The first Teddy Bear started in Germany with an Elephant. Actually it was an Elephant pin cushion. By 1879 Margarete Steiff had a successful clothing business and had made an Elephant pin cushion but found that children liked to play with it. In just 6 years 5000 little Elephants had been sold, and Margarete started to make different animals. As the variety grew, the phrase “For children, only the best is good enough!” became the hallmark of the Steiff brand.
In 1902 Margarete’s nephew created the design for the first stuffed bear with movable arms and legs. But it wasn’t until 1906 when an American trader ordered thousands of them, and called them “Teddy Bears” in honor of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. By 1907 Steiff was making almost 1 million Teddy Bears a year.
Note that in 1904, Steiff created the “button in ear” mark, to make it apparent which were legit Steiff animals. So make sure yours is real and has its button trademark!
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Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.
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