The San Francisco call. [volume], November 18, 1906, Page 14, Image 14

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE TEDDY BEAR
CRAZE IN NEW YORK
OVER in Germany there is a llttl*
old woman commanding: a com
pany of more than two thousand
workers whose busy fingers fly
from early morning till late at
night cutting out, stitching: up and put
ting together plush bears for the Amer
ican market. The New York people,
(rownups as well as children, have ap
parently pone crazy over these bears,
and they will not be satisfied with any
but those made by the German frau.
Years and years ago tUis woman de
6igned a pattern for a bear which was
so natural and appealed so to young
sters that she was culled the mother of
the bears. Then she had a tiny shop
in her house and only a few girls to
help her. That was before the bear
fad struck America. Now she has a
factory that covers a whole square and
the machinery and employes are work
ed week in and week out at high
pressure because Young America must
have his bears. As the orders pile in
with every mail and tables arrive
almost hourly the little old frau and
her workers hold up their two thousand
pairs of hands in consternation and
wonder if every man, woman and child
In America is sending for a whole fam
ily of bears.
They are not far wrong. The entire
country is in the clutches, or rather the
embrace, of the plush bear. .Even pot
dogs and dolls have had to step down
end out. His Majesty Bruin now reign;.
The bear rage started at the summer
resorts along the Jersey shore— some
say it was at Atlantic City. NAt any
rate, a nice, fat. winsome little brown
bear sitting on a counter in a board
walk shop attracted the eyes of a
youngster, and nothing would do but
mamma must stop and look at the
lovely plush animal. Mamma liked, the
bear, too. He was an excellent pocket
edition of those big cinnamon bears
•way up In Bronx Park, and the young
eter remembered the fun he had had
one day watching the bears lumber
around the sides -of the big iron in
closed pit and give each other love pats
with their huge paws. He would have
ft bear pit. too. Only this little plush
bear looked so clean that it would be
a shame to get him all dirty and
frowsy. The youngster took hold of the
coveted plaything and his delight grew.
Bruin had such a realistic little hump
at the back of his netk. and, bully! he
had a voice and his legs moved.
They were jointed and his solemn lit
tle pointed head would turn any way
you wanted it to, and the soles of his
feet, really the bottoms of his paw*,
were all soft and fiat and velvety, and
he had such dear little .rars and beady
black eyes. And the youngster remem
bered that the Bronx bears had mouths
exactly like this one, and even the ex
pression of Ms face was like the best
behaved and finest looking hear at the
park. Mamma must buy^uln for him.
He begged her to. and after a little con
versation with the shopkeeper over the
price, for the bear was rather an ex
pensive plaything, she finally paid
it end the wistful and anxious eyes
of her small son and heir fairly beam
ed with Joy as he^marched away hug
ging his prize, just as proudly as a
man or the President of the
United States returning from a suc
cessful hunt.
Bears Were Everywhere.
That started the bear fad. Of course,
every other little boy on the boardwalk
had to have a bear. It was Just the
thing for a boy. Girls had dolls to play
with and boys ought to have something
like a bear when it was too hot for
baseball or to play Indian in the park
or shipwrecked sailors ion the sand.
They gifcw eloquent in convincing their
mothers of their needs. And the man
in the shop found his bear stock totally
unequal to the sudden demands made
upon it. Inside of a few hours every
bear in the chop had been sold, tiny
ones and big ones, for they come in
several sizes, from the length of your
hand to the size of a well-grown
youngster.' So the shopkeeper tele
graphed to. New York, for more, and
these, too, went "like hot - cakes." - No
sooner were the plush figures put fn
the window than the shop was swarm
ing wltn ladles'after bears.
then other shops , stocked up with
them, and the big ones In New York
found themselves overwhelmed with
orders for Teddy bears. By this time
Young America had christened them,
appropriately, too. Isn't the President
the hero of eyery boy who longs to
grow big, enough to hold-, a gun to
shoot bears and some day do just the
very same things that "Teddy"' Roose
velt does? So""Teddy the bears were
named, and as Teddy they are known
now the length and breadth of V our
country, as well' as on the other side of
the Atlantic. ,"V
Never In the history of Wall street
was the country more at the mercy 'of
bears than it is today.; Stuffed plush
Teddies are fairly rampant, and Indl
cations show prospects of a long and
continued reign. Toy stores are pro
viding a dozen bears to one doll;* In
anticipation of the Christmas trade.
Department stores are stocking up with
them, and little out of the way shops
have^them for awhile, but not for long-, :
because as soon as ths-' youthful hunt
ers get on their track* they ; swoop
down and bring them to bay. '
The mother of the bears, the little
German frau, Is almost at her, v/its' end
to know what she is going todo, T*hcre
is a fear that the supply of brown" and
white plush v/Hl give out. and then
what would she do, for they wouldn't
be bears If they were made okany
other color. Onfl New York store, the
largest? has already sold over .sixty
thousand Teddies, and by every steamer
it gels hundreds of dozens, v.hieh are :
bought up at once.
Clothes t for the Bear, , ;
But boys are not the only lovrri of
i Teddy beam. By. no mean*.. Their lit
tle sifters like them, too. At first little
girls looked at the. new playthings with,
some trepidation. .Bears and dolls ar«s
so very different. Dolls; are "always
ladylike In their 'manners, but there Is
no counting on the actions of bears.
But closer examination proved that
they weren't so different after ail. Thyy
were Jointed just like dolls, and their
bodies were plump and round, and. they -
had such dear, quaint little faces. And,
wonder of wonders, no,. two really
looked exactly alike! . They may have
all been cut after the same pattern, but
there was a different' expression In the
eyes and mouth and the whole face. In
fact, of -each Teddy. .Instantly tho baby
sister decided she Jlked bear?, too,' and
Olivia May, "with, all her gorgeous (silk
and lace frocks and her. fetching ban
nets, was left lying on her face in the
corner of the nursery while the little
mother transferred her affection-, to
Teddy. , ._ •
However, the changeable young
mother soon found that she could; not,
count on being able to borrow Teddy
from her brother, so with the; wisdom
of her rex she decided that" the'only
thing to do was to. have one allfor.her.
very own. And mamma's purse ; "was
drawn on' for^ more Teddy bears. Then;
when the little sist«r got her.' new toy,
she was undecided- whether to choese a
brown , or a white • bear. ' She \u25a0 f elt • lost,
as though: she were; negjectlng.some of
\u25a0 . \u25a0 \u25a0 - - w- \u25a0 -- ".-\u25a0\u25a0
. her motherly , out ies.v.wj t h -' no * dressing \u25a0
and undressing to do. ; One':;. day 'the;
family, was surprised to see "the. tiny
daughter make-her:appearance^accom
panied 4 , by -'\u25a0 the inseparable' \u25a0"\u25a0'', Teddy/
dressed .' in- a dainty white and; blue
sweater : and \ Tr!th'":iiskatjngf: cap '<• to
match pcrclicd jauntily .over, one of his '
ears. "', '\u25a0' •". • "• '"•'- \u25a0'.".'•/ ~
in* his new'jattirti Teddy made an in
stantanoomi hit. Wasn't it. enough to
worry ovcr\ supplying • bears^ .without
getting: clothes for them? . But. bears
had to lie tJresscfj. • The peuple up at
Bronx X'arh -.might "*t their bears run
around the pit ".without any clothes' on
but "their fuv -coatt, but •when-' 1 a~ bear
lives ; respectably in a -fine 'house with
people ami pocs out to walk and play
in the park and on the avenue, of
course, he has to/l)fi properly clothed.
There were no .two ways about it. fc'6
the toy:; man^ltld In":* stock of Teddy
bear sweaters*^ and V Tarn 01.o 1 . Shantein
and i skating " caps, and , the j little { ghls :
wefedeligHted, for Uhelr. dollies'; clothes
weren't always i a" good tit \u25a0\u25a0 f orJ the : bears.
iraE:. SAN^FR^
He;'had plnk'-.'and- white I*sots1 * sots- 1 for^thes
b Jfown 'bears,' -'.'Teddle^B,"^ as hj/iCis]
and ;:,*white: one's forlthit:
wliite;-.b^rs;^VTeddy7G/'^^,i ;^.{;; Vr \u25a0:\u25a0*;; .'.
*- r Tlaenrsome"oneysugKesUdithatjTeddy^
really; »ee:lod"'wbfk clothes, and the" toy
man, had the most attractive little sets
of blue overalls, with a. bib. ln front and
straps . crossing! over the shoulders, and
buttoning! on ;'the back of : the : overalls.
With 7 these .go tiny whlTe shirtp.;made
with \u25a0 a : tu'rnoyer collar, and tied nattily
under: Teddy's plush chin with a scarlet
cravat;' Naturally T .tHe; boys thought this
outfit ; ; intended ; Justl for -their; pets ; and
the .dainty 7 sweaters for the , "girls, - but
little ; slaters ': like ; the^whole - wardrobe;
though- they* usually Vomit"; the rdingef
bus^ looking ; toy , gun that ' goes i'^wiih ; the
hunting 'outfit.';- 'Across \ the ; blb^ pf "the
overalls Is'embroidered the,name*6f the
bear, ./'Teddy ',G,V, 9^"T*§Qi^.-i?C
v\-ButUhe Teddy^be»r' fad : has not^con^.
!gan;v\vlth
ihli^^ always*. r.shbWns" a iJ fondness^ for;
•these: Wuio"2plush^oys,^ wlth/th«lr*at-
tractlve bodies^ arid quaint features so
full of expression. It did not take long
for o]der : people to fall under the .en
chanting spell. of -Teddies, and now the
wonder : is where-" is It going to end?
Habitues of Cehtral^Park asked them
selves this question, the other day
when they "were confronted by the
sight of a pretty, young woman, dressed
in the height' of fashion = and speeding
along. with » the utmost unconcern. She
was driving her • Columbia electric yic
torla "and Tby. : her side was not *a . girl
companion, a footman, nor even
the' accustomed pet' bull 1 terrier, -but;a
small Teddy bear, who sat up in; solemn
•tate. : i-.Tkt " Sirl I loskVd_. j?erf«ct.lKi jaat
cOneclouSvthat'ehe was doing 'anything
unusual; or •startling, as 1 , she rolled jpast
the throngjt^of; pedestrians -and thread
ed; her: r/ay ; through the tangle of ve
hicles movlnf \u25a0 in"' a.' 'long procession.
She -, instantly became the mark for
every eye and the thought that flashed
through the minds o? those to whom
the »lght -was a novelty was— has
Teddy bear now usurped the place of
the pet poodle as well as the doll?
There he sat. resting one front paw
against the side of the victoria and
-nestling close to ths warm motor coat
of his mistress, while his beady eyes
gazed straight ahead unflinchingly and
.without 'any, unduo pride. From time
to time the girl bent forward to see
how he was enjoying the drlvd, and
she gave 'him an affectionate pat now
and then ea she spoke to him in a
gentle voice. Some thought the bear
might have belonged to a small broth
er or sister, but they ,were soon con
vinced of the realnes* of * ' the fad
among: older people when, within a.
quarter of. an hour, another automobile
whizzed by with a Teddy bear occupy
ing the seat In the tonneau heretofore
held sacred to His Highness the pet
dog. .There was no denying the exist
ence of the fad in dead earnest.
Summer visitors in a, certain Paris
hotel were accustomed to seeing one
or" two particularly beautiful French
women come down to the restaurant
with Teddy bear companions, who wer*
placed by the sides 'of the ladles."
while, the erstwhile favorite bat-eared
French' dog was nursing his feelings
all alone upstairs. His poor little nose
— what there is of It — ia quite out of
Joint, and he is wondering how . long
his ridiculous rival will reign. There
are no more pleasant walks In the park
with his beautiful mistress. "When she
goes now she takes alonsr Teddy,
whether she is joined by the children
or not. .
"The next thinjr. I suppose, we will
be hearing of Teddy boar bench
\u25a0hows, and every woman will be trying
to buy blue ribbon bears, with pedl-
Krees its long as your arm." said a man
who had seen no less than half a scor<»
of pretty girls either drlvlns: or walk
ing with their bear pets. "Well. I won
der what next!"
The New Flagship of
The Pacific Squadron
REAR Admiral W. T. Swinburne,
"the \ : hew commander-ln -chief of
the Pacific squadron,, has a new
flagship in the fine, big protected
cruiser Charleston, which ha-* re
cently arrived- on this coast fr«m'th«
Atlantic, after carrying Secretary or
State Ellhu Hoot around South America
as far rs Panama. The assignment ut
the Charleston a3 flagship of this'
squadron ' ta regarded ns somewhat sen
timental. in view of the fart that the
old , Charleston, which was wrecked on
an uncharted *; reef ! off the north troas-V
-of Luzoa.a number of years ago, was a
San Kranelseo-bullt ship, well known
on this coast, and tho vessel whffh. un
der command of Captain, now Hear Ad
miral, Henry Glass, raptured Guam and
the Ladrone Islands during thf Span
ish-American, war.,- The new Charles
ton isas much superior. to the old as
. the • splendid ' new battleships of the
New Jersey class are superior to the
old Texas.
. .", '.Althougll not an > armored ship, the
Charleston Is owe of the b';st represen
tatives In'the world of her 'class — that
' of protected - cruisers— cruisers which
depend for 'their efficiency more upon
their speed; maneuvering ability, coal
endurance and battery* power, than
onthe bulldog tenacity of the heavier
battleships. Their sphere of action In
time of .war is -confined to commerce
destruction, scouting, and tbat highly
Important- /duty "of -'Cutting off the
enemy's auxiliary ships, such as col
liers, dispatch boats, torpedo-boats, and
other media* of supply and communica
tion.
. . The new ; Charleston Is* three times
as large as the old one. Her displace
ment Is 9700 \u25a0 tons, her other . principal
dimensions being: as follows: Length
on waterline."42t ttlz extreme breadth,
6« ft.: mean draft. 22'^ ft.
Being a : sister ship of the Milwaukee,
now nearly completed at the Union Iron
Works -In \u25a0 this -city. - the Charleston's
most important features are fairly
well > known on this . coast. For the
: benefit of those unfamiliar with the
. Milwaukee, . however, .it may be said
that 'the Charleston's speed exceeds
twenty-two knots, her coal capacity is
.1500 tons -and her battery consists of
fourteen six-Inch rapid fire guns,\eight
' e«n i three-Inch rapid fire guns, twelve
i three-pounder >] semi-automatic guns,
four one-pounder automatic guns, tight
one-pounder rapid firs guns, ten ma
chine guns and a couple of three-Inch
field pieces, for use in 'landing armed
parties. ,\u25a0 • ; >, »"£ .. \u0084.. *.: ."
*• 'She is an excellent ship 'of* her class,
this Charleston, but it must.be remem
bered that her powers, excellent though
i they, may :be \u25a0 against others of her
"class, are of little avail against the
'two: superior classes of warships — bat
tleships and armored'; cruisers. .
'; The : Charleston is commanded by
« Commander; Cameron - Mcßae Winslow.
an; officer of -fine record" ln tho service.
He. ls a relative of the Captain Winslow
who commanded the olrt Kearsarga in
her .winning fight with the Alabama off
Cherbourg, during the Civil War. Her
executtve offleer Ma Lieutenant Com
mander Robert Lee Russell, ono or the
• Georgia Russells. ; Commander Wina
low .was wounded at Clenfoegos. Cuba
In McCalla's gallant \u25a0 cable-cutting ex
. plolt \u25a0at that place during the Spanish
war. r Russell served during ihe Span-
f i>h .war on board the cruiser* New Or
leans,-which was no stranger "to Soan
;lsh<shot.tfßMpm|
,;, : The other 'officers of the Charleston
- ire Lieutenant Commanders Philip Wil
liams^ and ; M. : K. ; Reed. : Lieutenants Ed
*W M. r M E V K.-»"°SS.- Le,^ c p a i mer .
T. Tarrant. C:arence A. Abel«
and.Hollis T. Winston. Ensigns Rufua
IT.I Zogbaum Jr.. Lindsay H.> Lacy. Mid
shipmen 20. ;L. Cox. Isaac W. Haync
N. H. Goas.'H. F.Glovtr. JiiHan H. Co!
-,11ns.: E. B.; Woodward and H. , M, Coolc v
surgeon M. F. Gates. Assistant ,Sur
,geon E...U.. R«d/; hyma^ir. Thomaa
d . ' v£ arrlB ' = Flr3t . L^eutenaut of ila
..rines Chandler! Campbell. Second Lleu
;Jjj*n * t of 'Marines William iL. BurcW-