A world-famous teddy bear collection that includes the star that played Aloysius in the 80s TV dramatisation of Brideshead Revisited is to be auctioned in Newbury. The Teddy Bears of Witney collection is going under the hammer at Special Auction Services off Hambridge Lane on Tuesday, December 3 and is expected to make in excess of £150,000. The collection is owned by Ian Pout, who in 1985 opened Teddy Bears of Witney, the first shop in the UK dedicated to selling old and new teddy bears.
Since then, he has bought some of the most famous bears in the world including Aloysius c1910, who became the unexpected star of ITV’s Brideshead Revisited . His appearance was a major catalyst in the growth of the antique teddy bear market and he carries an estimate of £20,000-£30,000. Another top lot is Happy, a rare large-eyed brown tipped Steiff teddy bear c1926 which is also expected to fetch £20,000-30,000.
Happy was bought by her original owner as an anniversary present for a record price and following that travelled the world making public appearances and raising more than $100,000 for charity. Mr Pout is now scaling back his collection, but his love of bears started at a young age with Winnie-the-Pooh and his enjoyment at being read the stories by his father. Pooh is very well represented in the auction and the highlight is a handwritten letter signed Ernest H Shepard and dated 1971 which explains that the model for Pooh bear in the books was actually his son’s Steiff bear �.