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The teddy bear, that iconic symbol of childhood, owes its existence to an act of kindness on the part of Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth president of the United States. On a 1902 hunting trip in Mississippi, Roosevelt's hosts trapped a bear and offered Roosevelt the chance to shoot it. Roosevelt refused, saying that it would be unsportsmanlike to shoot a helpless animal. This incident became the basis for a political cartoon called "Drawing the Line in Mississippi". Morris Michtom, a store owner in Brooklyn, saw the cartoon and was inspired to create a stuffed toy bear, which he named "Teddy" after Roosevelt.

As portrayed in a series of later cartoons, the bear was small, cute, and cuddly. The cartoon image inspired Morris Michtom, the store owner, to create and market small, stuffed bears as children's toys. His wife was already producing stuffed bears for the store, so the apparatus was already in place to market a toy connected with the popular President.

Michtom sent a sample of the toy to President Roosevelt, requesting at the same time that the President allow use of his nickname in the name of the toy. President Roosevelt okayed this, and this is where the toy teddy bear began to become a part of popular culture. From their earliest days these stuffed bears showed great popularity, and when Mr. Michtom put a sign in his window advertising 'Teddy Bears' this name soon become synonymous with these stuffed animals.

Within several years, other shops started selling stuffed animals. These were sold all over Europe and the U.S. A lot of books, media, and music at that time made references to toy bears. As the years went by, the teddy bear became more popular as a collectible, of great value to those who collect toys, vintage dolls, and antique dolls.

Some toy bears are quite valuable. For example, a toy bear woven partly from gold and produced by the original manufacturer to commemorate the toy's 125th anniversary is being sold for $84,000. Michtom's company that marketed the first teddy bear, the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., is also still in business today.

You don't have to spend lots of money to amass a collection of toy bears. The antique ones sometimes turn up at yard sales, at rummage sales, in internet auctions, and at places frequented by collectors. It is not only a collectible which got its name from President Theodore Roosevelt, it is also a delightful companion for a child.