Hermann Teddy Bears
Hello friends, Humphrey B. Bear here. I've been asked a lot lately to write an article about my close German cousins, Teddy-Hermann Bears. Actually, I have hundreds of cousins - some are favorites and some are not so favorite. My two most favorite are Steiff and Teddy-Hermann Bears. I'll talk about my Steiff cousins in another article - today it's Teddy-Hermann.
These bears date back to 1907. Johann Hermann began making teddy bears in Sonneberg/Thuringen with help from some of his family members. Actually Bernhard, Johann's oldest son, founded the Teddy-Hermann Company in 1912 and located it in Hirschaid. Bernhard moved his business to Sonneberg soon after, but Sonneberg became a part of Soviet-occupied Germany after WWII, so Bernard Hermann and his family relocated the business back in Hirschaid. Once they moved back to Hirschaid, the business was renamed Teddy-Pluschspielwaren-fabrik Gebr. Hermann KG.
The early Hermann Bears had short mohair and a shaved muzzle. Other characteristics included large round ears set on the side of the yead, a horizontally-stitched black nose, y-shaped inverted mouth, upturned paws and black claw stitches on the paws. Early trademarks of Teddy-Hermann Bears include the inscription "BE HA Quality German." This wording changed in 1930 to "Marke Beha Teddy Burgt fur Qualitat." Gebr Hermann used green-and-gold paper swing tags from 1952 until the 1970s, when they began using red plastic and red-and-gold paper tags. The words "Hermann Teddy Original" continues to be printed on each circular tag.
Teddy-Hermann evolved during the 1980. Previously, they focused on children's toys and collectibles and during the 1980s they began to focus on the adult collectible market. Their Model 63 collectible bear replicates a classic Gebr Hermann teddy bear. Special editions and replicas follow this model including Bernhard Bear. Black Forest Bear, Standing Bear Luftikus, Arnold the Athlete, and Golden Jubilee Bear were produced beginning in 2002.
So, fellow architophiles, that about covers it for Teddy-Hermann Bears. Thanks for tuning in. I'll be typing to you again soon - maybe we can talk about some more of my furry cousins.
May you always have honey!
These bears date back to 1907. Johann Hermann began making teddy bears in Sonneberg/Thuringen with help from some of his family members. Actually Bernhard, Johann's oldest son, founded the Teddy-Hermann Company in 1912 and located it in Hirschaid. Bernhard moved his business to Sonneberg soon after, but Sonneberg became a part of Soviet-occupied Germany after WWII, so Bernard Hermann and his family relocated the business back in Hirschaid. Once they moved back to Hirschaid, the business was renamed Teddy-Pluschspielwaren-fabrik Gebr. Hermann KG.
The early Hermann Bears had short mohair and a shaved muzzle. Other characteristics included large round ears set on the side of the yead, a horizontally-stitched black nose, y-shaped inverted mouth, upturned paws and black claw stitches on the paws. Early trademarks of Teddy-Hermann Bears include the inscription "BE HA Quality German." This wording changed in 1930 to "Marke Beha Teddy Burgt fur Qualitat." Gebr Hermann used green-and-gold paper swing tags from 1952 until the 1970s, when they began using red plastic and red-and-gold paper tags. The words "Hermann Teddy Original" continues to be printed on each circular tag.
Teddy-Hermann evolved during the 1980. Previously, they focused on children's toys and collectibles and during the 1980s they began to focus on the adult collectible market. Their Model 63 collectible bear replicates a classic Gebr Hermann teddy bear. Special editions and replicas follow this model including Bernhard Bear. Black Forest Bear, Standing Bear Luftikus, Arnold the Athlete, and Golden Jubilee Bear were produced beginning in 2002.
So, fellow architophiles, that about covers it for Teddy-Hermann Bears. Thanks for tuning in. I'll be typing to you again soon - maybe we can talk about some more of my furry cousins.
May you always have honey!
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