Meet Archibald "Buttons" Bearington

by Alex
(UK)

Old man

Someone has fixed his paws.. Sort of

This is Archibald "Buttons" Bearington, who is one of my latest editions to my hug and bless him the old boy is in a quite a state! I'd love to know a bit more about him, such as where he might have came from, how old he is etc. The person who sold him to me gave an age estimate of 20s-30s but I am somewhat sceptical as to if that is true and correct. I think personally think he is from a bit later but well loved but I may be wrong. He has no label and there is no sign that he ever had one.

He is stuffed in his chest with kapok mostly though there are some small bits of wood wool mixed in. He has had several repairs and has had his paw pads replaced. He is without hump but has a fairly long snout and arms. His head is very firmly stuffed and feels quite hard and somewhat crinkly. His hind paws are rather large and wide but the ankles are not overly skinny and the legs are jointed at the base of the body rather than at the sides.

He also contained a broken object inside his chest, some kind of squeaker or growler made from mill board or similar, a metal spring which is very rusted and some sort of canvas material, but I have no idea if it's original or even what it is/was (see pictures) and his back seam has been re sewn. His eyes have clearly been replaced with two large blue buttons and his nose is more or less completely gone and what is left appears to be made out of fabric rather than stitched. Whether that fabric nose was original or another of his many repairs I don't know.

Archibald is a larger bear about 13 inches seated and 19 or 20 inches. Standing (not including his ears) and his fur was originally a beautiful warm golden colour made of a fabulous long ( approx 1cm) mohair. Sadly he had lost nearly all his fur from his face, arms and chest although he has rather a lot left on his legs, which makes him look like he's wearing furry leg warmers!
Despite all this he has a wonderful personality and has clearly been genuinely loved and has seen quite a life.
Any information whatsoever on this handsome elder gentleman would be very very much appreciated. :)
Thankyou in advance for any help or comments! X x