This kind-hearted cinny Steiff ted, Alfie, is on a global warming mission, to help save the polar bears from melting ice caps. It’s a huge task, for one so small – only 20cm (8″) high – but Alfie thinks big, and believes nothing is impossible.

He dates to c.1910 (no button), and is woodwool-stuffed with a lean saggy torso. This is due to his self-imposed protest diet – he’s given up eating honey! Made without paw-pads, Alfie retains his original shoebutton eyes and felt footpads, both with small repairs, while his nose and mouth have been resewn. A few of Alfie’s claws are still intact on his paws and feet.

There’s a small area of darning to his upper right arm, and a little hole to the right side of his elegant pointy muzzle. On the whole, though, Alfie is a sturdy little bear, and he’s fully-mobile too, with all joints in good working order – a necessity for his ‘Save the Polar Bears’ campaign.

He also has an an impressive coverage of mohair, albeit with a few bald patches, and thinning here and there. Despite a degree of fading in some places, overall, Alfie’s fur has withstood the test of time and remains a good colour.

Ready to hit the polar campaign trail, he’s wearing his knitted dungarees and hat, pinned with a statement badge, along with an antique hallmarked silver teddy bear charm. Alfie also travels with a souvenir postcard of Mother Ivy & Baby Brumas – the first polar bear to be successfully born in the UK at London Zoo in 1949.