stuffed animal: Holiday Fair: Lil Quack

Dream Pets, miniature stuffed animals made of velveteen and filled with sawdust, originated in Japan in 1957 as created by toy designers Tochigi Mongi and Tomy. The manufacturer used the toys as packing material for a shipment of battery-operated toy trains ordered by R. Dankin & Co. Roger Dankin, president of the company, was delighted by these animals. He immediately placed an order by cable to Japan for 25 dozen of the velveteen toys. By 1961, Virginia Kemp, Dankin����_��s senior designer, was designing Dream Pets. By the end of 1979, Dream Pets consisted of more than 2,000 different characters. During the mid-century, other toy manufacturers produced similar stuffed animal figures, which remain popular among collectors today.