Pamela Wooley's "Navy Timothy" Teddy Bear

This bear is in the Navy, dressed
 quite properly for service!

 

       This Pamela Wooley teddy bear is made of acrylic faux fur that may be hand washed in a very mild detergent like Woolite.
       His costume is acrylic and durable as well. The coat can be removed. It attaches with snaps. The brass buttons are merely decorative. There is also a navy bib underneath the coat.
       Both the collar and the cap have gold colored trim. The word "Navy" is machine stitched across the brim of his cap and a gold metallic ribbon adorns the edging of his classic cut, sailor's collar.
        He  is 13" tall and numbered 1521. Although I do not know how many bears are in this original edition by Wooley.
      All four of his paws are made from felted materials and his embroidered snout and smile are stitched with a soft, brown floss. He has classic shoe-button eyes and perfectly rounded ears.
      His head is not articulated, it is stitched directly onto his shoulders. His limbs however are fully jointed and may be positioned in many ways.
       Timothy Teddy includes a signed, heart-shaped, artist signature tag and is dated 2000, ADG.

 

 

Navy Timothy bear has a long charming snout, sure to please any small child or collector.

     

His faux fur looks surprisingly just like mohair, but it isn't. The fur is made from acrylic.

 

 

Prince Albert Edward (the future Edward VII
of the United Kingdom) in a sailor suit,
by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1846

       A sailor suit is a uniform traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in a navy or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as dress clothes. As soon as this costume became popular, doll and teddy bear artists began to dress their creations in sailor suits as well. But when did this phenomenon begin exactly?
       Costume historians say that sailor attire for children began to be produced in approximately 1846, after the four-year-old Albert Edward, Prince of Wales was given a scaled-down version of the uniform worn by ratings on the Royal Yacht. When he wore his miniature sailor suit during a cruise off the Channel Islands in September, delighting his mother, the public went wild for it. Popular engravings, including the famous portrait done by Winterhalter, spread the idea, and by the 1870s the sailor suit had become a fashionable dress for both boys and girls in many countries. 

       Some Western cartoon and comic characters use a sailor suit as their trademarks; examples include Popeye, Donald Duck, and Fiddler Pig. 

       Sailor suits have even been worn by the members of the Vienna Boys' Choir on their international tours.

• Historical Boys Clothing: Sailor Suits
• Victorian Clothing for Children

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