Our story starts on a bear hunt in Mississippi, 1902. On being presented with an injured bear tied to a tree, American president Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot it, declaring it unsportsmanlike to kill a defenceless animal. Afterwards, a cartoon depicting the incident appeared in The Washington Post and the story inspired sweet-shop owner Morris Michtom to commission a stuffed toy bear, which he placed in his shop window with a label reading ‘Teddy Bear’ (Teddy, of course, being the president’s nickname).

The bear immediately proved a hit with customers, and Michtom wrote to President Roosevelt seeking his permission to produce the toy commercially. Permission granted, the traditional teddy bear was born and, alongside demand for Germany’s Steiff toys – which began exporting its own bears at around the same time – the market exploded. 

Indeed, by 1923, a teddy bear featured in the Peter Jones Christmas catalogue. Seated alongside dolls, a monkey, a dog and a bunny rabbit, Lewis’s great-great-grandparent boasted long arms and was designed to stand on all fours. Costing five shillings and sixpence, the toy was crafted by Chad Valley and sold well in the Chelsea store’s toy department, which would pop up at Christmas to supply children’s gifts. 

As we evolved to become an icon of the British high street, our toy departments also became a permanent, much-loved addition. In the following 99 years, the John Lewis Partnership has continued creating teddies for children – in fact, we’ve lost count of how many we’ve sold. As a result, a large assortment of bears soon became a popular draw for customers young and old, including those made by the historic British manufacturer Merrythought, whose toys are still stocked in store today.

Our first Lewis Bear – with his distinctive embroidered feet – first appeared in 2005, and a further 16 bears have delighted children and collectors since his inception. He’s been dressed as a soldier and wrapped in a knitted scarf – and although it wasn’t actually Lewis who appeared in our 2013 Christmas advert, The Bear and The Hare, it demonstrated just how intrinsic bear motifs have become to spreading festive family joy.

So, to celebrate Lewis and his contribution to making John Lewis the home of Christmas, this year he’s bagged a sneaky cameo in our Christmas ad (see if you can spot him here). 

But this Christmas, Lewis also has a much more important role to play. 

He’s helping our Building Happier Futures fund to support young people from care – 25% of all sales of our Lewis Bear collection will be donated to our Building Happier Futures programme, which will help two charities: Action for Children and Who Cares? Scotland. For more information click here.