Signing Up For Steiff

A signature on a painting or sculpture is one of the things that can make the piece more interesting and collectible. Although Steiff creations are certainly works of art, they are not signed by the designers and highly skilled craftspeople who bring them to life. But they are sometimes signed by Steiff family members and executives of the company. Check out this note from a reader in Draper, Utah, who asks about her family's signed bears. Jennifer writes...

"Our family collected Steiff while I was growing up.

My mother in particular collected a handful of signed, boxed animals. I cannot decipher the first name. It's "B. Steiff."

I was wondering if you could help me figure out who signed these bears.

I've attached a few photos.

Thank you, Jennifer"

Jennifer, thanks for writing and for the invitation to play "the name game!" On the paw pads of your items are the signatures of Hans Otto Steiff and his wife, Birgit Eitle Steiff.

Hans Otto Steiff was the former President of Steiff in Germany and a direct descendant of the founder, Margarete Steiff. Hans Otto and Brigit toured the USA in the mid-1980's, meeting collectors, attending events, and signing Steiff items. It would make perfect sense that they signed the paw pads of your pictured items (the Berlin bear, produced from 1985 though 1987 and the Margarete Strong bride, groom, flower bear-er and ring bear-er, produced from 1984 though 1989), which all date from the mid 1980's.

Hans Otto passed away on December 31, 1994. His obituary from the New York Times, dated Sunday, January 8, 1995, reads as follows:

"Hans-Otto Steiff, former president of Margarete Steiff GmbH, makers of Teddy bears and other animal toys, died on December 31st in his hometown of Giengen in Baden-Wurttenberg, Germany. He was 75. He suffered a long illness after a series of strokes, Rolf H. Honniger, managing director of the Steiff international holding company, said.

Mr. Steiff earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Stuttgart Technical University in 1950 and then joined the family business, which was founded in 1904 by his great-grandaunt, Margarete Steiff, who was known as Gretel.

He became president in 1951 and president of the holding company in 1981. He retired in 1984. Gretel Steiff started out making toy elephants from cloth for friends when, in 1880, her brother Fritz discovered customers would sweep them off shop shelves. She added fluffy material almost by chance, and Steiff toy animals were born.

Teddy bears gained their names from Teddy Roosevelt, and by 1907 Steiff had shipped a million of them to America alone. Now collectors' items, one Steiff bear fetched $171,000 at a Christie's auction in London in December.

Mr. Steiff is survived by his wife of 46 years, Birgit Eitle Steiff; two sons, Joachim and Rainer, and a daughter, Beatrice."

It truly is "all in family" with Steiff... Hans Otto's son, Joachim Steiff, toured the US on Steiff's 2006 "Paws Across America" tour, meeting collectors, signing items, and following in the footsteps of his parents twenty years on.

It is interesting to note that these signatures appear on the paw pads of these collectibles. This seems to be the "official" place for Steiff signatures. However, as Steiffgal was researching Jennifer's inquiry, she recalled that she also has a piece signed by Hans Otto and Brigit Steiff - the 50 cm Super Goldy Hamster. This surreally large rodent is so big that Steiffgal had some problems getting a skittish Steiffpug to pose with it to show its scale!

Giant Goldy was manufactured from 1985 through 1986 only. However, most unusually, it is signed by Mr. and Mrs. Steiff on the yellow fabric ear tag, probably because her feet are plush and this fabric really cannot be signed.

Jennifer, Steiffgal hopes this "autograph analysis" gives you a better idea of the special, personal legacy your items have for collectors around the world.

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures, signed or not? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.