Century-old teddy bear goes up for auction

A century-old teddy bear could sell for £500 at an upcoming auction.

The bear, thought to date back to 1908, was found by the Cotswold Auction Company while sorting through an estate.

The auctioneers believe the bear may have been made by the prestigious German teddy bear company Steiff, giving it an estimate of between £300 and £500 ahead of the auction on 24 February.

Auctioneer and valuer Niall Fry said: "Nostalgia is part of the appeal for these toys, and they are still highly desirable."

"It's like Pokémon today which has a huge market now, and I'd love to know why this bear survived so long," he added.

Steiff bears have previously sold for thousands of pounds at auction.

"As soon as you put a name to it, the interest certainly grows," Fry said.

The bear stands at 60cm (24in) tall, and also features an early growling mechanism designed to sound when the toy is tipped backwards.

Fry said today it was "more like a squeak" but added that it was "rare for them to still work".

Steiff was founded in 1880 by seamstress Margarete Steiff in Germany, and by 1895 the company was selling to Harrods in London.

By 1907 the company had sold nearly one million teddy bears, with toys still in production.

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