largest selection of old, vintage and antique bears in the UK. We have bears from most major manufacturers, including Steiff bears, Bing bears, Farnell bears, Chiltern bears, Schuco bears, Chad Valley bears, Merrythought bears, Pedigree bears, Ideal bears, Wendy Boston bears, Knicker bocker bears, Herman bears, Twyford bears and many more, along with many that can not be identified.

We also do many Teddy Bear fairs across the country and details of these fairs can be found on our fairs page.

Our hearts are firmly attached to old Teddy Bears and finding them a new home is what we enjoy the most.

Teddy Bear Links

The Teddy Bear search engine www.teddybearsearch.com
Link for more modern teddy bears see www.teddybearshome.com