Most adults carry fond, even significant memories of their own teddy bear, a possession integral to the childhood of all but the severely deprived in America and beyond. Although these days one can find stuffed toys representing every animal from an aardvark to a zebra, the figure of the bear remains the most popular choice, among children and adults alike. By the latter part of the twentieth century, teddy bears had become something of an industry in the United States and Europe.

Both the United States and Germany lay claim to the invention of the teddy bear, each for good reasons. In fact, however, the teddy bear seems to be the product of a remarkable historical coincidence occurring in 1902. One part of the story starts in Mississippi, where President Theodore Roosevelt was on a hunting trip. One of his companions captured a black bear cub, tied...