Teddy bear collection fetches £290,000 at auction

A large collection of rare teddy bears, including one that starred in the 1980s TV drama Brideshead Revisited, has fetched more than £290,000 at auction.

Aloysius, which was made in 1910 and featured in the ITV series, had been part of the collection at the Teddy Bears of Witney shop prior to going under the hammer.

Ian Pout, the shop's owner, previously told the BBC he had decided to sell much of his collection because of his age.

The collection, which had been predicted to fetch about £150,000, was sold by Special Auction Services (SAS), based in Newbury.

Aloysius was the teddy bear of Lord Sebastian Flyte in the TV period drama Brideshead Revisited, which was inspired by Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name.

It sold at the auction for £26,000.

Mr Pout, who has been collecting the soft toys for more than four decades, said prior to the auction: "To say that it will be sad to part with the collection is an understatement."

The only bears kept by Mr Pout are one from his own childhood and another from his 35th wedding anniversary, he said.

"For better or for worse, the decision is taken and, if we are to part company, I have decided there would be no cherry picking."

"If any of them bring tears of joy to their new owners I will be happy."

Another highlight of Mr Pout's collection that went under the hammer was Happy, a rare large-eyed brown tipped Steiff teddy bear from 1926 - which fetched £45,000.

A handwritten letter from 1971 by Ernest H Shepard, the artist most famous for illustrating the characters in the Winnie-the-Pooh books, also sold for £14,000.

In the note he explains that the model for Pooh bear in the books was actually his son’s Steiff bear Growler.

Daniel Agnew, SAS' teddy bear and doll consultant, said the bears had been sold mainly to private collectors from all over the world.

"It's the end of an era seeing this collection leave the shop in Witney," he added.

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