M. Pintel Fils was the earliest manufacturer of plush teddy bears in France. Marcel Pintel started making stuffed toys for his father’s firm in Paris in 1913. The first Pintel teddy bear was a mechanical tumbling clown that appeared in their 1911 catalog and in 1913 their trademark featuring two embracing bears was registered. During World War I production slowed but by 1919 they developed a new line of stuffed animals and dolls. A year later, they produced their first mohair bears with firm filling and tapering limbs. The bears became so popular that they received help from other bear makers like Thiennot. The company closed down during World War II but started up again after the war using whatever materials they could find. They continued to produce Pintel bears until 1976 when the business closed.

Typical Features Of Early Pintel Bears
Tapered arms
Eyes stitched into the back of the head
Long, large feet
Vertical nose stitching with a longer stitch at either end
Cotton paw pads with three claws
Long limbs
Voice box
Metal identification button attached to the chest until the 1930′s

Typical Features Of Later Pintel Bears
Fully jointed
Glass eyes
Paw pads
Claws
Button attached to the chest
Stitched noses
Large feet

Between 1927 and 1930 Pintel produced a number of bears that were mounted on wheels and tricycles.

O’Lis is a toy manufacturer in France but also produced teddy bears in the 1950′s. One of the more famous O’Lis bears is Winnie the Pooh made for Walt Disney.

Jan Jac was a teddy bear manufacturer based in Paris, France in the 1950′s. Typical Jan Jac bears had short arms, a square face, red felt tongues and long, shaggy mohair.

Emile Thiennot used to work for Marcel Pintel but set up his own toy manufacturing company in 1919 out of Piney selling bears and other stuffed animals under the name Le Jouet Champenois. In 1920 he won a medal for one of his teddy bears at a competition in France. In 1957 the firm changed its name to Creation Tieno and closed down in January 1993. Emile Thiennot made teddy bears mainly of synthetic plush and were designed for young babies and also made replicas of early designs.

Alfa or Article de Luxe Fabrication Artisande was founded in 1934 and produced it’s first bears in 1936. They are French bears that were very popular for the next 40 years.

Alfa Paris teddy bears have “Alfa” printed underneath the right foot. They have big smiles, most are dressed, with some wearing even underwear and shoes. They are best known for their unjointed bears dressed as little girls or boys. The body and arms are made of fabric with the visible parts made of mohair. Their clothes are usually made of gingham or dotted material with matching shoes. After WWII, synthetic materials replaced mohair and the eyes were made by plastic instead of glass.