A History of Steiff Teddy Bears
Margarete Steiff, the founder of Margarete Steiff GmbH, was born in 1847. At a very young age Margarete Steiff developed polio as a result of suffering from a high fever. She was paralyzed and had difficulty using her right arm. Margarete Steiff did not let this get her down. She took sewing lessons and when her sisters opened a dressmaker’s shop Margarete Steiff worked there part-time. When her sisters moved away, Margarete Steiff continued on her own. She eventually started her own business selling ready-to-wear felt clothing.
One day, in 1879, as she was flipping through a magazine she saw a pattern for a small elephant that was made of fabric. She thought the design would make a great pincushion. So, based on the pattern she saw in the magazine, Margarete Steiff sewed together her first fabric animal, an elephant - to be used as a pincushion!!! These fabric elephants grew to be very popular, not as pincushions, but as toys for children! In 1880 Margarete officially founded the Margarete Steiff GmbH company.
The fabric elephant, called “Elefantle” was the company’s first big selling item. Margarete eventually created other fabric animals to sell, including horses, monkeys, camels, pigs, mice, dogs. In 1902 Margarete Steiff‘s nephew created “Bear 55 PB” – the world’s first toy bear that had jointed legs and arms. He had the bear made with mohair plush which was very soft and dyeable. In 1903 an American businessman liked the bear so well he ordered 3,000 of them. The Steiff bears sold extremely well in the United States and from 1906 on they were called Teddy Bears after the U.S. President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. Another of Margarete Steiff‘s nephews came up with the idea for the trademark “Steiff – Button in Ear“. This was to keep other people from making cheap copies of the teddy bears.
The high-quality Steiff bears would be recognizable due to the button in the ear. In 1907 the company went international. Margarete Steiff died in 1909 from pneumonia. She was 61 years old. Her nephew’s continued running the company. Steiff went through tough times (during the war and post-war years) where Steiff had to use substiture materials to make the animals. Steiff used a cellulose material, and the bears made from this material were known as “paper teddy bear’s”. In the 1920′s people again wanted plush animals and Steiff created a new one – “Molly the Steiff dog“. This plush dog became a big seller for Steiff. In 1951 Steiff created the Mecki doll, German TV magazine Hörzu’s hedgehog mascot. Mecki became a hugh seller all over the world. Steiff animals to this day continue to be a favorite among collectors and children alike.
The Margarete Steiff GmbH company was founded in 1880. Margarete Steiff, despite being paralyzed and having a painful right arm, starting sewing dresses at an early age. As fate would have it, one day while paging through a magazine she found a pattern for a small fabric elephant. She thought this would make a great pincushion. Thus was born the first Steiff “stuffed animal“! These stuffed elephants became popular, not as pincushions but as toys for children! Shop for Vintage Steiff Bears
