The Teddy Bear is celebrating its 100th birthday and a London auctioneer has unveiled a special sale to mark the milestone.

　　More than 380 rare bears will go under the hammer at Christie's South Kensington auction house next week with some extra special specimens expected to fetch up to￡30,000.

　　The cuddly toys will come from all over the world and created by some of the biggest names including Steiff, Schuco, Farnell and Merrythought.

　　Estimates range from￡150 to￡30,000 and one bear, a very rare Steiff hot-water bottle teddy bear, created around 1907, is estimated at￡15,000-20,000.

　　The Teddy Bear got its name after US President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, refused to shoot a tethered bear cub while on a hunting trip in November 1902. The Washington Post picked up on the story and toy shop owner, Morris Michtom from Brooklyn, New York, went on to create a toy bear naming it "Teddy's Bear".

　　A spokeswoman for Christie's said: "The rest, as they say, is history."

　　The sale, 100 Years of the Teddy Bear, will be held on Monday December 3 from 1pm.