This Earliest Steiff Cub On Wheels Is A Little Rough Around The Edges

Which comes first.... age or beauty? In this case, it's a tie for sure. Check out this very vintage, legacy Steiff bear on wheels. This old man has circled the sun in three separate centuries, and is hardly any worse for the wear. Come see what makes him so interesting from the materials and product development timeline perspectives.

This cheerful cub is standing, head jointed, and is 17 cm tall (measured vertically). He is made from brown short pile plush. His paw pads are made from tan felt. His face comes to life with black button eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. He also has black hand embroidered claws. He is mounted on two metal axles and rides upon four metal wheels - each is about 1 inch in diameter. You can see a close up of his "ride" at the end of this post. When he left the factory in Giengen, he would have been wearing a leather collar. This accessory has been lost to time. He was made in this brown short pile plush fabric in 10 sizes ranging from 10 to 100 cm from 1894-1926 overall. There is no indication on his ear that he ever had a button; as such, it is entirely possible that he was made in the prebutton era - c. 1894 through 1903/04. 

This bear's fabric represents a materially important time period in Steiff's history. He is made from a somewhat rough to the touch cloth consisting of thicker brown woolen threads woven with thinner tan cotton threads. The way they come together gives the bear a bit of texture and visual interest. Steiff used this material on some of their earliest bears as it was available, affordable, and was probably the best alternative at the time. Because parts of this fabric are woolen and other parts are not, it ages and manifests losses in an interesting way. When the brown woolen threads are lost to time or insect damage, only the tan thinner cotton threads remain. Unlike mohair, there is no backing to this short pile plush - so you can see the excelsior stuffing between the threaded areas of loss. 

Mohair was really a game changer for Steiff when it became available on a commercial scale in 1903. This "newfangled" fabric caught the eye of Richard Steiff, who brilliantly realized how well it would translate to the toy making world. And, just a few months later, he would unveil his 55PB bear at the 1904 Leipzig Spring Fair! This cub, which measured 55 cm tall, was made from long, reddish brown mohair, five ways string jointed, and detailed with black boot button eyes and a gutta percha nose. He was very heavy and solidly stuffed with excelsior and made to look like a real bear, not a playful toy. Although 55PB was not a commercial success - his mohair "grandson"... a cardboard disk jointed cub debuting around 1905... would go on to make Steiff one of the most recognized and beloved toy companies on the planet. 

It is interesting to note that the short pile plush bear under discussion today remained in production for more than two decades after the introduction of softer, more playful mohair items in the Steiff line.  This suggests that he sold well and was profitable enough to hold his place in the company's catalog. There's certainly no denying his charm and appeal - almost 130 years onward. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this legacy bear on wheels has come full circle for you.

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