Monday, June 24, 2013

Collectible Teddy Bears - H.G Stone (Chiltern) & Chad Valley UK History & ID Tips

H.G. Stone & Co Ltd (Chiltern) and The Chad Valley Co Ltd - British Collectible Teddy Bears

Chiltern:

The Chiltern Works, Eisenmann & Co Ltd's Chesham-based toy factory is opened in 1908 and produces the first Teddy Bear in 1915. The factory is inherited by son-in-law Leon Rees in 1919, who leaves the company and forms L. Rees & Co wholesaler of fancy goods, Bing Products (and later Chiltern Toys) in Britain and the Commonwealth. Leon Rees then collaborates with Harry G. Stone (formerly of JK Farnell) in 1920 and forms H.G. Stone & Co to manufacture soft toys. The "Chiltern Toys" tradename first appears in trade journals in 1923 (registered in 1924) and the "Hugmee" line of Teddy Bears is introduced.

A darling example of a fully jointed "Hugmee" Teddy Bear by Chiltern, made from mohair plush.

A Hugmee Teddy Bear by Chiltern UK
H.G. Stone acquired Panurge Pets of Edinburgh in 1925, makers of large stuffed toys modeled from life by artist Ann Cameron Banks of Paris.  After building a new factory, H.G. Stone introduces "Silky Teddy", the firms first rayon plush bear. Harry Stone died in 1934. In 1946 a training school was established at the firm's new factory being built in Pontypool Wales. Leon Rees died in 1963 and both the L. Rees & Co and H.G. Stone companies are taken over by Dunbee-Comex Group in 1964. Chiltern Fairy Foam (a one-piece, plastic foam filling) is introduced in 1964. In 1967 The Chad Valley Co Ltd takes over the company and for a short time, uses the label Chiltern/Chad Valley.

Chiltern bears usually have large brown glass eyes, although early Hugmee Teddy Bears had clear glass eyes and their heads are stuffed with wood wool (excelsior) and their bodies with softer Kapok. Chiltern bears have cupped ears set at a slight angle, noses are vertically stitched with raised outer stitches, their arms are long and paws are spoon shaped. Claws are stitched, and pads are made from velvet, velveteen or cotton (rexine) and feet are cardboard lined. By the 1950s their mohair pile became less luxurious, previous broad smiles disappeared, claws stitched with less thread, arms became shorter, legs shorter with fat thighs, and faces became flatter. In the 1960s Chiltern introduced plastic noses and made unjointed bears with synthetic fabrics. Popular during the 1920s to 1930s were shaggy coloured mohair bears.

Early Chiltern Bears had orange circular cardboard chest tags but in 1940 Chiltern moved to cloth labels sewn into side seams or onto one foot pad in red printing and in the 1950s, blue printing.


 Examples of the Cloth Seam Tags by Chiltern.




The amalgamated companies of Chad Valley/Chiltern Tag seen for a short time after the takeover.















Chad Valley:

Originally founded in 1820 as a printing and book binding company, the Chad Valley trademark was registered in 1897 and printed cardboard games were added to the stationery line.  Simple toys were added to their line each year and in 1915 the first soft toys including the Teddy Bear was produced. Founder's son Alfred Johnson joined the firm in 1889 and in 1916 he patented a stuffed-toy stuffing machine. In 1920 the firm is renamed The Chad Valley Co Ltd. Expansion continues, new factories are built which leads to the takeover of Peacock & Co Ltd of London (maker's of wooden toys) in 1931.  In 1938 The Chad Valley Co Ltd is granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment "Toymakers to Her Majesty the Queen".

An example of a 1950s Chad Valley Mohair Teddy Bear.

The Chad Valley Co Ltd Teddy Bear
In 1967, The Chad Valley Co Ltd acquires H.G. Stone (Chiltern) and the amalgamated company becomes the largest soft toy manufacturer in Britain.

Plush Pajama Case Tom Cat from Tom & Jerry Cartoons


Chad Valley produced many characters from TV and Radio beginning in 1954, including Sooty & Sweep and Toffee. 

Here is Tom Cat, the cartoon cat from the Tom & Jerry cartoons, made as a synthetic plush Pajama or Nightgown Case.











Chad Valley Sooty & Sweep Hand Glove Puppets
Sooty (left) is an earlier mohair plush puppet, Sweep (centre) is an example of rayon synthetic silk plush and Sooty (right) is a more modern post 1967 synthetic wooly (dralon) plush (he has the seam tag showing Chad Valley/Chiltern).


The 1970s prove to be a difficult time with the influx of Asian competitive toys and the company is restructured, closing all but one factory. In 1978 the firm is taken over by a Leicester based toy company Palitoy (which is later bought by American company Kenner Parker).  Chain store Woolworth's acquired the tradename Chad Valley in 1988 and moved toy production to Asia. Upon the closing of Woolworth's, The Home Retail Group purchased the brandname and trademarks and now Chad Valley products are available exclusively from Argos. 

Almost all Chad Valley Teddy Bears have a prominent shaved muzzle but nose stitching varies. Early bears had triangular-shaped vertically stitched noses. In 1928 the triangular shape changed to a wide rectangle with vertical stitching often referred to as "coal shaped". The Magna series of bears c1930 had horizontal nose stitching. Bears have cardboard inserts in large oval feet and pads are often felt with a label stitched length-wise on one foot. They have 4 stitched claws on paws, and 5 stitched claws on feet. In the 1950s plastic eyes and noses were introduced on some bears and "safety eyes" that were locked in with washers also appeared, as well as synthetic fabrics.

Labels seen on Chad Valley bears:


 Royal Warrant Foot Labels











Seam label for The Chad Valley Co Ltd. c1950s








In 1923 the "Aerolite" trademark for Kapok stuffed toys and dolls was registered and used until 1926. Copying Steiff, Chad Valley used a metal ear button on bears in the 1920s and 1930s. It first appeared in 1920 as a metal ring around a blue paper disk covered by celluloid plastic but by the 1930s the button was sheet metal with a blue outer ring and yellow paper inside with the words "Chad Valley English Hygenic Toys". Those toys between 1923 to 1926 stuffed with Kapok also showed the "Aerolite" trademark on the button. Prior to the 1930s bears were also identified with an oblong label stitched on the foot but after receiving the Royal Warrant, the foot label became the Royal Crest on a square stitched to the foot with the words "Toymakers to Her Majesty the Queen".  The word "Queen" was changed to "Queen Mother" when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.

Some of the items featured can be found at Mandicrafts!

Happy Hunting!

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