or as the bear came to his name
The German part from the story beginns 1902 in October, where Richard Steiff, the nephew from Magarete Steiff, working for the family firm in Giengen, search after a idea for a new toy. In an American circus saw he a troupe of performing bears, and they sparked off the idea for a new toy. There had been bear toys before but these had all been copies of real bears. The new toy should become different. Margarete Steiff liked the idea, and Richard set to work on visiting zoos to sketch the bears. He make the first bear, but Margarete Steiff was not convinced of the bear. She finds him too plump and is very sceptical. But the bear comes with the other toys from Steiff to the 1903 Spring Toy Fair at Leipzig, but - to Richard's disappointment, nobody seemed interested. Legend has it that it was only as Richard was packing away the stand at the end of the fair, that an American toy buyer came up to him, seized the bear, and ordered 3000 on the spot. There were bears of the type 55PB (55cm large P=Plush, B=beweglich or movable). A order well triggered through them in America ruling of this time Teddy (Roosevelt)- mania. The "Teddy" bear becomes for the first time revises and it emerges it 35PB.
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Bärle 35 PB Bärle 35PB is the earliest Teddy Bear available at the Steiff Archives. He is in the original size of 35cm ( measured in sitting posture ) and in a Limited Edition of 6000 pieces reproduce from the Steiff GmbH, in the year 1991. As was the original of 1904, this replica is jointed with string fastened disks and has a sealing wax nose. |
Margarete Steiff still skeptically over the success from the plush bears sends Franz Steiff to the world fair in St.Louis, 1904. And which in Giengen nobody wanted to believe so quite, Franz comes with full order books again to Germany. Altogether sells he 12000 teddy bears in the USA. The teddy bear begins his triumphant advance.
to the beginning from this
story