The Further Adventures of Two Beloved Bears: Seymour Eaton’s More About the Roosevelt Bears

In the early years of the twentieth century, a publishing phenomenon swept across America. The teddy bear craze, sparked by President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous hunting trip in 1902, had captured the nation’s imagination, and author Seymour Eaton was there to capitalize on it. His first volume, The Roosevelt Bears: Their Travels and Adventures, had introduced readers to two charming, anthropomorphic bears from Colorado—Teddy-B and Teddy-G—whose rhyming adventures delighted children and adults alike. The book’s success demanded a sequel, and in 1907, More About the Roosevelt Bears appeared, continuing the saga of America’s most famous fictional bears .

Seymour Eaton (1859–1916) was a Canadian-born American author, journalist, editor, and publisher who is credited with popularizing the term “Teddy Bear”. Writing under the pseudonym Paul Piper, he crafted his bear stories in lively, rollicking rhyme, a style that proved irresistible to young readers. The first book had been serialized in newspapers across the United States in 1905 before its publication in book form the following year. The sequel’s full title, More About Teddy B. and Teddy G., the Roosevelt Bears: Being Volume Two Depicting Their Further Travels and Adventures, announced itself as a continuation of the same winning formula .

For this second volume, a new illustrator took the reins. While V. Floyd Campbell had illustrated the first book, More About the Roosevelt Bears featured artwork by R.K. Culver . The illustrations—both full-page color plates and numerous black-and-white drawings throughout the text—captured the bears’ ongoing escapades with energy and charm. A surviving postcard from the series, depicting the Roosevelt bears dressed as firefighters putting out a blaze, was marketed as a scene from this very book, a testament to how deeply the characters had embedded themselves in popular culture . The promotional campaign was extensive; other postcards advertised the new volume as “available in 1907” at Wanamaker Book Stores, building anticipation among eager young fans .

The physical book was a substantial and handsome production. Published by Edward Stern & Company of Philadelphia, it was a quarto volume measuring approximately 28 centimeters in height, bound in quarter brown cloth over pictorial boards . The cover featured a delightful illustrated paste-down label—likely one of Culver’s images—and the spine was lettered in white. Inside, readers found approximately 186 pages of rhyming verse recounting the further adventures of their beloved bears as they continued their journey through American life .

The success of More About the Roosevelt Bears was such that it launched an entire series. The “Traveling Bears Series,” as it became known, would eventually include eight books, with this volume serving as the second . The series proved so popular that reprint editions continued to appear for decades. Barse and Hopkins published later printings between 1915 and 1917, and as late as 1916, a reprint from that publisher was still finding its audience .

Today, first editions of More About the Roosevelt Bears are prized collectibles. The book’s fragility—the delicate binding, the color plates, the tissue guards—means that surviving copies in fine condition are increasingly scarce. Yet for those fortunate enough to own one, the book offers a window into a particular moment in American cultural history: the dawn of the teddy bear craze, the heyday of illustrated children’s books, and the enduring appeal of two bears from Colorado who captured a nation’s heart. In their further travels and adventures, Teddy-B and Teddy-G live on.

Recommended for Collectors

• Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) by A.A. Milne – For the later literary evolution of anthropomorphic bears
• The Roosevelt Bears: Their Travels and Adventures (1906) – The original book introducing the beloved bear duo.
• The Adventures of Teddy Tiptop (1907) by Alice Hale Burnett – A rival contemporary teddy bear tale
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (1908), by Beatrix Potter – A classic tale with beautifully illustrated animal characters and gentle humor.

Art Gallery: Seymour Eaton – More About The Roosevelt Bears 1907