Following the tragic loss of Titanic, many families all over England went into mourning, the whole country felt a deep and personal sense of grief. Department stores wanted to put black teddy bears in their windows as a mark of respect, and the famous manufacturers "Steiff" were asked to produce them.

Within a matter of weeks of the tragedy 494 black bears were made for the English market. These unusual "Mourning Teddies", made from black mohair, were one of the few designs to feature red felt circles behind the bears dark glass eyes. 

Many of them were purchased by people who were struggling to come to terms with the great disaster. History has shown that most children who received the bears as gifts simply didn't like playing with them. As a result, when an original Steiff Mourning Bear is found at auction, their condition is truly  immaculate. One such example was sold at Christies in 1984 for a staggering £22,000.

Below is a picture of one of the original "Black Bears", if you leave your cursor over the photo, you will see a replica made for me by my father, J.H. Uttley. (Great Bears by Grandad)

"Bruce", as I have called him, came complete with his own Passenger Ticket ( First Class suite B52-B56), and a detailed certificate showing time and date of completion etc (see thumbnails).

(Click on Thumbnails to view Documents)