Teddy Bears At the Seaside--Postcards 1910

Pictures of teddy bears were popular on postcards in the early 20th century. Teddy bears were first developed in the USA in 1902. Named for President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the first stuffed toy bear was invented by a man named Morris Michtom, inspired by a newspaper cartoon of the President with a bear cub. At about the same time, and apparently unrelated to the American Teddy, the Steiff firm in Germany also began making stuffed toy bears, first exhibited at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903. Link  These stuffed bear toys soon captured people's imagination around the world and have enjoyed enduring popularity with children and adults, and there are many informal and serious collectors of Teddy bears and memorabilia.

This cute postcard series by Raphael Tuck & Sons called Teddy Bears At the Seaside from 1910 celebrates the summer with cartoon images of the toy bears dressed and acting like humans, enjoying the beach and ocean. They are by the same artist (the signature is the same but illegible--possibly Ellery?) and are similar to the cards in Tuck's popular series Mixed Bathing (1908-1909), and Trunks Full of Fun (1913) which were recently featured on The Paper Sunflower. Link They are also similar to the Breakfast In Bed Series, also featured on The Paper Sunflower. Link These souvenir postcards were sold at various seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, and were also apparently sold in France, as some of them contain French writing, although none are shown imprinted with names of French resorts. Images are courtesy of tuckdb.org. Link

Poems by Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) is one of my favorite poets. Her poems are written in simple but beautiful language, and speak of love, loss, hope and the deepest desires of the human heart. 

 February Twilight

I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow,
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature
That saw what I could see
I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.

Courtesy of public-domain-poetry.com

Woman Getting On A Broadway Car  (1913) (From Bain Collection- Library of Congress)

 The Old Maid

I saw her in a Broadway car,

The woman I might grow to be;

I felt my lover look at her

And then turn suddenly to me.

Her hair was dull and drew no light

And yet its color was as mine;

Her eyes were strangely like my eyes

Tho' love had never made them shine.

Her body was a thing grown thin,

Hungry for love that never came;

Her soul was frozen in the dark

Unwarmed forever by love's flame.

I felt my lover look at her

And then turn suddenly to me,--

His eyes were magic to defy

The woman I shall never be.

 From Rivers to the Sea (1922)

Photo by Bain News Service  (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

The Lighted Window

He said:

"In the winter dusk

When the pavements were  gleaming with rain,

I walked thru a dingy street

Hurried, harassed, 

Thinking of all my problems that are never solved.

Suddenly out of the mist, a flaring gas-jet

Shone from a huddled shop. 

I saw thru the bleary window

A mass of playthings:

False-faces hung on strings,

Valentines, paper and tinsel,

Tops of scarlet and green,

Candy, marbles, jacks--

A confusion of color

Pathetically gaudy and cheap. 

All of my boyhood

Rushed back.

Once more these things were treasures

Wildly desired.

With covetous eyes I looked again at the marbles,

The precious agates, the pee-wees, the chinies--

Then I passed on.

In the winter dusk,

The pavements were gleaming with rain;

There in the lighted window

I left my boyhood."

 From Rivers to the Sea (1922)

 

source

 

Winter Stars

I went out at night alone;

The young blood flowing beyond the sea

Seemed to have drenched my spirit's wings--

I bore my sorrow heavily.

But when I lifted up my head

From shadows shaken on the snow,

I saw Orion in the east

Burn steadily as long ago.

From windows in my father's house,

Dreaming my dreams on winter nights,

 I watched Orion as a girl

Above another city's lights.

Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,

The world's heart breaks beneath its wars, 

All things are changed, save in the east

The faithful beauty of the stars.

From Flame and Shadow (1920)

Orion (source)

 

 In Memoriam F.O.S.

You go a long and lovely journey,

For all the stars, like burning dew,

Are luminous and luring footprints

Of souls adventurous as you.

Oh, if you lived on earth elated,

How is it now that you can run

Free of the weight of flesh and faring

Far past the birthplace of the sun? 

From Rivers to the Sea (1922)