This is a great example of an early antique Aetna teddy bear. She is 16 inches tall, has brown and black glass eyes, is fully jointed, has cardboard lined feet and retains about 90% of her mohair. She is all original and all joints move perfectly. These bears are more rare than Steiff and were made for a very short period of time. I believe this bear is from 1906 or earlier. You can read about these bears on page 47 of the Teddy Bear Encyclopedia by Pauline Cockrill. I think this is an earlier bear based on the unusual foot stamp. Here is an article I found on the web about these bears, which makes me think this bear may have been made prior to 1906.

The Keystone Novelty Company changed its name to the Aetna Bear of the Aetna Novelty Company in the latter half of 1906. The bears produced and distributed by George Borgfeldt were fully jointed and marked with an Aetna stamp on each right foot pad. Could the label be KNC?

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