Rare Titanic commemorative teddy expected to reach £12,000

A RARE Steiff black Teddy Bear which was made to commemorate the sinking of the Titanic is expected to fetch up to £12,000 when it goes to auction in Newbury today (Thursday).
The month after the disaster, in mid May 1912, an order was placed by Steiff to the mohair manufacturer Schulte Cloth, for a large quantity of black mohair.
This particular size bear is one of only eighty-two made and was given to a little girl, Rita Maud Skoyles, who was four years old when she received him. She never married, becoming a teacher and kept the bear with her all her life.
The teddy comes with a period photograph of the original owner aged about two. It has been given an estimate of £8,000 to £12,000.