The Old Bear Company

Charles Sackman With ID

This adorable early American teddy was made by Charles Sackman of New York in 1907. Remarkably, he still retains his original patent tag stapled to left ear(19th February 1907, patent number 844,619 - see first link shot below for more information. A clear print out will be included with the bear). There is some overall wear to the mohair and a non working squeaker in his tum, deep-set boot buttons eyes (some scuffing, please see close-up link), one foot pad recovered and professional repairs to the other felt pads. Dressed in his home-made jacket, ted remains in strong condition with original black stitched nose (one mouth strand missing), 5 stitched claws, is stuffed with a mixture of wood-wool and kapok and measures 12" tall. A wonderful rare find with such an appealing expression! (Flag is for display only and is not included in the sale) Charles Sackman's patent 844,619 was filed on 24th November 1906 and announced in the official Weekly Gazette of the US Patent Office on 19th February 1907. In his application, Sackman claims, "I have invented certain new and useful improvements in toy animals". One "invention" he claims as his own is the forming of depressions to create eye sockets enabling the buttons to be well-secured and simulating the "deep-set" appearance of real animals. In fact, Ideal bears of the era are also known for having deep-set eyes! So many firms copied one another during the early years of teddy bear production, and it is interesting to see how this wonderful example possesses many characteristics of an Ideal bear and may have been mistakenly identified as such had it not been for his ear tag. These bears were clearly put into production to compete with the more expensive rival companies. This is a wonderful example of teddy bear history and a very rare find because, thanks to his tag, he can be clearly identified and dated. Additional pics SOLD

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