Former U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt was known for his love of hunting. The teddy bear toy was actually named after the President following a bear hunting trip.

There are several collectibles, including cards, depicting Roosevelt as either a hunter or mentioning his association with the teddy bear.

A set of game cards was released during his presidency that seems to play off of a Roosevelt bear hunting trip.

The game is simply called, “The Game of Teddy Bear.” Even without the mention of Roosevelt, it is clear it depicts the former President with his likeness.

That likeness isn’t necessarily seen on the box. The box, shown here, pictures a bear dressed up in Roosevelt’s clothes. Yet it is clearly seen on the actual cards in the set as Roosevelt is pictured in his trademark hat, hunting outfit, and tie.

From what I can tell, the set includes a total of 95 cards. There are nine different numbered cards in the set, which graphically tell the story of Roosevelt killing a bear on a hunt. That is ironic, given the teddy bear moniker supposedly came about when Roosevelt staffers lured a bear for him to kill and he refused, deeming it unsportsmanlike. There are nine copies of each of those nine cards for a total of 81. Seven additional “Help” cards and “Teddy Bear” cards give us the total of 95.

Finding information this set seems to be nearly impossible. However, the few references I have seen date it to 1907.

This article will outline the various cards in the set. A slideshow at the end of the article will show pictures of each card in the set.

The set begins with cards numbered with a 1. These cards picture Roosevelt heading out for a hunt. No. 2 cards picture Roosevelt with his dog and the cards with a No. 3 picture the pair picking up a scent.

Cards No. 4 and No. 5 show Roosevelt and his dog finally spotting a bear. Cards with No. 6 on them depict Roosevelt taking aim with his gun.

By Card No. 7, though, the bear starts to fight back. And on Card No. 8, Roosevelt finds himself in real trouble with his gun on the ground and now wielding only a knife as the bear has him in his grasp.

The final numbered cards, though, show Roosevelt to be the victor with a bloody knife. and standing atop the animal.

There are two other cards in the game. One set simply has the words, “Teddy Bear” on them with the bear holding up Roosevelt with the gun. The other shows an older hunter on the scene with his own knife, seemingly trying to help Roosevelt, who is struggling with the bear.

Unfortunately, while there must be an objective to this game, I have yet to uncover it. I’ve only seen the box and the cards for this game. While instructions must exist, I have yet to see them.

Backs of the cards are somewhat interesting. Printed in blue ink, they depict a bear with hunting dogs seemingly gnawing at the legs. The only other interesting point is regarding the numbering. Each of the numbered cards have the number in all four corners with the numbers on the bottom upside down. This can cause some minor confusion as to the cards numbered ‘6’ and ‘9’, but they are easy to figure out as the numbers at the top of each card are ‘upright’ and in the correct position.

Here are images of all of the different cards in the game.

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