4,000 teddy bears under hammer at Newbury expected to fetch £100k for wildlife trust

A single owner of 4,000 antique and vintage teddy bears – the largest collection ever to be sold at Special Auction Services in Newbury – will go under the hammer on Thursday, December 8, and are expected to fetch £100,000.

The bears belonged to Susan Collard, a collector since 1994, and, following her sudden death earlier this year, in accordance with her wishes they will be sold with all proceeds being donated to the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust.

The first sale of 500 lots of the best items will be on December 8, with other bears being sold in auctions through 2023.

Teddy bear expert at Special Auction Services, in Plenty Close, off Hambridge Road, Daniel Agnew said: “We are delighted to be selling the largest collection of vintage and antique bears.

"Susan’s collection represents a complete history of the bear market with examples dating from 1905 to the 1970s.

"I have known Susan since my days at Christie's where she bought regularly, she has then followed our world leading teddy bear auctions at Special Auction Services as well as buying from many regional auction houses; it is nice to see so many old friends (bears) and to be finding them new homes.”

Susan kept all the bears in her house and her husband made shelves so that they could all be displayed. Each bear was individually named and numbered by Susan and full records were cross referenced in four files and two ledgers. Makes up for auction include Steiff, Farnell, Schuco, Chiltern and Merrythought. Estimates range from £30 to £1,000.