Plush Stuffed Military Teddy Bear

Exuding quiet confidence and comfort while proudly honoring America’s armed forces with his camouflage hat and t-shirt, this soft, Plush Stuffed Military Teddy Bear is the perfect cuddly buddy for kids of military parents, military spouses, or patriots of any age. Perfect as well for Teddy Bear collectors, this Plush Stuffed Military Teddy Bear wears the U.S. military’s most current camouflage. (Did you notice the “Smithsonian” dog tags printed on the camouflage shirt?) Designed exclusively for the Smithsonian. Cotton, acrylic fabric; polyester fill; acrylic eyes. Surface-washable. Imported. Ages 2 and up.  8.5"h x 8"l. x 6.5"w.

Museum Provenance

Plush stuffed teddy bear toys have existed since at least 1894 when they appeared for sale in an advertisement in Gebruder Sussenguth, a German toy company’s catalog. The name “Teddy Bear” did not become synonymous with stuffed bears until 1902, when Morris MItchom is said to have written President Theodore Roosevelt requesting his permission to use his name for the stuffed bears MItchom made. One of Mitchom’s soft-stuffed “Teddy Bears” is in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Behring Center. The bear in the collection was given to Kermit Roosevelt by Benjamin Mitchom in 1964; Roosevelt donated it to the Smithsonian that year.

Every Smithsonian purchase will arrive with a museum provenance card explaining how it is adapted from or inspired by an object or objects in our collection.