Found on a flea market, this little bear is in poor condition.
The shape of its limbs, long and thin, and that of its muzzle suggest that it is a French bear, possibly a FADAP from around 1930.
Once dismantled, its articulation system and its padding place it in an undoubtedly earlier era.
The limbs are connected by metal rods, broken off and stopped on the outside of the limbs by a loop above a leather patch.
The padding of the body consists of balls of dried ferns, which could point to a regional or even non-commercial origin.
The damage is important :
The fur is gone
There are multiple tears all over the body.
The axes of the arms and legs are broken and have been partially torn off. They are no longer attached to the body.
The limbs and head are roughly secured with wires at the joint locations.
He has no more eyes
The ears inserted in the head by a transverse seam had to be torn off before being roughly stitched up.
The soles are roughly patched up.
After a first dusting with a blower, the bear is gently cleaned with a cloth dampened with micellar water.
After removing the old repairs, the body is opened, emptied and turned over.
All the elements constituting the bear must be reinforced from the inside by fusing a sturdy canvas. It remains to put it back where it is and to repair any snags and wear through checkpoints.
The body is then filled again with its balls of ferns, plus vegetable fibre to make up for the shortages.
The palms and soles are kept and stitched correctly.
Reconstruction of the axes of the members. Cardboard discs are placed inside the body for reinforcement to prevent further tearing.
Addition of material before closing.
Fitting new leather discs on the outside to replace missing or damaged discs.
The head only held up with large stitches. It is necessary to replace the disc and the pin for fixing to the body.
Coarse seams are redone.
The ears are removed and then sewn back together correctly.
Installation of a new felt truffle.
Old eyes pose.
Your bear must be restored ?
