The Old Bear Company

Antique Silver Possum

Beautiful antique puffed silver possum brooch hallmarked Birmingham 1908 by Arthur Johnson Smith (AJS). The pin is in very good condition and measures just 3cm long William Howard Taft became the 27th president of the United States of America in 1909, taking over office from President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. After the phenomenal success of Roosevelt's "Teddy" bear, toy companies began looking for another mascot to follow in his footsteps. It was stated that Taft enjoyed eating baked possum and sweet potatoes and so he quickly gained the nickname of "Billy Possum". Many items of memorabilia such as postcards and pinbacks began to appear. Established toy makers such as Steiff and Ideal quickly jumped at this new opportunity and produced a soft toy version of Billy Possum, hoping he would take the world by storm, just as the teddy bear had done in previous years. However, the nation's love affair with the teddy bear remained unshakable. Billy Possum simply couldn't compete and was not a great success - a passion for roast marsupial meat could hardly compare to a truly endearing tale of a cute little bear cub Roosevelt had blatantly refused to shoot back in 1903! As such it is extremely rare to find Billy possum toys and memorabilia today but so fascinating how the stories evolved and how Billy Possum is very much a part of teddy bear history! Additional pics SOLD

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