Very Early Antique Straw Stuffed Mohair Teddy Jointed Bear Button Eyes Cir: 1900

Description

Set your eyes on this very old beauty! One of the oldest Straw Stuffed Mohair Bears we have seen.  14.5" Jointed limbs, Button Style Eyes.  VERY loved by someone!!!  Great Early Bear for Collector's looking for scarce items
Just Reduced!!!
We are not certain of the bear's maker, maybe collectors will know.  We think it's original color would have been a tan to gold, but it seems to have faded to an off yellow or mustard color.  It is stuffed with a fairly heavy straw as seen in the close up picture of his feet.  It has jointed arms, but they are aged and should only be moved with care. The legs appear to be jointed as well, but has had some stitches applied at some point to better secure them, so we did not try to move them about much.  The ears have a very weathered velvet material in them if that helps identify him, but the velvet may have been a later addition as well.  We think it's hand pads or arm ends were restitched after hands wore through and it's feet have been reworked at some time as you can see the old cloth wear in pictures.  Most repairs look to be 50-90 years old or more as well.  The family who owned this bear must have really loved him and it was likely a multi generational toy of the family from the estate we obtained item from.  They did not appear to be collectors of such bears or toys of any kind in fact it was the only antique toy in the sale, so it kind of stuck out to us.
Overall, the bear is still pretty solid but has had a lot of loving repairs done over the years as seen in pictures.  The bear is roughly 14.5" tall.  The eyes are button style (likely a repair) and the rest you can see from pictures.  The bear also has some residual classic moth ball stale odor like it has been in a chest for 50+ years.  We are hoping collectors may know the maker.  Someone made him (or her) a pajama suit which we will include, but the pajama's appear many years newer.  We are guessing the age of the bear to very close to 1900 if not a little older.  We are aware most bear production (as in Teddy bears) began a few years into the early 1900's, but this may predate those.  The styling is very early, and looks a bit older than ones from (1910's-1930's) we have sold over the years.
We have tried our best to describe the bear, but let us know if you have other questions.  Also, if any collector has helpful information about the bear, please pass it on and we can add to listing after verification.  We often help other eBayer's with items have expertise in and try to help eBay maintain a professional environment.
If you like rare bears, we have another German wind up one for sale in our store, he is not as old as this one, but is a scarce little guy.
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