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When German Teddy Bears are mentioned, undoubtedly people always think of the makers Steiff.  However, there have been other pretty remarkable Teddy Bear makers since the Teddy’s birth in 1902 and I think that one of these great makers is the Bing Company.

In 1865, two brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing founded the Nuremberg Spielwarenfabrik Gebruder Bing Company producing toys as well as kitchenware and even sewing machines.  Like so many other German companies, this one too was very successful and within just two years the company was already employing well over 100 people.  The company decided to increase it’s range of products to include carburettors for motor cars and motor bikes, certainly an adverse company. 

The Bing Company also began to produce wonderful tinplate toys (which today, of course, are extremely desirable for collectors to own).

In 1907, Bing began to create it’s first soft toys, including the Teddy Bear.  Bing, a company now in a very successful market was employing over 3,000 workers but still they found it incredibly difficult to cope with orders, just like Steiff infact.

Bing placed a metal button in their Teddy Bears ears and Steiff found it necessary to take them to court to have this button removed and also to refrain from using the slogan “button in the ear”, as now Steiff had trademarked those words.  I would just say at this point that Bing was not the only Teddy Bear Company to copy the button in ear.

Bing then decided to use a metal tag which was black, cream and red, which they clipped into their Teddy Bears ears but still Steiff objected to this.  However, not being defeated Bing then placed a button under the Teddy Bears arms.  Once again, Steiff objected to Bing using the words “button under the arm”.  By 1908 Bing had finally come up with the slogan “G.B.N. tag under the arm”.

The first Bing Teddy Bears produced were made of the very highest quality mohair and like Steiff Teddy Bears they were stuffed with the very best wood wool.  Bing Teddy Bears even looked a lot like Steiff Teddy Bears too, incorporating the famous hump on their backs and the black button eyes.

However, Bing decided that they wanted to make their Teddy Bears stand out a little bit, to make them a little bit different from other Teddy Bears on the market and so, they decided to use their famous and now very successful clockwork mechanisms, which they had been using in their Tin Toys.  These mechanisms were placed inside their Teddy Bears enabling them to move.  So, as early as 1908, a Teddy Bear was created in four sizes with an amazing clockwork mechanism that made him move his head from side to side.  After all the fuss and bother they had with Steiff with the buttons and the tags, Bing decided their new mechanical Teddy Bears would also be protected too, with patents and registered designs being put into force immediately.   If you are lucky enough to find one of Bing’s mechanical bears, you will find a tin button on his body with the letters DRPDIVDRGM on a red background.  All this means is that the Bing Company have a patent on this Teddy Bear.

An early Mechanical Bing Teddy Bear was born in 1908, he had a key-wind mechanism on his right side.  He was a most handsome Teddy Bear whose legs and arms were jointed and he was made of beautiful plush mohair.

Being went on to produce many wonderful Teddy Bears, one of these Teddy Bears, circa. 1910 was an upright Teddy Bear who held a ball that was made of painted metal.  This Teddy would move in a circular movement whilst pushing the ball. Old Bing Teddy Bears such as these are very desirable in today’s Teddy Bear world.

Ignaz Bing died in 1918 and then the company was taken over by his son, Stephen.  The company then changed it’s name, now being known as Bing Werke.  When this name change took place, the G.B.N. buttons were discontinued.  This is helpful when dating an Old Bing Teddy Bear.  Circular metal tags were now used on the Teddy Bears wrist or body and these had the letters “B.W.” written on them, the logo also had either the word Germany or Bavaria written on them.

Bing was an extremely successful toy company producing some of the most wonderful toys to come out of Germany, their Teddy Bears being very popular in the 1920’s.  Sadly, however, in 1927 Stephen Bing and members of his family resigned from the company as, Jewish firms were now being discriminated against under Hitler’s Nazi regime.  This was to spell disaster for the company as during 1932, Bing went into receivership.

I would like to end this article by saying that Teddy Bears by Bing have a wonderful history and they certainly are wonderful Old Teddy Bears.  If you are lucky enough to own one you are very honoured indeed.