This might have been my mother’s but I can\'t be sure. She was born in 1923.About 24” tall and 8” wide at the shoulders. Shows a lot of wear. The eyes are different. The left one is original.  The arms flex some and there is a lot of play in the cardboard plates beneath the material at the  shoulders. There is a lot of wear on the inside of the right arm where it rubs against the body.The worst wear is at the base of the head and top of the body where the head attaches. A cardboard? plate has worn through the material at the bottom of the head and has been unprofessionally stitched to the head. The plate is pretty tight to the head.The connection between the head and body is very weak, floppy and frail.At the top of the body, it feels like there is another cardboard plate beneath the material. The only thing keeping that plate there appears to be the worn material. It flexes and moves every which way.The body is firm in the front but in the back, it is dented and soft to the touch.Please let me know if you have any questions about this piece. Appraisal from bearsandbuds:You have an American beauty! The head and chest joint, is a very common problem with the weight of such a large head. The joints should have probably been larger when he was manufactured! It is most likely an Ideal, circa 1915-20. The gold mohair is in good condition, aside from the frontal neck section. This is the larger sized bear, 24\" was less common than 20\". The left eye is original, an amber glass with black pupil on a wire which was simply inserted into the head. The shoe button replacement is what they used in the early years of making teddy bears. For this size bear it would be a larger shoe button, and not totally a sphere but somewhat flat on the back, and then the front piece would be the circular raised design. Glass eyes came after 1909. His simple cord nose and mouth are very well done and original. An experienced restorer could redo the neck joint and gently fill in the excelsior where it has settled. With this \"wood shaving\" as filling, the fragile mohair can be stressed. That is why we refer to the wood part in the excelsior, so you can actually massage the additional excelsior, to make it more pliable. The football shaped body, simple upturned nose, and the stitching on the bear are all Ideal\'s characteristics. The wool felt pads are replacements, and well done. American wool was not as strong as the German counterpoints, so replaced pads are common. With the proper, gentle repair he will last another 90 years! Keep him away from light and heat and perhaps some humidity will help with the excelsior. Just adding open vessels of water in the winter to counter the furnace drying heat is recommended. Value for your large bear is $1,500.00

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