Jakas began production in 1954 in Melbourne by Marion Stanford, reaching its peak in the 1960s-80s. Sought-after, Jakas teddies are very collectable.

Early Teddies-1950s

The earliest Jakas bears are comparatively rare. Made from mohair, they were fully jointed and stuffed with kapok. With glass eyes, these bears were good quality but often unlabelled and so harder to attribute to Jakas. Production of these mohair bears was short-lived, as a changing market favoured a different type of teddy.

1960s

The 1960s saw many changes in society that reflected in the teddy market. Technology advanced and consumerism rose! Toys became much more plentiful as industry re-established itself after WW2, and new fabrics were invented. Synthetic fur and plastic joints could now be used. Prices for these were lower than traditional methods and so teddy bear prices dropped. Cheaper goods were more popular!

The influx of cheaper Asian imports also pushed Australian manufacturers to reduce costs and to use cheaper alternatives.

New stringent safety regulations meant glass eyes could no longer be used in children’s toys. Jakas introduced a teddy design that was to become their trademark ‘look’ for the next thirty years. With plastic eyes, some being two-toned (brown with black pupils) and black embroidered nose and almost horizontal mouth, each teddy had a distinctive ‘Jakas’ face. As did other companies at this time, such as Joy Toys, Verna, and Wendy Boston in England, Jakas bears were now made of synthetic fur, with arms outstretched, though Jakas teddies have their arms curved upwards. Pads (of the same fabric) each had three black thread claws. Distictively, also, the hips were unstuffed, so as to allow teddy to ‘sit’. Stuffing was crumbed foam rubber.

A large range of toys was made, all with the typical Jakas face, including bunnies, dogs, baby walkers and pre-walkers, (which were wheeled toys with a handle for the child to push it along with, such as teddies, dogs, horses), and pyjama cases with a strong metal zip underneathe that allowed pyjamas to be stored within the case (cats, dogs), dolls with vinyl faces and plush bodies, and golly wogs with velvet faces, red cotton pants and cotton check ‘shirts’.

Teddies were made in many sizes, often golden or light brown. The most famous would be ‘Big Ted’, immortalized for 45 years in the ABC children’s show ‘Play School’. Generations of Australian children have grown up with this well-known Jakas teddy bear!

1970s-1980s

Jakas continued to produce an extensive range of soft toys, with the “Jakas’ face. The fur of 1970s-90s teddy bears was fluffier, but with the same shape. Stuffing was now polyester wadding.

Jakas remained in production after all the other major Australian manufacturers of its time had ceased producing toys, due to the competition from cheaper imported Asian toys. In 1989, though, this most prolific company was taken over by Wendy McDonald, merging with another company, Koala Mate. The combined comapny now produced limited editions. One range was a limited edition fully jointed teddy, made from wool plush, and with a large black embroidered nose. With large cupped ears, short limbs and velvet paw pads, it did not resemble the traditional Jakas bears!

With their sweet faces, Jakas teddies and soft toys are highly collectable and very popular.

Labels

1960s – red embroidered on white label: ‘JAKAS TOYS WASH IN LUKE-WARM LUX’
1970s – red embroidered (or printed) on white label: ‘JAKAS TOYS’
1980s – red print on white label: ‘JAKAS TOYS’
1980s – limited edition wool teddy-green embroidered on white label: JAKAS SOFT TOYS/MELBOURNE/AUSTRALIA

Values

The lower prices given reflect those that may occur in a market situation, up to those expected in an antique shop.

1950s mohair teddy – $400-$1,000
1960s synthetic teddy – $50-90
1960s wheeled toy – $40-$150
1970s synthetic teddy – $20-$60

How To Know When Teddy Is Faking It!

Collecting old teddies has become a very popular hobby or investment. As prices for the rarer bears has increased, so then has the number of fake bears on the market. These teddies are made to look “old”, with the characteristics of body shape and style of antique bears, with added dirt, “worn” areas or fabricated “provenance”.

These bears are then deceptively promoted as being “old”, and therefore far more valuable. Teddy might be pretending to be old before his time!

Also, vintage bears that are damaged in some way or have other flaws may have these deliberately hidden, and so may not be what they appear to be.

Reproductions are, however, created by many bear artists, which are recreations of earlier styles. These bears are a quality collectable for their look, and are not misrepresented as antique.

HOW TO RECOGNISE A FAKE

Not all teddies are as sweet as they seem!

The more you know, the better you are able to spot a fake. Sometimes stall holders or auction houses genuinely believe their fake bears are the real thing so it helps to know as much as you can. Read books, attend collectors’ fairs, visit antique shops-handle the bears, feel the fur, squeeze the limbs, even smell them! Experience with the old teddies helps to guard against paying high sums for a furry fraud.

Common areas to watch for are:

Premium Brands

The  more an old bear is worth, the more it is likely to be copied and faked. Those from particular manufacturers are more valuable than others. Early Steiff teddy bears have reached six figure sums at auction. Limbs on the fake bears are made long, but not the correct shape. Pads may be made of leather, though Steiff didn’t use it. They tend to have boot button eyes and a long shaved snout. Areas of fur are filed away and dirt added to appear “worn”, but invariably not in the way that a century of life would have done to a bear.

Fabric And Wear

The fabric used in fakes is often cotton velour and not mohair, and is distressed in areas to “age” it. The “dirt” added is not dust, as would accumulate on an old bear, but is grease-based, so as to stick to it.

Occasionally modern replicas made by the defrauded firm themselves, are distressed to create the appearance of age. The fur is dirtied and new labels removed. Artificial wear is created under the arms and between the legs. The texture and feel of the fur is not that of an antique bear, and is where having handled old bears becomes important.

Often, paw pads have been replaced, as the felt they were made from did not wear well. Check for stitches around the outside of the pads, and fabrics that do not match the age of the bear.

Accessories

Old knitted “home-made” clothes may have been added to give teddy that “been in the family for years” look! Sometimes the old clothes and other accessories such as lace, hats or jewellery are used to hide or detract from damage to an old bear, or to make it seem older.

Facial Features

Damaged bears are often repaired and sometimes not very sympathetically! Features to check include if the eyes are the correct type for the age of the bear, or if the nose has been replaced. The nose shape can often identify a bear as many makers used distinctive shapes.

Stuffing

Does the teddy bear have a crunchy feel, to indicate he is stuffed with wood wool, as the earliest bears were? After WW2, kapok was also used. Other forms of stuffing were not in general use early on, and could indicate if a bear is a fake.

Over-stuffing may also be an indication of fraud.

It’s not hard when you collect teddies to” buy what you like”. With so many endearing faces peering at you from sellers, it can be harder to NOT buy what you like!

When buying vintage or antique teddies it is important to learn the identifying features that help to date them. Whether for  the fun of knowing when teddy was made or for making informed investment decisions, learning about teddy adds to the experience of collecting.

There are several features that help to determine the age of a vintage teddy:

MAKER.

Often, bears can be attributed to their maker simply by style or look. Many manufacturers have distinctive features in the bears that make them readily identifiable. A label is the most definitive means of telling who made Teddy though.

The maker helps to determine the value; some are considered premium and highly sought after, such as Steiff, Chiltern, Joy Toys or Ideal.

FUR OR FABRIC

Mohair was used originally. Very soft and silky, it is a fabric woven from angora goat fleece.  Artificial silk plush was used from the 1920s, in various colours, with nylon plush invented in 1938. Sheepskin was popular in the 1930s and 40s. Mohair or mohair/synthetic plush continued to be most popular until the 1950s when acrylic plush was increasingly used. Synthetic plushes were further developed in the 60s, with the machine washable bear promoted for children!

Felt was used for the pads of the earliest bears. Later, after WW1, cotton was popular (as cotton, brushed or velveteen). Rexine was used by some British and Australian manufacturers, which was a coated oil cloth. By the 1960s, synthetic fabrics were increasingly used.

STUFFING

The earliest bears were stuffed with woodwool (excelsior), made from long, fine wood shavings. This gave the teddy a crunchy feel if squeezed. Later, after 1914, kapok (a silky fibre from the seed pod of a tropical tree, similar to silky cotton wool) came into use. Teddies stuffed with kapok feel firmer and heavier, and resist insect attack. WW2 meant kapok was no longer available for toy use, as it was used to line life jackets for soldiers, and so “substitute” (sub) became popular, being the waste from textile mills. Cork granules or rubber were also occasionally used, which tended to break down over time, giving ted a strange sensation of movement within!

By the 1960s, plastic foam (a shredded, sponge-like foam) was most popular, as it allowed for teddies to be wholly synthetic and machine washable. Polyester wadding was used from the 1970s until the present time.

SHAPE

There are a multitude of shapes and styles, however the shape of the teddy bear has changed from its inception, and can help to date when it was made.

The very earliest bears had a comparitively pointed snout and longer limbs. Shorter, stumpy limbs were popular in the 1950s. The unjointed, splayed-arms bear was typically 1960s or 70s, by several firms.

Early bears were jointed with cardboard or metal discs, attached with metal pins, which can sometimes show as rust through the fabric. Plastic joints were first used in the 1960s.

EYES

Originally, from 1902-1915, teddy bear eyes were wooden or leather-covered wooden boot buttons, on wire hooks or shanks. Glass eyes replaced these from WW1, in various forms-amber or blue, and black, or clear with painted backs. Glass eyes are cooler and harder than plastic eyes-putting your lips on them to feel how cool, and tapping your teeth on the eyes can give a good indication! Also,  glass eyes are rounder, if you feel behind them with your fingers.

From 1955, plastic screw-in eyes were being used by most makers, as a safety precaution for children. Law requires that  manufacturers use these, unless the teddy is labelled as not being a toy.

NOSE

Generally, noses were originally hand-stiched with black or brown thread. Many makers had their own distinctive shape. Some also chose to use curled leather, painted composition or gutta-percha (a natural form of plastic).

From 1945, moulded plastic first came into use. Some teddies were also made with a painted tin or moulded rubber noses.

After 1970, plastic safety noses are most often used as toy teddies for children.

Who Invented The Teddy Bear?

Collecting teddy bears is a world-wide phenomenon! For more than a hundred years teddies have been loved and confided in as childhood companions, and since the 1970s have risen in popularity as a collectable for adults. Whether because they bring back those warm childhood memories of a best friend, or through their endearing faces, teddies just seem to draw themselves to us!

Unlike many other collectables, teddy bears have character and appeal that endears them in a way far beyond merely being investments.

History Of The Teddy

During the  late 19th century, bears were a popular theme in the toy industry, especially in Germany. The “Black Forest Bears” of Germany and Switzerland were carved in wood, with the first soft toy bears being produced in the late 1890s. These bears were realistic, on all fours, and often on wheels. Automatons were also produced, in which a key-wound mechanism allowed the bear to “perform” actions. Books, such as Goldilocks And The Three bears, and postcards were also popular.

The First Teddy Bear

Having begun making soft toys in Germany in 1886, Margerete Steiff’s firm first made their “ Bar 55PB”  in 1902.  Late the same year, President Teddy Roosevelt inspired a cartoon by Clifford K Berryman in the Washington Post, humorously illustrating an incident on a bear hunt in which the President refused to shoot a bear cub tied to a tree. The cub, through subsequent cartoons in 1903, became known as Teddy. That year, Hermann Berg, a US toy buyer, bought 3000 of Steiff’s jonted teddies at the Leipzig Toy Fair. Also in 1903, Morris Michtom, a US store owner in Brooklyn, was inspired by the cartoon of Roosevelt to produce his “Teddy” bear, which founded the US teddy making industry.

Within five years, by 1908, the Steiff teddy bear had risen dramatically in popularity to sales of over 975,000!

The teddy was German-born, then named in the US!

When Margarete Steiff first made her jointed bear toy she could not have envisaged the universal appeal of what was later to be known as the Teddy Bear.

Someone to hear your thoughts, and hold your love, the teddy bear’s value has gone beyond that of other toys. Early Steiff bears, as do those of all of the major makers, including Merrythought, Schuco, Joy Toys and Chad Valley, now command high prices. From the early 70’s when these bears could still be bought for small sums, examples have now sold for six figures!

Knowing who and where the love came from adds greatly to value;  provenance pays!  The tiny scruff known as the Titanic Bear, who went down with the famous liner, is worth many times his mohair weight in gold!

The market for old bears is determined in part by the usual determinates of value-rarity, quality, brand, and visual attractiveness, but whereas condition is an important factor for other collectables, teddies battered by years of loving are still loved by investors and collectors!  Battered bears pull at heart strings and pull open purse strings!

With makers located in most countries, the internet has opened up a world of access for collectors. On-line auctions have allowed buyers and sellers to meet in a global market.  Provided Customs officers appreciate the wear and tear of affection that teddy bears, that his worn torso does not harbour illicit drugs, nor his straw stuffing a home for crop-infesting pests, then the collectors’ passion can defy the notion that money can’t buy love!