c1920's Farnell 11" Teddy Bear with glass eyes and remains of her original nose/mouth stitching. With a good 80% mohair cover (wear to tummy with tiny hole) replaced pads and fully jointed. This is a sweet size for these early Farnell bears. Bear's ref no 999-2923

Well British bears are really the ones that I love the best and I have to say that Farnell has to be one of my favourite makes. I don’t quite know what makes them so special, perhaps it is the long quality mohair they used or that rough and tumble look they have when you look into their eyes. It could also be that I grew up reading Winnie the Pooh stories and I learned that Winnie was actually based on a Farnell bear purchased at Harrods in London in 1921 for Christopher Robin by his mother. Christopher Robin called his bear Growler but it is said that Alan Alexander Milne based Pooh on this bear and the other toys that his son played with. If you would like to see Growler or in my eyes the original Winnie the Pooh he can be found in the Donnal Centre at the New York Public Library in the U.S.A. What a shame he is not here in his native country.

John Kirby Farnell started the Farnell empire back in London (Notting Hill) in the 1840’s but it is said that their first bears were featured in their 1906 catalogue and they were actually available in the 1907/8 period by this time the company was run by his Daughter Agnes and son Henry. I don’t know if it can be proven but rumours have it that they actually produced bears even earlier than this and some say that they were the first British bear to be produced. The early Farnell's are similar looking to many bears produced in this period with good quality mohair being used, felt or linen paw pads, large feet with narrow ankles, humped back, boot button eyes, incredibly long arms and stuffed with wood wool. Things that make these bear stand out from other makes are the thick thighs like a drumstick, the square/rectangular stitched nose that in most cases had a slight upturned stitch at each end similar to that of early Chiltern bears but not so exaggerated. These early bears also had card lined feet so the bear could stand and some had the five claw webbed stitching on the paw pads that was copied by other makers. During the First World War period the factory made a range of small bears in patriotic and traditional colour that were designed to fit into the top pocket and given to loved ones when they went to war. These charming little bears when placed in a breast pocket had eyes positioned on the top of the head that seemed to peer out the pocket. There are many of these bears that survived the war and some with exceptional stories attached to them. These bears are known as a soldier bears for obvious reasons and are much collected today.

As time went on the Farnell company developed their own individual style and the shaved longer muzzle and large glass eyes with orange painted back and black pupils helped create a very appealing bear and one that is much sought after today and can set you back thousands of pounds for a good example. Farnell introduced their first woven label in the mid 1920’s it was white with blue lettering reading Farnell’s Alpha Toys, Made in England. This label was used for about twenty years and was usually sewn into the bear’s foot pad. During the 1920/30’s Farnell experimented with different types of fabric such as wool and silk plush and many different colours and recently you will have seen a turquoise Farnell sell at Christies Auction House in London for thousands of pounds. These coloured bears are much in demand and usually the more vivid the colour the higher the price. During the late 1920’s the traditional webbed claw stitching disappeared and rexine pads introduced and the design developed further. As the company grew they thought that they would expand abroad and in 1930 opened showrooms in Paris and New York as well as London and they introduced a cheaper range to make their bears more available to those on restricted budgets, this was a huge success. Just as Farnell were in the height of their production there was a bad fire in the Factory in 1934 and production ceased for about 12 months.

Large British Bear 32" with glass eyes, some repairs to his pads good cover of mohair with some thinning in places. £195.00 plus postage.

Car not included. Merrythought Police bear also not included but is for sale.

£195.00 plust postage.

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