Plush Toys Now And Forever
Plush toys have been popular for a very long time. So it might be interesting to take a look at some of the history behind them. The word “Plush” is of French origin. What plush is exactly is a fabric that has a nap or pile that is very similar to velvet or fustian. Back in the 1830′s when plush animals were invented they made of mohair, but times have changed and so has the material used in plush toys. Today you are more likely to see the plush made from a backing of cotton with silk on top.
It is not unusual for today’s manufacturers of plush to use man made fibers in the construction of plush. It will come to no surprise to any of us that plush is most often used in manufacturing of stuffed animals. Once again we have the French to thank for the Plush Teddy Bear. So I guess they do have some good ideas besides the French Fry!
When looking at designer toys you need not look any further than custom plush toys. They are all the rage with people that are looking for a stuffed toy that is both unusual and a gift that will be kept for a long time. Even though people use the term “stuffed toy” more often than plush they normally mean the same thing.
Plush material on the outside and stuffed on the inside. The stuffing varies according to the size and type of toy. Common stuffing includes: beans, pellets, cotton, and different types of fiber. No matter what the stuffing is made of, a plush toy should always be a soft toy that will be cuddly.
The simple truth is that plush toys are made to look like just about everything under the sun. You can find these soft toys that look like animals, historic figures, Disney characters, or just about anything or anyone you can think of.
The very first stuffed toys are now antiques. Originating back in the 1830′s they were normally dolls for young girls. There was no “man made” material to stuff them with so they used straw.
The most popular stuffed animals are the ones that resemble the Teddy Bear. We will get into the plush teddy bear in detail in just a few minutes. But make no mistake about it, the stuffed bear is the king of the jungle when it comes to plush stuffed toys.
Just like comfort food that make people feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, plush toys have the same affect on some people, especially young people. It is a toy that makes them feel secure.
What you might find of some interest is how the term “stuffed animal” came to be. I’m afraid that the cute baby plush toys you see in the toy stores has nothing to do with it. The term comes from the stuffing of the skin of dead animals that were killed after being hunted. Today of course the term is not really used that much in that context. Today the word taxidermy is used to describe the same thin.
Let’s talk some plush toy history. Like we said before it dates back to the early 1800′s. Then it became a commercial enterprise around 1880. There was a company in Germany that started to produce and sell plush toys.
Without a doubt the most popular soft plush toys back then were teddy bears and sock puppets. People are drawn towards plush animals for many different reasons. There are people that collect small plush toys and big plush toys. They keep them through childhood and give them to their own children when they are old enough to appreciate them. Who has not had a teddy bear or one of the many plush dog toys when they were a child?
Plush toys are often thought of as a gift for important events in a loved one’s lives. When a child graduates from school, any holiday, birthdays, anniversaries or just when you want somebody to have a good day. I can remember when my parents gave me and my brother horse plush toys. We thought they were the greatest toys ever. I dragged that horse around for a few years. It was my “safety blanket”.
So popular are plush toys that large companies make lots of profits from them. You know when Disney, Ty, and Steiff are in the business then the business is big. And if you have walked through a shopping mall lately then you have surely seen the Build A Bear Workshop.
The teddy bear plush toy is the softest of soft. It is stuffed with the softest of cotton and will have baby bottom soft fur on the outside. There is no other plush toy that is as popular as the teddy bear. A lot of people think that puppy plush toys are popular, but they really can’t compare with the king of stuffed animals, the bear.
Just like I did most children around the world will have a plush toy in their room or more likely several scattered around the house. We have all heard of baseball cards becoming collector items just like stamps and coins. It is too bad because it takes the joy out of having these items. It all becomes a financial thing. It is sad that the teddy bear is traveling down this same path.
The Super Bowl for the teddy bear is Valentines’ day. It is given by many men to their girlfriends or wives. And this is a gift that always brings a smile to the ladies faces.
We have President Roosevelt to thank for the teddy bear’s name. Teddy Roosevelt that is. This is how the story goes. In 1902 the President was on a hunting trip with the Governor of Mississippi. Roosevelt joined the Governor and several other men on the expedition. After a while most of them had already shot an animal. Everyone that is except for President Theodore Roosevelt. Fearing that the President would be embarrassed about being the only one that did not succeed at the hunt, the group captured a Black Bear and tied it to a tree. They had the President come over to the tree and told him to shoot the bear.
Roosevelt would not shoot the bear. If nothing else the President was a sportsman and knew that it would not be fair to shoot a bear that was tied to a tree. The whole incident was written up in the newspapers. The story went viral and the bear that was tied to the tree gained the nickname of “Teddy Bear” named after Teddy Roosevelt.
There are now companies that produce collectible bears. These designer plush toys can be found in any toy store or on the internet. Steiff is the largest manufacturer of these types of plush toys. China and Indonesia are where most bears are produced. But is there any more famous teddy bear than the Born In America, Winnie-the-Pooh?
We might ask ourselves how children went from wanting a cute plush bunny and plush dogs to craving rpg games and dungeons and dragons. I’m not sure how that happened but it has. Many kids now a days are not interested in simple toys. Perhaps the only time you can interest them in a simple toy is if it is one of the anime plush toys or one of the Nintendo plush toys. I guess times change and so do games and toys.
When all is said and done, despite the advent of high tech toys, I believe that plush toys will remain a popular gift for young and old. And that plush toys will always be loved by young children.