Teddy Roosevelt campaign ribbon

Here's a new Teddy Roosevelt 11-inch campaign ribbon.

It starts with a sepia, or brown tone, photograph of Theodore Roosevelt set in a metal wreath. A pair of small brass-plated bears is attached below the photo.

A red, white and blue stars and stripes ribbon joins the portrait with a 5-inch bear. The fully jointed mohair bear has shoe-button eyes and embroidered nose and claws.

Eyes made of common shoe buttons and embroidered muzzles are found on the earliest authentic teddy bears made ca. 1903-1920. Although the new ribbon does not copy a specific campaign original, a number of authentic Roosevelt pieces do include bears, "big sticks" and pince-nez eyeglasses joined in a similar manner.

The catalog in which the new piece was offered described the wreath, brass bears pin and small flag as "antique."