Musical Teddy Bears. Below are some examples of teddy bears with musical movements inside of them including a rare pink mohair Pappe Moritz Helvetic clown musical bear and a Roullet & Descamp automaton polar bear.
Below are some examples and price guides of musical teddy bears including a Steiff Millennium Band and a Moritz Pappe Bear.
Steiff Millennium Band. 2000. Edition of 2,000. Large boxed set including five musical bears dressed in velvet jackets, wooden stage with velvet curtains, and marquee reading Greeting the Millenium. With a Reuge music box which plays “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Stage height 17 ½”. In original box with certificate.
Sold for US$250 at
Potter & Potter Auctions in 2022
STEIFF 1950s-era Steiff musical Teddy bear. Fully joined, 38 cm tall, and made from mohair. Brown and black pupil eyes and black facial and claw stitching. With working squeeze music box and red felt circle on belly with the word “music” on it. With raised script button and nonlegible yellow ear tag as IDs. In good to very good condition with generalized playwear, especially to torso area.
Sold for €850 at Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH in 2022
Early 20th c. Jointed Bear, with glass eyes, stitched nose, mouth and paws; jointed neck, shoulders and hips; press on his back and music plays; 18″ high. Fur losses and wear, bald spots.
Sold for US$250 at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in 2021
This 20″ five way jointed musical bellows bear is now attributed to Moritz Pappe, a German company which flourished during the 1920’s. Previously these teddies are referred to as “Helvetic” bears but no documentation has surfaced to reveal the company’s existence. The word “Helvetica” found on some of the bellows may simply mean that the musical mechanism was Swiss made. Helvetica is a Latin adjective for Switzerland. What is unquestionable is the extraordinary quality of the music emanating from the softly faded pink mohair bear with the huge glass eyes.
Sold for US$550 at Dan Morphy Auctions in 2018