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Draft of edits to Stuffed toy

[edit]

New organization

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  • History
    • Sock monkey information under "Handcrafted" subheading will be moved here
  • Description (is this heading even needed, or does it provide too many unnecessary details that could be removed or worked in elsewhere? Many other toy articles don't have a description section. I think I'll leave it in for now and just edit the content for a neutral, encyclopedic tone.)
  • Production
    • Lead information about materials will be moved here
    • Amigurumi information under "Handcrafted" subheading will be moved here
    • If I can find enough information, this section might contain subheadings for commercial/mass production and handcrafting
  • Cultural Impact
    • Lead information about uses (as comfort objects, gifts, etc.) will be moved here
    • Information under "Brand" and "Virtual brand" subheadings will be moved here and placed under a "Fads" subheading

New history section

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The first stuffed toy was a felt elephant originally sold as a pincushion, created by the German Steiff company in 1880.[1] Steiff used newly developed technology for manufacturing upholstery to make their stuffed toys.[2] In 1892, the Ithaca Kitty became one of the first mass-produced stuffed animal toys in the United States.[3]

The toy industry significantly expanded in the early 20th century. In 1903 Richard Steiff designed a soft stuffed bear that differed from earlier traditional rag dolls, because it was made of plush furlike fabric.[2] At the same time in the US, Morris Michtom created the first teddy bear after being inspired by a drawing of President "Teddy" Roosevelt with a bear cub.[4] In 1903, the character Peter Rabbit from English author Beatrix Potter was the first stuffed toy to be patented.[5] The popularity of stuffed toys grew, with numerous manufacturers forming in Germany, the U.K.[1] and the U.S.[2] Many people also handmade their own stuffed toys. For instance, sock monkeys originated when parents turned old socks into toys during the Great Depression.[6]

Production section

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Stuffed toys are made from a range of materials. The earliest were created from felt, velvet, or mohair and stuffed with straw, horsehair, or sawdust.[1][7] Following World War II, manufacturers began to adopt more synthetic materials into production,[1] and in 1954, the first teddy bear made from easily washable materials was produced. [8] Modern stuffed toys are commonly constructed of outer fabrics such as plain cloth, pile textiles like plush or terrycloth, or sometimes socks. Common stuffing materials include synthetic fiber, batting, cotton, straw, wood wool, plastic pellets, and beans. Some modern toys incorporate technology to move and interact with children. [9]

Manufacturers sell two main types of stuffed toys: licensed, which are toys of characters or other licensed properties, or basic, which take the shape of ordinary animals or other non-licensed subjects.[9]

Stuffed toys can also be homemade from numerous types of fabric or yarn. For instance, Amigurumi is a Japanese type of knitted or crocheted stuffed toy typically made with an oversized head and undersized extremities to look cute.[10][11]

Cultural Impact

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Stuffed toys are among the most popular toys, especially for children ranging in age from toddlers to pre-teens. [citation needed] Their uses include imaginative play, comfort objects, display or collecting, and gifts to both children and adults for occasions such as graduations, illness, condolences, Valentine's Day, Christmas, or birthdays. In 2017, stuffed toys produced $1.3 billion in sales, and they are abundant in many houses. [12]

Fads

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Many toys have become fads that have boosted the stuffed toy industry overall.[9] Teddy bears were an early fad that quickly grew into a cultural phenomenon.[2] Close to 100 years later, in the 1990s, Ty Warner created Beanie Babies, a series of animals stuffed with plastic pellets. The toys became a fad through marketing strategies that increased demand and encouraged collection.[13] [14] Pillow Pets, which can be folded from a pillow into a stuffed animal, were another successful brand, which launched in 2003 and sold more than 30 million toys between 2010-16. [15]

Other recent fads have involved toys paired with technology. Tickle Me Elmo, a laughing and shaking plush toy based on the character Elmo from the Sesame Street television show, was released in 1996 and was soon in-demand, with some people buying and reselling the toy for hundreds of dollars.[16] This popularity sparked similar fads, including the robotic talking plush toy Furby released in 1998[17] and Zhu Zhu Pets, a line of robotic plush hamsters released in 2009.[18][19]

The internet also presented an opportunity for new stuffed toy fads. In 2005, Ganz launched its Webkinz stuffed toys, which came with a unique "Secret Code" that gave access to the Webkinz World website and a virtual version of the toy for online play.[20][21] Webkinz's success inspired the creation of other stuffed toys containing codes to unlock digital content, such as the former online worlds Disney's Club Penguin and Build-A-Bearville from Build-A-Bear Workshop. In 2013, Disney launched its first collection of Disney Tsum Tsum stuffed toys based on characters from different Disney properties. Inspired by the popular app of the same name, Tsum Tsums were first released in Japan before expanding to the United States.[22]

  1. ^ a b c d Soft toys. (2003). In J. Miller (Ed.), Miller's antiques encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Mitchell Beazley.
  2. ^ a b c d Gary S. Cross (1999). Kids' Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood. Harvard University Press. pp. 93–94. Archived from the original on 2016-01-04.
  3. ^ Sachse, Gretchen (2016-07-28). "Ithaca Kitty was a success across America". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. Retrieved 2016-08-02.
  4. ^ "Teddy Bears". Library Of Congress. Archived from the original on 2009-12-05. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  5. ^ "The life of Beatrix Potter - Peter Rabbit". peterrabbit.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17.
  6. ^ Boschma, Janie (2007-11-05). "History of the sock monkey: Stuffed animal created during the Great Depression". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  7. ^ Jaffé, Deborah (2006). The History of Toys: From Spinning Tops to Robots. Sutton Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 0-7509-3850-1.
  8. ^ Laliberte, Marissa (2019). "11 Adorable Facts You Never Knew About Teddy Bears". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 2020-10-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b c Byrne, Christopher (2013). A Profile of the United States Toy Industry : Serious Fun. Business Expert Press. pp. 14, 62–63.
  10. ^ Mary Beth Temple (2009). Hooked for Life: Adventures of a Crochet Zealot. Andrews McMeel. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-0-7407-7812-4. Retrieved 2010-03-20. Amigurumi.
  11. ^ Mary Belton (2006). Craft, Volume 1: Transforming Traditional Crafts. O'Reilly Media. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-0-596-52928-4. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
  12. ^ Byron, Ellen (2017-10-07). "Too Many Stuffed Animals? Time to Call the Exterminator". The Wall Street Journal.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Wickman, Kase (August 30, 2017). "The Life and Death of the Princess Diana Beanie Baby Market". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  14. ^ Getlen, Larry (2015-02-22). "How the Beanie Baby craze was concocted — then crashed". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  15. ^ Glazer, Joyce A. "Celebrating Women: Jennifer Telfer". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  16. ^ "Just Tickled" Archived 2014-06-02 at the Wayback Machine. People, January 13, 1997.
  17. ^ "New toy an interactive fur ball". CNN. 1998-10-05. Archived from the original on 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  18. ^ Vicki Mabrey; Kinga Janik (November 20, 2009). "Zhu Zhu Pets: Hamsters to Save Christmas?". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2009.
  19. ^ Anderson, Mae (November 27, 2009). "Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze". Denver Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  20. ^ Pardo, Steve (2007-04-11). "Kids hooked on Webkinz world". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  21. ^ Barakat, Matthew (2007-07-13). "Review: Webkinz pleases parents and children". NBC News. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  22. ^ Walujono, Amanda (2015-02-26). "How Disney's Tsum Tsum Craze is Taking America By Storm". Character Media. Retrieved 2020-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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