First Paddington Bear

The very first two plush Paddington Bears were created by Shirley Clarkson, of Gabrielle Designs of England, in 1971. The Gabrielle design was registered and first marketed in 1972. The plush bear quickly became very popular and in the peak production years of the mid/late 1970s, more than 100,000 bears a year were sold. These later bears are fairly common in the second-hand market. They are identifiable by a silk Gabrielle Designs label at the back of the neck indicating a design registration year of 1972 and the number 957892. However, the earliest Gabrielle bears do not have this label as they were made before the registration number was obtained. To authenticate a pre-registration Gabrielle bear, look for certain features to be different from the later bears: slightly darker fur; rounder head with eyes set higher; smaller, dimpled nose; stumpy legs with no hint of toe; round, felt foot pads in lighter shades of brown; and wider space between the legs. In addition, they should have the traditional duffle coat, hat with pin, Dunlop Wellington boots and luggage label, but these are also different: duffle coats in thick felt of rare early colors, with olive green and cerise pink being highly sought after; Dunlop Wellington boots, usually size 4, possibly in rare colors including white or black; and the earliest luggage labels should state "design registration applied for." I have just acquired my own pre-reg bear; see his photo here at upper left.