subject: The Story of Steiff Bears [print this page] The Story of Steiff Bears The Story of Steiff Bears
The company motto, "Only the best is good enough for our children," is not a glib phrase, coming as it did from a 19th century woman who had been crippled by polio as a toddler. This woman, wheelchair-bound for most of her life, would go on to found a toy dynasty more than 160 years old, known world-wide for its top-quality products.
Appolonia Margarete Steiff, born in southern Germany in 1847, learned to sew in the 1850s. She became an outstanding seamstress, and began selling her own lines of women's clothing when she was 32. The year was 1879, and Steiff crafted some pincushions shaped like elephants to give as gifts to friends and family. The reception was so enthusiastic that Steiff made some more to sell as retail items. She learned that children were using her pincushions as toys. These charming elephants were cuddlier than the metal and wooden toys then available, and they were more durable than the dolls of the time, replete with porcelain hands and heads.
Steiff offered pull and riding toys in 1886, and, encouraged by her brother Fritz, moved into a factory setting in 1889. Fritz joined the enterprise as sales representative in 1893, and, eventually, his six sons would join the company and serve as senior management in the first third of the new century.
The Steiff Company had introduced a stuffed bear in 1892, but this creation, which would give Steiff world-wide fame, did not hit its economic stride until 1902. American political cartoonist Clifford Berryman had heard about a hunting trip in which U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt had refused to shoot a tethered bear offered as a trophy by his hosts. Berryman began to draw a small bear into each political cartoon featuring Roosevelt. Roosevelt gained a new political mascot, and the American toymaker, Ideal Company, hastened to manufacture "teddy bears." When Richard Steiff arrived at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, he found that America was enraptured with stuffed toy bears. Not only did Steiff's model win a Grand Prize, but Richard and his aunt Margarete each won a gold medal. By 1907, the Steiff Company had sold almost one million bears worldwide.
As can be imagined, knock-offs sprang up, and Steiff combated this trend by patenting the "Knopf-im-Ohr" ("Button-in-Ear") trademark. Known for using high-quality materials, a time-intensive manufacturing process, and its expressive Steiff animals, this toy company has created a solid niche for its products. Steiff quality toys make wonderful baby christening gifts
After all, "only the best is good enough for our children." But given its ability to create a long-lasting toy, the Steiff Company has seen a secondary market develop for collectors of its products. Glancing through a Steiff bears price guide, one gets the feeling that only the best is good enough for our children's children.
