The Tuxedo Historical Society will be raffling off a collectible “Polar, The Titanic Bear” produced by the Steiff Company in Germany. According to Times Herald-Record:

“Polar” has special significance for the Tuxedo community: Tuxedo Park residents Daisy and Frederic Spedden and their young son Douglas were aboard Titanic on that fateful voyage. On the night of the disaster, Polar, a beloved Steiff bear purchased at FAO Schwarz, was tucked under little Douglas’s arm as the Speddens were lowered down the side of Titanic into a life boat. After the survivors were swung up the side of the rescue ship, Polar was forgotten in the empty lifeboat until a sailor found him and returned him to Douglas.In a 1913 manuscript intended as a Christmas gift for Douglas, Daisy Spedden told this remarkable story through the eyes of Polar.The original manuscript was found decades later by Leighton Coleman, a Spedden relative, in a trunk of family memorabilia about to be discarded. In 1994, Coleman published the manuscript as a book, “Polar, the Titanic Bear,” which went on to win several awards for outstanding children’s literature.

The Steiff bear is 2012 limited edition North American white tag (only 1500 produced). Raffle tickets are $10 and available through Tuxedo Historical Society. The raffle takes place on 9 Dec at the society’s annual Fair Trade Holiday Craft Sale. The drawing will take place on Sunday at 3pm. You do not need to be present to win.

Source: Times Herald-Record, Tuxedo Historical Society To Raffle Steiff Titanic Bear, Book, 4 Dec 2012