Monday, December 10, 2001

For nearly 100 years, the teddy bear has been the quintessential toy of childhood -- a cuddly friend, confidant, alter ego and talisman against things that go bump in the night.

The teddy bear's upcoming centenarian birthday in 2002 is being celebrated early in a whimsical exhibit at The State Museum of Pennsylvania and in holiday decorations at the state Capitol and the Governor's Residence.

The Pennsylvania Teddy Bear Project is a cooperative effort of the state and Teddy Bear and Friends, a niche magazine for collectors and artists.

Fifty teddy bear artists and collectors from Pennsylvania and two manufacturers based in the Keystone State are represented in the project.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt unintentionally gave birth to the teddy bear while in Mississippi to settle a boundary dispute. Roosevelt was taken on a hunting trip, but hunting was so poor that his aides trapped a cub and brought it to him on a rope.

Roosevelt's refusal to shoot the hapless bear was portrayed in a Clifford Berryman political cartoon published in The Washington Post in November 1902.

The cartoon inspired novelty shop owners Morris and Rose Michtom of Brooklyn, N.Y., to make a bear in Roosevelt's honor. They called it Teddy's Bear and placed it in their store's window. The little toy became so popular that it spawned the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.

Meanwhile, in 1902 in Germany, Margarete Steiff began stitching up bears, patterning them after sketches of bears in a local zoo made by her nephew, Richard Steiff. The bear toys were displayed at a trade fair in 1903, where an American buyer ordered thousands for sale back home.

School-teacher-turned-writer Seymour Eaton, who was born in Ontario in 1859, popularized the teddy bear in verse and prose. Eaton began penning tales about the adventures of The Roosevelt Bears, Teddy G and Teddy B, in 1905. He wrote many stories while living in Lansdowne, Delaware County.

Bears of all sizes, shapes, colors, attire and attitude are displayed in "Pennsylvania Celebrates Bears" at the state museum, North and North Third streets, Harrisburg. Open through Jan. 15, the exhibit features 47 bears and postcards, books and photographs, including one of Seymour Eaton. Three bears are drawn from the museum's collection.

Naturally, Roosevelt is personified in fur. A 36-inch high Teddy Roosevelt portrait bear is dressed in tan uniform with the brim of his hat fastened at a perky angle, while a 6-inch Teddy Roosevelt holds a bear cub.

There's a drummer boy bear and a gray Colonial bear wearing a red coat and powdered wig. An orange, pink, blue and yellow clown bear has a red nose and fluffy white hair. A lady bear, dressed in a long white nightgown with a pink bow in her hair, clutches her own small brown bear.

Two bears are barely 5 inches high -- one wears a white Christmas coat with a crown of holly while the other, clad in a blue cape with a hood, holds a lantern.

Some bears are casual in denim or a red and white pinafore, while others wear formal attire, such as vests, a fur-trimmed coat or a fancy hat trimmed with cabbage roses.

Most see the world through brown or black eyes. One white bear has red eyes. Four have eyeglasses perched on their snouts.

Bears come in all colors -- brown, gray, tan, blue, pink, black and pink and black and white.

The bears are engaging, said Beatrice Hulsberg, the museum's acting curator of community and domestic life. "The more you look at them, the more intrigued you become."

The creations and collections of the bear artists and manufacturers also will be featured in decorations in the Capitol and Governor's Residence, according to Richard Cochran, associate group publisher of Teddy Bear and Friends, a Primedia publication with editorial offices in Lower Paxton Twp.

"These artists and manufacturers produce quality teddy bears for collectors around the world," Cochran said. "These events are the perfect opportunity to launch our celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Teddy Bear."

"Pennsylvania Celebrates Bears" exhibit is free. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information, readers may all 787-4979 or access www.statemuseumpa.org.

The museum's planetarium also offers a holiday show with a bear theme. In "The Christmas Bear," a lonely teddy bear named Pudge is awaiting his chance to become a holiday gift for a child. He finds comfort in the stars and constellations of the winter sky until he finds a home on Christmas day.

"The Christmas Bear" will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 30 with additional shows at 3 p.m. Dec. 26, 27 and 28. Admission to the planetarium costs $2 for adults and $1.50 for senior citizens and children.

For information on Teddy Bear and Friends magazine, readers may call 657-9555 or access www.teddybearandfriends.com.

Cornerstone recalls the area's rich history and offers ways to savor it in the present. Readers may write to Mary O. Bradley, Features Department, The Patriot-News, P.O. Box 2265, Harrisburg, PA 17105, or e-mail mbradley@patriot-news.com.