April 2002 (Newstream) -- Beginning April 8th Appraisal Day Auction Gallery, New England's leading auction house, will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the teddy bear with an online auction through eBay of approximately 4,000 vintage & limited edition teddy bears with no reserve.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt had refused to shoot a bear on a hunting expedition in Mississippi and the incident prompted a cartoon that appeared in the Washington Post. Teddy bear collectors point to this cartoon in 1902 as the beginning of the teddy bear collecting craze. Appraisal Day Auction Gallery will be featuring many of these original, rare bears from the early 1900's in the auction with some expected to sell for over $10,000 dollars each.

Appraisal Day Auction Gallery in Lunenburg, Massachusetts is owned by Paul Royka, a nationally known antiques expert, author of several books and an appraiser on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. The auction gallery presents collections of art, antiques & collectibles in an innovative format where the items that are selling online can be previewed in person at the gallery. The gallery also holds live auctions that are broadcast online enabling bidders from all over the world to bid in their live auctions.

"Our innovative auction format, digital color photography & national marketing allows 42 million potential buyers from all over the world to participate in our auctions," said Paul Royka, owner of Appraisal Day Auction Gallery. "We are able to advise clients which items will sell better solely online through eBay or in our live auctions which are also broadcasted online allowing people to bid online or in person. By combing online sales with the ability to see the items in person, we are setting auction records resulting in estate attorneys, trusts, museums & institutions to recommend our innovative services to their clients."

The collection of approximately 4,000 vintage teddy bears is the collection of Ellie Kuhner, a longtime collector and maker of the Ellie bear. Part I of the auction begins on April 8th running until April 15 consisting of very rare Steiff, Ideal, Bing, Schuco, Farnell, Chad Valley, Merrythought, Knickerbocker & other teddy bear makers. Part II of the auction begins on April 16th consisting of modern collector bears including Steiff, Gund, Hermann & more. Starting April 8th, Part I of the auction can be viewed online at http://www.AppraisalDay.com or at the gallery located at 3 Main Street, Lunenburg, MA.

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