The Works of John W Bratton

The Writer of the Music "Teddy Bears Picnic" and hundreds of other songs for Broadway

and this is his grave

...“ I don’t think my name is worth much in the toy bear cub business, but you are welcome to use it”, Teddy Rosevelt, US President 

If a US President had not refused to kill an old injured bear, if the incident had not been lampooned by a newspaper cartoon, if a toymaker had not asked the President to use his name, if a composer had not written an evergreen song, if a major international toymaker had not turned it into an adults' collectable, it is likely that a stuffed bear would still have been a popular cuddly toy

But put the whole lot together and you have the World wide phenomenon that is arctophilia ensuring that the teddy bear knocks the stuffing out of all other cuddlies or plushies ....including, I predict, the latest plush toys to hit the US market, Webkinz pets...but they are new and have not stood the test of time...the teddy bear has been popular now for 100 years plus