The nation’s foremost authority on teddy bears highlights the rarest of the rare
Think the teddy bear originated with our “Rough Riding” President Teddy Roosevelt? Think again. In 1888, McLoughlin Brothers published “The Three Bears.” There are three different-colored prints that show a small stuffed teddy bear: one in the kitchen while Goldilocks is getting porridge, one in Baby Bear’s bed and one in a small wagon during a walk with the three bears. The prints were made 15 years before Steiff created the first documented teddy bear. This suggests there were “homemade” teddy bears in existence as early as the late 1800s.
|A 1904 Steiff 16-inch Rod bear appears with an X-ray showing the metal rods in hips and shoulders to allow jointed movement.|
Steiff (shown right) is, indeed, the original manufacturer of teddy bears, and artist Richard Steiff was that teddy bear’s designer in Germany, in 1902. The first and oldest model Steiff bear that survives is the Rod Bear. Several museums and private collections have examples of this Rod teddy bear, which has shoe-button eyes and a gutta percha nose and is jointed by internal iron rods. An X-ray is the best way to detect and observe the inside jointing. Made in 1904-1905, it also was fitted with a special button in its ear. Known as the elephant button for the elephant symbol on it, bears with this feature are extremely desirable, and the button adds to the value of this model. To my knowledge, fewer than 50 of these bears exist in collections today. When available at auction, they command from $10,000 to more than $30,000.
Note: Steiff first exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. It was after seeing the metal button and cloth tag in all the live farm animals being judged at the show that Margarete Steiff began a policy of putting a metal button and tag in the left ears of all Steiff toy bears and animals!
Seymour Eaton wrote “The Roosevelt Bears,” which in newspapers and then books created much interest and excitement in the teddy bear world. His dressed literary bears soon prompted Steiff, among others, to offer sweaters and other outfits for everyone’s teddy bear. The scarce early political pin bears made in 1904 sold for 5 cents each. Today they command more than $1,000. The spun-cotton wired Teddy B and Teddy G bears (shown below) may be the only set known to exist today.
|A rare pair of 1906-07 5-inch tall Teddy B and Teddy G spun-cotton and wired teddy bears are shown next to the color plate from the 1906 book “The Roosevelt Bears.”|
In 1905, Steiff starting selling teddy bears on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, and in 1907, the firm sold more than 1 million teddy bears. Steiff was one of only two early, original teddy bear makers that used artists’ designs. Richard Steiff’s designs were of the highest quality and set the standard for all other manufacturers. 10-inch bears were called doll size and were intended as replacements for the little dolls girls played with and as a solid alternative for boys.
An original 1906-07 Steiff as shown in excellent condition, brings up to $500 per inch! A 20-inch bear can be worth $10,000.
Note: Provenance — the known history of a bear, which may include original photos from the turn of the century with the bear and owner — can increase value by up to 50 percent. The documentation and story of an item is a valuable asset.
|This beautiful 20-inch white Steiff teddy is from 1911.|
Rare colors, special features, limited production and universal appeal all have an effect on value. A white, long-mohair bear in excellent condition brings high prices from collectors (right). A 20-inch white Steiff bear from 1910 would bring up to $15,000 from an interested collector. Tan or honey-colored mohair is the most common, while cinnamon, white and brown are considered more rare and desirable.
|This 18-inch German Bing Teddy bear is from 1912.|
Gerbrüder Bing of Nuremburg started making teddy bears and mechanical animals circa 1906-1907. They originally were designed by a famous animal painter, Kunz Weidlich, who emphasized the importance of look