Picking Teddy's Nose and the Origin of the Teddy Bear - [Long Weekend in NYC - Part 8]

cognoscere (68)in #photography • 7 years ago (edited)

During last weekend's visit to Manhattan we spent part of Saturday afternoon at the American Museum of Natural History where it's hard not to get some exposure to Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States (September 14, 1901 to March 3, 1909).

As excerpted from Wikipedia: Theodore Roosevelt:
_{Theodore Roosevelt Jr. October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a driving force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century.}

_{Wikipedia: Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States}

After all, it was Theodore's father, Theodore "Thee" Roosevelt Sr., a 4th-generation New Yorker of Dutch ancestry who was one of the founding members of the American Museum of Natural History.

_{Wikipedia: Theodore Roosevelt Sr.}

Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt

And it's Theodore Roosevelt that you see depicted in front of the Central Park West entrance, namely the bronze sculpture that is the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt and which was dedicated on October 27, 1940. It's called the Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt and it displays him on horseback with an American Indian on one side and an African American on the other.

_{Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt}

Theodore Roosevelt, naturalist and champion of conservatism

In this post, I'll conveniently choose to avoid any politically-based discussion and instead focus on Theodore Roosevelt the naturalist, explorer, big-game hunter, and champion of conservatism.

As sited on the US National Park Service's webpage about North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park:
_{After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service (USFS) and establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments by enabling the 1906 American Antiquities Act. During his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt protected approximately 230 million acres of public land.}

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall

Most of the images in this post were taken in the American Museum of Natural History's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall.

In the words of AMNH:
_{At the center of the hall, a new bronze sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt, depicted as he looked during a famous 1903 camping trip to Yosemite with naturalist John Muir, invites visitors to sit next to TR and contemplate his pioneering role in conservation and the vital importance of protecting nature today. Near the sculpture, a new bronze medallion embedded in the floor depicts American bison grazing in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the North Dakota Badlands with the inscription “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country” - an excerpt from Roosevelt’s Confession of Faith speech delivered at the Progressive National Convention in Chicago on August 6, 1912.}

This is a nice spot to sit and take a break from walking in the large crowds that come to visit the AMNH. It's a great people-watching spot and we were amused by how often a group or family would stop to admire the bronze sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt. Invariably, a small child would attempt to take off Teddy's spectacles or stick their finger in Teddy's nose 😱

Cliff-note summary of the story of the Teddy Bear

Theodore Roosevelt, being an avid hunter, was invited on a Mississippi hunting trip in 1902 by Mississippi Governor, Andrew H. Longino. After several days of hunting for black bear, Roosevelt was the only one who had not spotted a bear.

Well, that was not going to fly for an American President, so the hunting guides and their dogs managed to track down an old bear, and attack and injure it. The wounded and exhausted bear was tied to a willow tree and the President was summoned so that he could shoot the bear and thus proclaim the hunting trip a success.

But Roosevelt refused to shoot this suffering bear calling it an unsportsmanlike act.

When the eventual news of this story broke nationally, political cartoonist Clifford Berryman seized on the opportunity to draft up a cartoon caricature of this event.

_{Clifford Berryman's 1902 political cartoon in The Washington Post spawned the Teddy bear}

When a Brooklyn, NY candy shop owner named Morris Michtom saw Clifford Berryman’s cartoon of Roosevelt and the bear he came up with an idea on how to capitalize on it. He took several stuffed toy bears that his wife had made and put them in the candy shop window and also got permission from Theodore Roosevelt to call these toy bears "Teddy bears."

This idea and window-display conceived by Morris Michtom went viral with such success that he went on to form the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

The rest, as they say, is history and the Teddy bear is still adored the world over as one of the most popular children's toys.

Long Weekend in NYC Series

As a quick recap, last weekend my wife and I took a long weekend and took the train into Manhattan to spend a few nights in the Big Apple and head to the Dawes concert at the Beacon Theater on Friday evening. The @steemit posts in this series showcase some of our adventures.

Here are links to the previous @steemit posts in this series:

All images (except as noted below) @cognoscere and taken on Saturday March 11th, 2017 at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. (Sony RX100 V)

#history #life #story #travel

7 years ago in #photography by cognoscere (68)

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Picking Teddy's Nose and the Origin of the Teddy Bear - [Long Weekend in NYC - Part 8]steemCreated with Sketch.