Dear Arctophiles & Antiques Experts,
Below is a letter I have written to someone on eBay, who had asked me if my Steiff bear I had put up for sale would be a reproduction. This bear was bought in the early Eighties for about three thousand dollars from a well-known dealer of antique toys.
It was described by him as being a “genuine toy-bear from 1908-1910, produced and marketed by the company “Margarete Steiff”.
It would be great if you could lend your opinion on the matter, as it was always one of my beloved star-attractions.
Thank you so much!
Cheers,
Slightly-Retired Arctophile
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NOTE:
The very first Steiff bear-replica, called “PAPA”, has been brought on the market in 1980. Also, the subsequently produced replicas have been mainly famous characters of the Steiff production lines.
The here shown, a bit “pre-loved”, but nonetheless beautifully preserved, golden-ochre Steiff bear with nickel-plated “button in ear” represents (after my knowledge) no famous character, but it looks on some photos like the “Papa-Bear”.
In addition, it has all the original features to be relatively sure, it is NO REPLICA.
At the time of its purchase, the “Steiff-bear-craziness” was not yet typical, and it is not likely that more than thirty years ago, somebody has taken his/her time to buy replicas and trim them down to “old”, by trying to make “a fortune” with them.
The following features can be found within my antique Steiff toy-bear, like following:
1.) A very typical cut of head- and medium/long body shape from the early Twentieth Century like:
2.) A long snout, stitched with “time-worn” black-faded and twisted yarn onto a bit, but “naturally shortened” looking plush fabric around the nose.
3.) A pair of the first clear glass-eyes painted in golden ochre colour on their back.
If not otherwise, those glass-eyes have been produced after 1908.
4.) A typical kind of hump for that time.
5.) A pair of typically long sickle arms with very good preserved (looking alike) original ochre felt pads, (only two small holes).
6.) A pair of relatively short/medium legs furnished with long feet and very slightly damaged, but good preserved (looking alike) original ochre felt pads and, interestingly enough,
7.) It has a very unusual large pressure voice box placed into its entire front-body, but isn’t working anymore.
8.) The excelsior-filling feels and sounds like a very old filling. The new fillings, even with the same material, are reacting differently by pressure and movement.
9.) The (a bit) worn-off, old nickel-button looks original and it is firmly pressed into the fabric like all old and original “button in ears”. (Replica buttons appear different.)
10.) However, there is no information on the market about the genuine old head- and disc limb joints made out of cardboard and kept together by thick wire, turned on their ends to loops. Such old stuff could be probably a genuine proof too for the identity-search of an old Steiff toy-bear.
So far, our golden Steiff-bear has the typical Steiff-features and the absolutely unequalled sweet and curious impression, replicas never ever can offer!
Nonetheless, after reading about all the different opinions on internet regarding originals and their replicas, we are now a bit confused and want to make our own research at private collectors and auction houses.
On trading- and collector fairs, commonly small to medium sized original Steiff toy-bears from the Fifties are offered for about $4000-.
Therefore, this beautiful collector item has been offered “too cheap to be true”!
It’s certain that one coming day the right auction for professionals will find it in a much higher price-class.
By the way, I am a non-professional arctophile in this “slippery” metier, but have enough experiences as a critical collector (since 1965) furnished with a normal-tempered attitude towards antique Steiff plush toys and –dolls.
At least, with advancing age and failing health, one thinks more about the germs and viruses they may have hidden in their fillings and/or cardboard disc joints, than look at them in an unhealthy “collector-craziness”!
Cheers!
