The Stuff that Bears are Made of

Lovable, huggable, coveted and a source of comfort to lonely kids and broken hearts - the button-in-ear Steiff teddies turn 100 this year. And the German town of Giengen in Baden-Würrtemberg, the birthplace of the furry bears, is gearing up to celebrate the stuffed creations of the Margarete Steiff company.

Today, Steiff produces the widest range of stuffed animals in the world. Last year alone, the Baden-Würrtemberg company sold around 1,5 million plush toys. Every third toy was a teddy bear.

When in 1877 Margarete Steiff along with her sister Pauline started a felt store in Giengen on the river Brenz, little did she imagine that one day she would have not just children but also adults around the world coveting her teddy bears.

Felt Elephant and Button-in-ear

The phenomenal success of Steiff didn’t begin with the famous Teddy Bear, but with a felt elephant, which Margarete Steiff gifted her sister-in-law for Christmas in 1880.

At the time the soft elephant used as a pin cushion became a popular toy with children. 596 felt elephants sold at the market fair in Giengen.

In 1904 Margarete Steiff informed her customers by letter: "The trademark (elephant with S-shaped trunk on a little nickel button) will now be fastened without exception in the left ear of every piece. Legal protection for this way of attachment is applied for."

The trademark application was granted on May 14, 1905. The button-in-ear not only acts as a trademark, but also as a quality brand.
Launch of the Teddies

The story of the famous Steiff Teddy Bears began in October 1902, when Richard Steiff, Margarete Steiff’s nephew, working for the family firm in Giengen, saw a troupe of performing bears in an American circus. The furry creatures sparked off an idea for a new toy.

The plump bears were a runaway success at the Spring Toy Fair at Leipzig in 1902. An American buyer ordered 3000 of the first bears of the type 55 PB (55cm large P=Plush, B=beweglich or movable) on the spot. That marked the advent of the cuddly bears around the world.

The name "teddy bear" was coined around the same time, after the US President Theodore Roosevelt refused to skin a bear during a hunting trip. The "Washington Post" referred to him as "bear-friendly Teddy Roosevelt" in a cartoon. In 1908, Steiff adopted the American President’s nickname for its bears.

The "Bear Years," 1903-1908, saw the number of bears produced annually rise from 12,000 to an incredible 975,000.

Teddy Fans

Steiff bears made of pure mohair in various shades have set several records at auction houses worldwide, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s of London.

The Steiff Company is also the original manufacturer of the first stuffed Mickey and Minnie Mouse. There are some 13,000 Steiff animals and dolls located in the Giengen archives in Germany.

And teddy fans around the world don’t just include children. Amazingly, most Steiff customers in Japan and America are adults. Some of the prominent collectors mentioned in the Steiff jubilee catalogue include DaimlerChrysler board member Jürgen Hubbert and the German Federal Bank Director, Thomas Lo. Way to go Teddy!