Is it an Early Gabrielle Bear?
The most sought-after Gabrielle Paddingtons and therefore the ones likely to fetch the higher prices are the ones made in the early 1970s.
The design was first registered in 1972 and so, just because this date may appear on a label, it does NOT mean that particular bear was made in 1972.
All Paddingtons are sold with a "Please Look After This Bear. Thank You" label. However, the labels on the very early Gabrielle Bears were missing the words "Thank You". Of course, just because a Paddington is wearing on old style label does not guarantee that it is necessarily an early bear as, quite clearly, an older label could have been tied onto a newer bear.
The same applies to the boots. The early bears wore ones made by Dunlop but later bears were sold wearing custom made boots with the initials P.B. and a pawprint molded into the bottom. However, just like the labels, the boots could have been swapped over.
About the only sure way to identify one of the very early bears is to take off the boots and to look at the legs. Below are examples of what to look for:
This is the side view of an early leg. It is completely straight without even the merest hint of a foot shape.
This is the side view of a later leg. At the bottom it has a slight foot shape
This is the underside view of
a stump - i.e. a leg without a foot. The felt is much lighter in colour on this example although it did vary in shade on the very early bears.
This is the underside view of a later leg which shows a definite foot shape, as opposed to the stump which has a circular piece of felt underneath.
The design was first registered in 1972 and so, just because this date may appear on a label, it does NOT mean that particular bear was made in 1972.
All Paddingtons are sold with a "Please Look After This Bear. Thank You" label. However, the labels on the very early Gabrielle Bears were missing the words "Thank You". Of course, just because a Paddington is wearing on old style label does not guarantee that it is necessarily an early bear as, quite clearly, an older label could have been tied onto a newer bear.
The same applies to the boots. The early bears wore ones made by Dunlop but later bears were sold wearing custom made boots with the initials P.B. and a pawprint molded into the bottom. However, just like the labels, the boots could have been swapped over.
About the only sure way to identify one of the very early bears is to take off the boots and to look at the legs. Below are examples of what to look for:
a stump - i.e. a leg without a foot. The felt is much lighter in colour on this example although it did vary in shade on the very early bears.