About Steiff
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The world-famous Teddy bear was born
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Richard Steiff attended art school in Stuttgart. He had always been fascinated
by the relationships between humans and animals. This gave rise to the
countless drawings of animals that he produced during visits to the "Nill" zoo.
These drawings were as the basis for new Steiff articles.
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A replica of 1904 Bear 35PB with Richard Steiff's original
sketchbook.
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1902 Richard Steiff created the most famous of these in1902 - the first
Steiff bear that was given the designation "55PB" (55 cm tall, sitting, P =
plush, B = jointed ["beweglich" in German]). Mohair plush, a new material, was
used for the first time to make this unusual new product.
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1903 The legendary jointed Steiff "55PB" bear was presented and sold for
the first time at the Leipzig Spring Fair.
American President Theodore Roosevelt - nicknamed "Teddy" - played an important
role in the success of the Steiff bear and in the choice of name. "Teddy" was a
passionate bear hunter.
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Clifford Berryman's famous caricature showing Theodore Roosevelt
with the young bear in the backgound, was published in the Washington Post in
November 1902.
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Steiff's news sheet from 1903
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Clifford Berryman, a well-known American artist, began adding a decorative
little bear to all of his Roosevelt caricatures. The popularity of "Teddy"
Roosevelt and Berryman's drawings contributed towards making "Teddy's bear" and
later the "Teddy bear" world famous.
This heralded the start of the Teddy boom and 3,000 Steiff bears were sold
worldwide during the same year.
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