Q: I can remember playing with my adorable 3 1/2-inch-tall Steiff jointed teddy bear since my childhood in the 1960s. My mother thinks she had it as a child. It has a silver Steiff button in his ear. I've been told that the way the tail in the last "F" in the word "Steiff" trails down and back under the printed letters helps date my bear. Can you tell me how old my bear is?
A: The button with the trailing "F" was used by Steiff from 1905 until at least the 1940s. Some old stock buttons were also used from 1950 to 1952. So your bear is at least 57 years old, and possibly older. The Margarete Steiff Toy Co. was founded by Margarete Steiff (1847-1909) in 1880. Its first catalog was published in 1892. The company, established with the help of Margarete's brother Fritz and eventually Fritz's children, was originally devoted to the production of felt toys. In the early 1900s, Margarete's nephew, Richard, an accomplished artist and longtime lover of bears, convinced his aunt to produce a jointed mohair bear he designed. Mohair is the wool from an Angora goat and is a very durable natural fiber that requires little maintenance. Margarete agreed and when the toy was introduced at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1903, the overall reception was mixed; some even ridiculed the toy. The teddy bear, of course, became one of the world's most popular toys.
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