It’s probably the first toy you played with as a child, which is why teddy bears have a special place in our hearts.
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is hosting an exhibition entitled Teddy Bear Story which is on loan from the V&A Museum of Childhood.
It’s bound to fascinate everyone from little ones who still like playing with their teddies to those now buying them for their grandchildren.
Bears have featured in folk stories and fairytales for centuries and this exhibition explores the history of the teddy bear from the first designs based on real animals to modern character and designer bears.
But first things first: where did the name teddy come from?
We have Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, president of the United States (1933-1945), to thank for that.
His refusal to shoot a captured bear cub in 1902 was made famous in a cartoon by Clifford Berryman in the Washington Post.
The endearing cartoon bear became associated with the president and a “Teddy” bear craze took off in the States.
Early teddy bears were mainly produced in Germany, but later spread worldwide.
Many components and materials go into the making of a teddy bear, but the basic shape remains the same.
The exhibition features bears made from the traditional mohair plush to artificial silk plush, sheepskin and nylon plush.
It also examines the impact of historical and economic events on manufacture, highlighting, for example, bear-making during World War II.
Visitors can see close up an amazing selection of more than 80 of the finest bears from the V&A’s collection, including a French mechanical bear from the 1880s, an early German bear made by the famous Steiff company from about 1905, a small English bear held in the pocket of a soldier during World War I, and a 1930s Schuco miniature bear containing a perfume bottle.
There are Steiff bears from the Edwardian period, British and German bears from the 1920s to the 1960s, children’s favourite characters including Paddington, Sooty and the Care Bears, Winnie-the-Pooh and other bears from around the world.
Also on display is the Teddy Bear Theatre, once a major attraction in Harrods department store, London.
It features more than 50 Steiff bears and animals in a large display area shaped like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
To coincide with the exhibition, two special themed Sundays will take place, on December 15 and 22, when, from 11am-4pm, children can go along and meet a life-size teddy bear. They can bring their teddy along to join in a host of fun drop-in-session activities including a treasure hunt, storytelling, teddy bear crafts and snacks.
What: Teddy Bear Story
Where: Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, Castle Wynd, Inverness.
When: The exhibition runs until Saturday, January 4, 2014. Current opening hours are Thursday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.
Cost: Free.
Contact: 01463 237114.