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Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of handling this very vintage polar bear. He measures about 12 cm tall standing and about 23 cm long, nose to fanny. He is standing, six ways jointed (more on that soon!), and made from white mohair. His fabric has mellowed to a vanilla color, as well as thinned significantly over time. He used to have felt paw pads, but they have been replaced over time with linen "bandages." His detailing includes tiny pert ears, black claws, a simple hand embroidered black nose and mouth, and little black shoe button eyes. He also has a non-working side squeaker in his belly. Polar bear was produced in 14, 17, 22, 28, 35, and 80 cm from 1908 through 1928. Unfortunately, his IDs have been lost to time. It is Steiffgal's best guess that this guy was produced at the early end of his production run, and would have had a tiny long trailing "f" button as part of his Steiff ID ensemble. 
Steiff often described their pre-war production of dolls and animals as "practically indestructible." And such is the case here, especially when it comes to this bear's amazing and unusual "ball jointed" neck. This early prewar feature enabled the head and neck to be twisted and rotated into different lifelike positions. When Steiffgal GENTLY held this senior citizen in her hands for the first time, she suspected that his neck may be ball jointed, based on his form. But given his condition, she feared that it may have locked or disintegrated over time. May wonders never cease! His neck moved and grooved like a young person enthusiastically dancing to their favorite song... without a drop of age or "arthritis." So again, Steiff DELIVERED on its marketing promise, more than a century later!
Steiff launched a line of ball jointed items around 1908 as it was building its reputation as a leading regional and global toy production company. The proprietary head movement behind these early playthings was invented by Franz Steiff and registered on May 24, 1908 in the German patent office. The paperwork described this unique and novel technology as a "toy animal with movable head." According to company records, this was accomplished by... "attaching a swivel jointed mechanism to the head which was then secured to the body by means of a tube running from the neck to the torso." In addition to polar bears, Steiff also used this feature on begging poodles, pigs, cats, and opossums. These models were a good fit for this technology as they had, or could be produced with, slightly longer and more robust necks to accommodate the internal fittings as well as greater wear associated with this innovative (at the time) feature. Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this polar bear with a ball jointed neck has been a headliner for you.
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