Taking A Stand On Restoring This Century-Old Steiff Heirloom

It's a family affair when it comes to the cub under discussion here today. Steiff's wonderful dolls, Teds, and animals are truly friends for life, but sometimes need a little help to preserve them for future generations to come. Check out this note from David who asks about a beloved button-in-ear bear that's been part of his family history for at least a century. He writes:

"I have read your discussion of "To Restore Or Not To Restore" and I have a Steiff Bear with similar wear issues. Photos are attached. It has several bald spots, wear on the paws and one ear is held on with a pin. I believe that it either belonged to my grandmother who was born in 1900 or to my father who was born in 1923. I would like to have it restored but don't know where to look for a professional restorer. Any recommendations or advice that you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, David."

Can you bear it? What a charming heirloom - and how nice that it is still beloved in the same family over all these years. This cub on all fours is a popular and prolific pattern that was a mainstay in Steiff's prewar catalog. Given his presentation, larger long trailing "f" button, and glass pupil eyes, it is Steiffgal's best guess that he was made broadly in the c. 1915-1935 time frame. This time frame aligns both with David's grandmother and father's birthday so it is not really possible with only this one datapoint to determine his original owner. His grandmother could have gotten it as a young woman, or his father could have gotten it as a baby. Either way, the bear is a fabulous, intergenerational treasure.

Everyone has a different take on restoration, and it is a really personal choice. Steiffgal believes in doing no harm, being authentic and transparent about "fixes," and using repair work to stabilize issues and insure the longevity of an item. And what can be restored - or not - is very dependent on the condition of the item. For example, is usually extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fix issues with dry mohair, as material in this state tends to simply crumble if it is handled or gets wet.

That being said (with the full disclosure that Steiffgal has not seen this bear firsthand to evaluate his condition and is NOT a professional restoration expert) there are several POSSIBLE restorative ideas that David may consider in regards to his heirloom.

1. Cleaning. After nearly a century, this bear could certainly benefit from a light and careful professional cleaning. With cleaning, it is really important to be extremely careful around bare, balding, or delicate areas of the mohair. Depending on the state of his mohair, which does need evaluation, this could be done in a number of ways. Among others, these may include using moisture based solution, or a gentle brushing with a soft bristled brush - much like a shaving brush - to lift and remove dirt and dust from him. The cleaning will fluff him up a bit as well.

2. Ears. It is great that the family retained his original ear with the bear via a safety pin. You can see that "home repair" pictured here on the left. As such, it is probably very possible that this could be restitched to his head with stitches and spacing mirroring the one still in place.

3. Pads. Depending on the condition of his felt pads, the damage on them could either be "plugged" with felting, or recovered with felt of a matching color. Color matching tends to be challenging, but professional restorers have a number of techniques to make this possible. 

4. Stitching. Depending on the condition of the mohair on his face, it is possible that his nose could be restitched to its original design. And although it is hard to tell from the photos, perhaps a few of his original black stitched claws need to be replaced as well.

5. Stuffing. Because this design is somewhat "stocky" and does not have any significant "slender" areas (like long, thin limbs or a tail) it is less likely that his stuffing has broken down or shifted significantly to cause stress on his mohair. However, this is still possible and not captured in pictures. A professional restorer would assess the need for this in person. 

There are several options for finding a good restorer. There is a group on Facebook called Teddy Bear Restoration Group which represents lay and professional restoration folks from all over the world. Joining this group, posting photos of your item, and asking for help or recommendations is a good place to start. This would also be a good way to find a somewhat "local" professional, if that is a priority. A quick google search for "Teddy bear restorers" resulted in a number of options. If you go this route, be sure to check out "before" and "after" photos of their work, ask about similar projects, and request references if you want. Steiffgal has personally worked with Martha Anderson here in the USA and Dot Bird in the UK; both have long histories as wonderful "Teddy Magicians." 

Steiffgal hopes you found this discussion on restoration sew far, sew good.

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