Vintage Chad Valley Chiltern Hygienic Toys Plush Teddy Bear 1960's

History:

This company was Established in 1897,when the original company of Johnson Brothers added games to its stationery range under the management of Joseph and Alfred Johnson.

In 1920 the company renamed The Chad Valley Co. Ltd and another factory, the Wrekin Toy Works was opened in Wellington, Shropshire. A Royal Warrant was received in 1938.

This company was one of the UK's leading toymakers for most of the 20th century; by 1960 it was operating seven factories and employing over 1,000 people. In the 1970s, however, it closed several factories and cuts were made in staffing and production, and 1975 saw only two factories remaining.

Chad Valley merged with Chiltern in 1967, after which their labels read Chad Valley/Chiltern and this label existed until 1978, when they were taken over by 'Palitoy. ' 

The brand name was bought by Woolworths in 1988 and remained in use until that company's insolvency in 2009. Home Retail Group, the parent company of retailers Homebase and Argos, purchased the brand for £5 million in January 2009. The Chad Valley brand is now available exclusively at Argos. In March 2016, Sainsbury's bought Home Retail Group for approximately £1.4 billion and Chad Valley became a brand of Sainsbury's.

This bear is an original Chad Valley Chiltern Hygienic Bear...and he does like his cakes and ice-cream.

He is made of cream plush fur and has beige velour foot pads . He is in excellent condition for his age. 

His safety plastic eyes are medium topaz and he has a black embroidered nose and mouth, with a "Chad Valley Chiltern Hygienic Toys ,Made In England" label on his side.

His height is approx 47cm.

This is a collectors item and not suitable for children.