An important collection of toy animals comprising two teddy bears, an elephant and a tiger belonging to Clifford K. Berryman (1869-1949) and/or his daughter Florence (1900-1992)

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THE BERRYMAN BEARS AND ANIMALS

Details

An important collection of toy animals comprising two teddy bears, an elephant and a tiger belonging to Clifford K. Berryman (1869-1949) and/or his daughter Florence (1900-1992)
'Bevo', a very rare American teddy bear, possibly a model of the Berryman bear from the cartoon, of luxurious silver tipped dark brown mohair with an inset shorter mohair face mask, deep and close set black boot button eyes, pronounced muzzle, black stitched nose, mouth and claws, cupped ears, triangular shaped head, swivel neck, jointed limbs with felt pads, card lined feet, hump, in-operative growler and original red, white and blue ribbon, possibly by the Ideal Toy Company, circa 1908 --23in. (58.5cm.) high (slight moth nibbles to pads);
a Steiff teddy bear with white mohair, black boot button eyes, pronounced muzzle, brown stitched nose, mouth and claws, swivel head, jointed elongated limbs with felt pads, hump, FF button in ear with complete white tag '5325' behind ear and red, white and blue ribbon, circa 1907 --13¼in. (34cm.) high (almost completely bald, probably from damp and slight moth nibbles to pads);
an early Steiff 35PB grey burlap elephant with black boot button eyes, white felt tusks, swivel neck with disc joints and rod-jointed legs, circa 1904 --14in. (35.5cm.) from head to tail (general wear to burlap);
a rare and unusual 'Woody Tiger' of printed orange, white and black velvet, standing on all-fours, clear and black glass eyes, American oil cloth collar and 'WOODY TIGER - trade mark' label on collar --15in. (38cm.) long (missing pink felt feet pads);
and a collection of related material comprising a rare postcard sent from Clifford (pretending to be Bevo) to Florence, the front a coloured photograph of Lawncrest Inn - The Lawn. Sharon. Mass. with an original ink drawing of Bevo (Berryman's bear) with the words 'Gee, I wish Florence was here!' and 'Sholes' Cottage Sharon' in the same hand, the reverse addressed to 'Miss Florence S. Berryman 1754 Euclid St. NW, Washington D.C.' and a message 'Dearest Floss. Mother was the happiest little person in Sharon this morning all because you invested a 2 cent stamp on her. Never did a government investment pay such dividends in the history of this great Republic. Do it some more! AND DO IT NOW! Sincerely Yours B.V.D. (Bevo) July 31. 1919';
a printed card featuring Bevo climbing out of a bucket with a note written to Florence and James from Clifford 'Will James and Florence come to see Bluke and his tree on Merry Christmas afternoon at four-thirty?' with a 1908 American National Red Cross Christmas stamp (Bluke was probably another nickname given to Bevo);
a Fruit Cake box sent to Miss Florence Berryman, 2114 Bancroft Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. containing fifty-six cards and fifteen tally cards printed with an image of Bevo, a letter to Mrs. Clifford Berryman from her friend Fanny B. Sholes (see earlier postcard) thanking her for some of the Berryman bear tally cards;
a letter to Clifford from a D.J. Foster M.C. on House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs head paper and envelope; a letter sent to Clifford K. Berryman concerning the cost of travel from Washington to Niagara with envelope; a letter to 'Mr. Berryman, Cartoonist, The Post' from Dr Eugene Murray-Aaron about an agricultural idea; a hand-painted Christmas Poinsettia place card for Mr. Berryman for 1907;
a photographic reproduction of 'Drawing the Line in Mississippi', the original cartoon drawn by Berryman in 1902 and other items

Provenance

These four toys date from around the 1904-10 period which is soon after Berryman's cartoon of his bear became famous in 1902. His daughter, Florence, was born in 1900. It is not known if these toys were bought for her or if Clifford had them himself. Certainly the only toy to have any real childhood playwear is the earliest toy, the elephant.

This group of items was purchased from Weschler's Auctioneers in Washington, D.C. who handled Florence Seville Berryman's estate in 1992. This lot comes with two letters sent by Weschler's to the current owner stating that these were from her home.

Also from email correspondence with Rhys Berryman (Clifford's grandson), he remembers the elephant and the tiger..."I remember these two animals in my grandfather's house, and Aunt Florence explained their significance."

Literature

See American Teddy Bear Encyclopedia, by Linda Mullins, pages 9 to 15.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

It can be claimed that Clifford K. Berryman is the true creator of the teddy bear phenomenon; it was his famous cartoon of November 14th 1902 which apppeared in The Washington Post, of President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt refusing to shoot a bear cub. This little bear became very famous and often featured in cartoons, which in turn inspired Morris Michtom, founder of the Ideal Toy Company. His wife Rose, made a small jointed bear and they wrote to the President for permission to name the toy 'Teddy's Bear'. The American bear in this lot has a number of characteristics of Ideal bears, but of a superior quality and it is possible that at some stage the company were commissioned to make a Berryman Bear.

Interestingly, it is possible that all four toys represent American political parties. The bear being the most obvious, but both the elephant and the tiger have also been used. In further email correspondence with Rhys Berryman he suggests 'The tiger is the Tammany Hall Tiger, popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast in the late 1800's. Thomas Nast and my grandfather knew each other, and Nast was a role model of sorts for my grandfather, who was just starting out when Nast was at the peak of his career. It is my understanding that Nast took a liking to my grandfather and was very helpful to him. Anyway, Nast tried to make the tiger the symbol of the Democratic Party instead of the donkey, while the "matching" elephant is self-explanatory (in this context).'

Undoubtedly this group of toys are one of the most important 'American' items involved with the history of the teddy bear.

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