Steiff bears have created a cult following
ever since their introduction in 1904. Their charm is too real to the point
that they’ve become so enigmatic. As a matter of fact, they have been on the
forefront of the race for a century even after the influx of other toy brands
and manufacturers.
For something as iconic as Steiff bears,
there ought to be a number of interesting facts and information circulating
around and so we thought why not compile them all for everyone’s enjoyment?
That said take a look at the following list.
·
They’ve been around for 113 years. Would
you believe they’re older than most of our grandparents? It wasn’t until 1904
when a bear design was first introduced thanks to Richard Steiff, the founder’s
favorite nephew who joined the family company after finishing his art degree.
He has a certain fondness for bears and used his sketches of them to design the
very first model. Before teddy bears, the brand has however produced other
stuffed animal toys in the likes of dogs and cats and elephants for instance.
·
But the brand itself has been in
existence since 1880. The Steiff company was built by accident after Margarete
Steiff fashioned elephant-looking pin cushions and sold them around town. She
later noticed that the kids loved to play with them and so she turned her dress
shop into a bonafide toy manufacturing facility with the help of her brother
marking the very first existence of a commercial plush toy manufacturing
company the world has come to see.
·
Richard’s first design and jointly
the world’s very first teddy bear was called the “P55B”. Mohair was used for
fur and it comes with metal rods for joints. It is ridiculously difficult to
find one in good condition these days and if one ever comes out, it’s bound to
rake in some serious amount of cash.
·
When it comes to the most expensive
toys, Steiff bears belong to the top pile as well. As a matter of fact, the
most expensive one to date was a $2.1 million teddy bear. A collaboration with
international and renowned fashion house, Louis Vuitton, it’s a plush mohair
toy dressed from head to toe in the iconic LV monogram travel gear. It even
comes with a matching mini luggage set! It was sold in a 2000 Monaco auction to
South Korea’s Jessie Kim and is now displayed at the Teddy Bear Museum in Jeju
Island, Korea.
