Bel Air/Steiff Teddy Bears UK

Margarete Steiff Invented the Soft Toy in 1880 when she made a felt Elephant and then started makinf Soft Toys for children,

Richard Steiff (Margarete’s Nephew) born on February 7th, 1877 in Giengen, was a German designer. He attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Stuttgart, where he developed and perfected his skills as a toy maker. In 1897 having successfully completing his schooling, Steiff joined his Aunt Margarete’s toymaking company and initially started work on a number of other projects before being inspired by a trip to Nill’scher Zoo in the summer of 1902. This particular trip he spent much of his time drawing the residents of the bear enclosure. His sketches of the bear were incorporated into the prototype of the toy Steiff bear he created in 1902 and codenamed Steiff Bär 55 PB.

Steiff’s original factory

He took the Steiff bear prototype and it had its debut at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903. The Steiff bear initially attracted little attention, but its fortunes were saved when an American buyer snapped up the entire lot of 100 Steiff bears and ordered another 3,000 just before the exhibition finished. Steiff was unaware that at the same time he had produced his Steiff bear, an American toy maker and inventor, Morris Michtom had come up with his own invention, the teddy bear (named after the American President Theodore Roosevelt). He was having huge success in the US with his teddy bear. The American buyer, recognising the potential the Steiff bear could have back in the States much like Michom’s teddy bear, so took Steiff’s invention and ran with it.

Replica of Steiff Bär 55 PB, Steiff-Museum Giengen

Success in the United States quickly followed and in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair, Steiffs sold 12,000 Steiff bears and received the Gold Medal, which was the highest honour at the event. Steiff quick adopted the trademark “Steiff – Button in Ear” to fend off the vast numbers of cheap imitations and to make the company’s own high-quality products unmistakable. From 1906 onwards, the Steiff bear was known and sold as a teddy bear. Later the same year an international company was founded and still trades under the same name today, Margarete Steiff GmbH.

Today Steiff is probably the world’s premier manufacturer of high-end toys and collectibles. Steiff is internationally renowned for its exceptional quality, Steiff still utilizes traditional materials and proven manufacturing techniques to create its unique and highly prized products. We get to enjoy and collect the Steiff bear today, knowing the amazing history and origin behind this little ‘Teddy’ bear!