vintage gift world/gorham paddington bear teddy savings piggy coin bank figurine

Description

mr. bear
do note! the gift tag that was originally attached to him from the gift world of gorham [name partially present on reverse of tag] otherwise, he's just a little dusty. he's only ever been displayed.
he is just an adorable little dude with a very gentle smile. he displays very well and he is a nice reminder of a gentler time. according to
uspto.report/TM/73302584
, «from the gift world of gorham» was trademarked from 1968 to 1989. so i can date the little dude to that time range. he retains his original plug/stopper. i honestly can't for the life of me figure out what material it is. wood? composite? ceramic? from the base to the highest point of his fisherman's hat is 6". his suitcase is 3" wide. from toes to back of suitcase is 3 1/2". marks:
attached at his neck is a partial gift tag from «from the gift world of gorham» [just barely all there]. see last image.
on his base he has stamped
© eden toys № 1978
paddington ™ bear
silver foil sticker reading
from the gift world of gorham
made in korea
about eden toys
(from: celebritydollmuseum.com/category/manufacturer/eden)
eden toys was a plush toy manufacturer. they made collectible stuffed toys of famous characters like the muppet babies, paddington bear, arthur, madeline, and steve and blue from blue's clues as well as animals and teddy bears.
eden toys was founded as a new york toy wholesaler in 1967 by the two brothers david a. and richard j. miller. together, they built the company into a leading manufacturer of infants' and preschool stuffed toys for the department store and specialty market. the company won worldwide recognition with its beatrix potter's peter rabbit and paddington bear licensed products. it continued pleasing children and parents alike with plush toys of children's television favorites into the late 1990s. they appear to have gone out of business sometime around 2001.
about gorham silver
(from: invaluable.com/blog/gorham-silver/)
from silverware to tea services, antique silver has become a timeless staple of an entertainer's toolkit. over the years, silver manufacturers around the world have introduced a variety of innovative techniques and motifs that have rendered their name in a class of its own. among the most turned-to American makers is gorham silver, a name made famous by landmark commissions for presidential families, major awards, and other prominent projects. but beyond the company's special commissions, gorham's prolific production of tea sets, serving trays, candelabra, napkin rings, silverware and more.
the u.s.-based gorham manufacturing company first opened its doors in 1831 in providence, rhode island, under the management of co-founders jabez gorham and henry webster. the intrepid duo had hoped to build a business creating smaller wares such as buttons and combs. in the late 1840s, however, when jabez handed control of the company over to his son, john, gorham's production began to focus on larger silver sets.
part of the motivation for this production move stemmed from new taxes that made the import of major european silver makers' works into the united states much more costly. having enjoyed the opportunity to tour european silver studios during past travels, gorham worked to recreate those drop presses and silversmithing techniques in his rhode island workshop. he even went so far as to hire European craftsmen, such as george wilkinson (1819–1894), to better incorporate old world style into gorham designs.
the result was the exponential growth of gorham's popularity, spurred by first lady mary todd lincoln's commission of a silver set for the white house in 1859. also contributing to gorham's growth was the introduction of both plated silver and holloware pieces by the late 1860s. during the 1890s, gorham created some of what would become their most beloved patterns. these designs, which were in part due to the vision of then-director william codman, were featured in the company's upscale boutiques in major cities like new york and served only to further the acclaim of the maker.
this inertia of success continued into the twentieth century when innovative leadership under erik magnussen ushered in incredibly popular art deco forms. by the midpoint of the century, though, america's love of silver began to wane, and in 1967 gorham was sold to textron, a providence-based industrial conglomerate. a merger with lenox holdings in 2005 would signal gorham's downfall (lenox would go bankrupt only four years later). the good news is that gorham's legacy still lives on today, in large part due to prominent commissions, like the century vase ordered by first lady julia grant for the 1876 philadelphia centennial exposition and the 1935 indianapolis 500 borg-warner trophy. gorham's enduring appeal is also a direct response to its extensive repertoire that includes a diverse array of silver pieces and services.
about paddington bear
(from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington_Bear)
paddington bear is a fictional character in children's literature. he first appeared on 13 october 1958 in the children's book a
a bear called paddington
and has been featured in more than twenty books written by british author michael bond and illustrated by peggy fortnum and other artists.
the friendly bear from «darkest peru»—with his old hat, battered suitcase, duffel coat and love of marmalade—has become a classic character from british children's literature. an anthropomorphised bear, paddington is always polite – addressing people as «mr», «mrs» and «miss», rarely by first names – and kindhearted, though he inflicts hard stares on those who incur his disapproval. he has an endless capacity for innocently getting into trouble, but he is known to «try so hard to get things right». he was discovered in london paddington station, by the (human) brown family who adopted him, and thus he gives his full name as «paddington brown» (his original peruvian name being too hard for them to pronounce).
as of june 2016, the paddington bear franchise was owned by vivendi's studiocanal. bond, however, continued to own the publishing rights to his series, which was licensed to harpercollins in april 2017 (two months before his death) for the next six years (up to 2023).
paddington books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. a much loved fictional character in the uk, a paddington bear soft toy was chosen by british tunnelers as the first item to pass through to their french counterparts when the two sides of the channel tunnel were linked in 1994. paddington bear has been adapted for television, films and appeared in commercials. the critically acclaimed and commercially successful films
paddington
(2014) and
paddington 2
(2017) were both nominated for the bafta award for outstanding british film.
marker's and/or other marks
attached at his neck is a partial gift tag from «from the gift world of gorham» [just barely all there]. see last image.
on his base he has stamped
© eden toys № 1978
paddington ™ bear
silver foil sticker reading
from the gift world of gorham
made in korea
dimensions
from the base to the highest point of his fisherman's hat is 6". his suitcase is 3" wide. from toes to back of suitcase is 3 1/2".
condition
do note! the gift tag that was originally attached to him from the gift world of gorham [name partially present on reverse of tag] otherwise, he's just a little dusty. he's only ever been displayed.
the fine print
the images are the majority of the listing description, so take a look at them closely.
shipping costs have really increased—this is calculated into the buy-it-now price.
i am not able to sell individual items from items i have listed as a group. i just don't have the stamina to create new listings for those. i apologize for that. i haven't initially individually listed items because i don't have enough listing slots to so.
trying to downsize some, though extremely melancholically.
shipping time: i otherwise work more than full time and my health isn't great, so kindly excuse the longer handling time. if i am able to ship sooner, i absolutely will do that
. i appreciate you taking the time to view my listing.