Collecting Antique Teddy Bears

teddybearAre you wondering why you might want to go into collecting antique teddy bears? It really is a matter of taste when it comes to collecting antique teddy bears. It is quite possible for you to collect these bears on a wide variety of different levels. You can collect all kinds of different antique teddy bears including limited edition types, vintage types, artistic types, themed bears, bears that hail from a specific region and miniature antique teddy bears as well.

Some collectors of antique teddy bears come online looking for antique teddy bears because of the unique variety that is available. Make sure that you are both collecting with your heart and being intelligent about it at the same time. Make sure that you are only buying authentic antique teddy bears, for example. Here are some ways that you can tell how old antique teddy bears are, or what their origins are.

Label – The label for antique teddy bears is not going to lie. Even if a lot of the label has been worn away, you can still compare the label with identification books to identify the antique teddy bear that you have collected.

Hump - Unlike today’s modern teddies, antique teddy bears were created in a way that was meant to resemble true bears, and so they had a muscled hump in between their shoulders. Larger humps generally indicate that you have an older bear on your hands.

Limbs - Early antique teddy bears are going to be capable of being distinguished based on their long, curved and thin arms. Their legs were typically featuring narrow ankles with large feet at the ends, and the hips were usually quite wide as well.

Nose - Long noses tend to indicate earlier antique teddy bears. The long nose was designed to mimic the appearance of a real bear.

Eyes and Footpads – A teddy bear that has synthetic footpads and plastic eyes is generally going to date back to around the 1950s or the 1960s. Early bear makers made use of boot buttons or of glass eyes, and the foot pads were made out of either felt or velvet.

Joints – Many of the teddy bears originated from 1905 have joints that are made from wooden disks, allowing their limbs to be adjusted. The limbs from even earlier teddy bears could be made from metal rods, but those rods were generally only seen in lower quality bears. Upper end bears would have arm joints, leg joints and head joints, while many other antique teddy bears skipped out on the head joint.

Fabric – Mohair was the chosen fabric for most antique teddy bears because it was soft as well as durable and made out of goat hair to feel just like real hair. Antique teddy bears from after the 1930s may have silk or plush fabric instead, and later teddy bears were made from synthetic materials.

Photo Credits: Paul Keleher

Originally posted 2009-09-26 03:29:07. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Where and How to Buy Antique Furniture

writingdeskUnless you are shopping around in a museum, it may be difficult to buy antique furniture dated before the 16th century. Collectors are generally only able to obtain pieces of furniture from the 1485 to 1600 Tudor Period and onwards, and even the furniture selection from this period is relatively small in comparison.

It was not until the middle of the seventeenth century that things began to change. Before then, most furniture was made simply with oak and with peg joints. Some of these antique furniture items were inlaid or painted, but if there was any décor at all, it was typically carved directly into the wood. The most common antique furniture that you are going to find today includes paneled oak chests intended for linen, and many of these are hand carved in order to feature unique figures and architectural shapes. If the carving is to regular or geometrical, then there is a chance that the piece is either a reproduction, or that the decorations have been improved upon or added much more recently.

The chest of drawers is a piece of antique furniture that has evolved gradually since the latter half of the 17th century. It began with a simple carcass that contained a couple of drawers which were mounted on a stand that featured turned legs. This piece of furniture gradually progressed into what we now know as featuring drawers from top to bottom. This is also the same period of time where using veneer became popular. Thin pieces of carved wood or wood featuring interesting colors were glued onto the piece’s outside frame to serve as decorative paneling or to cover the entire structure.

At this point, chairs and settlings were also beginning to change from their basic, square and relatively plain designs into designs that were significantly more elaborate and featured backs and can backs and seats were being introduced. The very best antique furniture pieces were destined to suit aristocratic homes and they were upholstered lavishly. The backs became significantly higher and the seats became significantly lower.

Another influencing factor on antique furniture was trade with the Far East. Lacquered cabinets featuring two doors and a variety of drawers began to be imported from Japan and China. They were mounted on stands upon reaching England. This was the birth of a process that is known as Japanning, which involves imitating the Oriental style lacquers using spirit and oil varnishes.

Toward the end of the century, the influx of European craftsman brought about a radical change in what types of antique furniture were available. The writing bureau, for example, came to be during this period of time as an arrangement of a cabinet with a drop down, hinged front and an arrangement of cubbies and drawers that provided ample space for writing.

If you are interested in learning how to buy antique furniture, learning the history of the pieces is definitely a good way to go.

Photo Credits: mezzoblue

Originally posted 2009-08-28 05:21:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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