My First Auction Bears

I have never purchased bears from an auction before, but thought I would try my hand when a collection of well worn bears were listed at a local one.
Most lots went well above my 'absentee' bids.  I couldn't attend in person as I was 100 miles away looking after my Grandsons.  However I managed to get 2 lots and this great hug of bears came home with me. :)

Pedigree mohair, Unkown plush, Lefray mohair

Lefray plush, Deans mohair, Chad Valley mohair

 The first to have a makeover was this little Pedigree bear.  He is not in bad condition, and just needed a good clean and brush.  He is available in my Etsy shop.



Next came this big English plush bear with a deep growl who I named Big Boy.

He was listed on Etsy and sold within 24 hours to a customer of mine who lives in Japan.  As we speak, he is winging his way overseas, as he was posted yesterday.  He caused a bit of amusement in the Post Office as every time his parcel was tipped over he complained in his deep growly voice.

The next to be mended and cleaned up was the Lefray plush bear.

His arm needed a new joint and while I was at it I took a look at his non working squeaker.  He can now make a little squeak with a poke in the tummy (not surprising, it would make me squeak if someone did that to me!).  He is listed in my Etsy shop.

I have started mending the paws of the Chad Valley bear, but his hand paws will need patches.

The 1930's Deans bear I looked at late one night and got so engrossed in sorting out his problems that it was past midnight before I got to bed!  He needs a new head joint, and new hand paws.  He only had one ear so I have found suitable mohair in my offcuts and dyed it as close as I can to the original.  The original two pieces of ear will form the fronts of his 2 new ears, with the dyed pieces at the back.  I think he will be a handsome bear when he is finished.

Finally, the Lefray mohair bear, who needs his arm joints mending.

So, between restoring these. and making up a stock of little Pud Bears, I will be busy for a few weeks. :)  If you would like to know when these bears and the new artist bears go on sale, go to my FB page and 'like' it to get updates on the bears' progress.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pud-Bears-and-Pollys-Vintage-Bears/174222365967942

My Etsy shops are  www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears and www.etsy.com/shop/pollyspinsandneedles

 

A Shaggy Bear and a Sooty Bear Make Friends

I really like these two bears, they just seem to go together.

Poor Sooty Bear had been decapitated with  a broken neck joint.  Apart from that and a good brushing, he was in good condition.
His friend, Shaggy Bear had lovely long golden mohair that was quite matted and covered his eyes.  He had lost his smile, and  his voice too.

Here they are getting to know each other as they waited for their repairs and cleaning.

-----and here are the happy pair having a cuddle after 'surgery'.  Just look at Shaggy Bears smile, he can see and growl now (not as loud as when he was young), and is fit and ready to go to a new, loving home.

 They will be available (as separate listings) in my Etsy shop later on today.
I love this job :) :)
 

A Bear from Bulgaria and Four from England

 
 
Here is my latest old bear find.  He came to me all the way from Bulgaria and is such an unusual looking teddy.  He is in the open mouthed style of many Austrian bears, particularly Fechter.
I have not been able to find the name of his maker yet, but have had a few clues. 

There are bears on the internet very similar to him and one has an original label pinned to his chest with the letters MB on it and a cardboard label with just the word Mohair on it.



A happy bear

I have quite a few more bears to list when I get round to it.
The one I am looking forward to finishing is the large Chiltern who's paws needed mending. I knew I had to replace the right foot paw as there was hardly any fabric left on it, but I hoped to just patch the other and his 'hands'.

Pinned paw

 I pinned the patch under the remaining fabric ready to sew it in place, leaving as much as the original on show as possible.

Pinned foot

I had to give up in the end and replace the paws completely.  The fabric that was remaining was just too fragile and split every time I tried to pull a stitch tight. 

Here he is with his replacement paws, trying to fit on the shelf with his new friends.  I just have to clean him and give him new eyes now.  He will be a handsome bear when he is finished.

 

I have already listed these 3 characters. Left to right - a Gwentoys bear c 1960s, an English bear that I think may be Farnell or Invicta (sold), and a lovely old, nearly bald bear, possibly Chad Valley.  They just needed minimal mending, ears stitching back on, seams mending, a mouth and a broken squeaker removal (the wire spring was tearing the mohair).
I cannot be sure of the last twos' origins as they have no labels, although the Gwentoys one does have his label.  They are in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/PollysVintageBears

Vintage Glove Puppets

I have been finding a few glove puppets in my never ending search for old bears and toys (or hand puppets as they are sometimes called).
I only have one left in my Etsy shop at the moment.  He is a Mr Twisty Bun from Merrythought.

Mr & Mrs Twisty Puss and Mrs Twisty Bun 24"/61cm
and the full set in 11"/28cm

The Mr and Mrs Twisty toys were listed in their catalogue from 1965 to 1974.  They also made Mr and Mrs Twisty Puss toys (see picture from book).  They were dressed and had wire frames inside so that they could be twisted into different positions.
My Mr Twisty Bun puppet does not have a wire frame, but has the same character face as the toys.
I think he would have been made a bit later than the toys - late 1970's, possibly 1980's.  He has his Merrythought label stitched onto his back


Mr Twisty Bun Puppet

I have 3 more puppets to come.  Two of them will need a bit of work and at this moment I do not know who they are made by. This is the only picture I have of them.

 

In the meantime I will leave you with pictures of the puppets that have been sold.

Dean's Black Cat

Chad Valley Sooty

 

Chimp (unknown maker)

Steiff Rabbit

I will continue to try to find more of these little characters to put in my collection.

 

As well as the vintage bears I like to source unusual old toys that are usually bear related.

Christmas mini flocked bears



Mini flocked bears - playground

Recently I have found a batch of miniature flocked bears (1.5"/10cm) and I am currently going through some gorgeous teddy bear porcelain figures to prepare them for listing.  Also I have some wind up flocked bears to sort out.

That is as well as the couple of nightdress case dogs that need a clean (and one of them needs eyes), a very large tubby bear, a Chad Valley cartoon faced bear, a rabbit with red felt clothes, a small Merrythought bear with one eye, a Chiltern grey cat that smells really fusty, and a pretty, soft, unjointed bear, possibly a 1960's-70's Chad Valley.

That is in between knitting and sewing more cats, dogs and bears.

 

Oh dear, December is looming and I don't think I have time for Christmas!