The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of - Four Top Steiff Teds Sold At Auction This Week!

It was a very good week to be a vintage Steiff Teddy bear enthusiast! Two fine European auction houses known for presenting amazing button-in-ear temptations of all sorts held their signature early summer sales. And did they deliver! Let's take a look at four top lot results from these events and see what made these picks the stuff that dreams are made of.

On June 21st, 2022 Special Auction Services from the UK offered lot #40, "a very rare Steiff black mohair teddy bear circa 1912" as part of their Dolls & Teddy Bears early summer sale. It was cataloged in part as:

"A very rare Steiff black mohair teddy bear circa 1912, with black boot button eyes, red felt discs behind, pronounced clipped muzzle, black stitched nose, mouth and claws, swivel head, jointed elongated limbs, originally with cream felt pads, hump and inoperative growler -16½in. (42cm.) high (balding and thinning to top of head, bald spot at each ankle, piece missing from right heel, bald spot on side of left arm with a slight hole, small hole to top of muzzle, pads recovered, general wear and thinning, fading to front and a some strands missing from nose stitching) - this actual bear was sold at Christie's first Teddy Bear auction in December 1993 as lot 205 and comes with a copy of the catalogue."

The bear was estimated £5,000 - £8,000, generated 22 bids, and hammered at £18,000. Complete with provenance, personality, and presentation, this sweet old man was truly the whole package. Despite his condition issues, his absolute rarity and ties to one of the 20th century's most famous/infamous tragedies still clearly resonated with collectors worldwide. 

Later the same week, Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH from Germany presented their Special Steiff Auction as part of the annual Steiff Sommer Festival in Giengen on June 25th, 2022. The event generated a number of noteworthy Teddy bear sales - with three head spinning lots taking the gold, silver, and bronze medals here. 

1.  Of great interest - at least to two passionate bidders - was lot #6118, a handsome 1920s-era Steiff cub. It was cataloged in part as:

"Very nice, dark brown bear, around 1926, with button, long trailing F, with very beautiful preserved red flag, No. 5328,6, glass eyes, very beautiful preserved, dark-brown mohair, long snaped off arms, clearly hump, felt paws in very good condition, 42 cm, very nice, exceptional original condition."

The bear had an estimate of €850-€1,700, generated 83 bids, and hammered at €22,000. Every auction has its up and down surprises, and this sleeper lot caught everyone off guard in the best possible way. Yes, he was beautiful, a great color and size, and had fine IDs. A wonderful example all around. Perhaps he reminded the winning bidder of a long lost childhood friend, or maybe was the last bear needed to complete a series of cubs in a personal collection? Or perhaps he simply called to them in a heart to heart sort of way? Whatever the reason, it is certain that his new owner really, really wanted him! 

2.  Also catching the world's attention was lot #6107, a super-sized Petsy bear with an irresistible and classic presentation. It was cataloged in part as:

"One of the highlights of the auction, Petsy-bear, produced 1928-1930, 74 cm, long-haired mohair plush, brown tipped, jointed, big flexible ears, with button, long stretched F, big blue glass eyes, salmon-pink embroidering at snout, seam at the middle of head, nice, full mohair, single places of the mohair are caused by the sitting position flatted, felt paws were partially professional refurbished, 74 cm, with this size is only this bear known to us, extremely rare, very nice."

The bear had an estimate of €6,500-€13,000, generated 78 bids, and hammered at €42,000. Petsy bears continue to capture the imagination and pocketbooks of enthusiasts universally. Their rarity and distinctive childlike looks qualify them as crown jewels in practically every Steiff collection. This beautiful boy - in a remarkable size, lovely condition, and with ID - was outstanding in so many ways. As far as Steiffgal can tell, it is very likely that this exact bear now holds the world's record for the highest price paid for a Steiff Petsy bear sold at public auction!

3. And finally, it's hard to believe that any button-in-ear beauty could top the number two bear at this sale, but the stars really aligned here. The star of this auction was lot #6104, a remarkable and all but perfect white mohair rod bear with ID. It was cataloged in part as:

"Baer(le) PB, produced 1904-1905, an absolute highlight of the auction, a rarity, white mohair, sealing wax nose, below it you can recognize a bright embroidering at snout , shoe button eyes, with elephant button, 5 claws at paws and feet, head, arms and legs with rod jointed, movable connected, except of small places nice full white mohair, standing height: 40 cm, seat height: 29 cm, long snaped off arms, hump, pointed nose, mohair at the snout was shaved, exceptional."

The bear had an estimate of €2,500-€5,000, generated 63 bids, and hammered at €43,000! It was clear that this remarkable example would be a superstar in this sale - but these results are clearly off the charts! Before the sale, Steiffgal personally thought that he may trade hands as high as €25,000... but sometimes its ok to be wrong! And, like his cousin Petsy mentioned above, it is possible that this exact bear now holds the world's record for the highest price paid for a Steiff rod jointed bear sold at public auction! This example really was museum quality in condition, color, presentation, and originality. It was like he was made yesterday - but he was nearly 120 years old. How can that be? And can we all share his secret to the fountain of youth? Congrats to the buyer - this guy's a keeper for sure. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of these auction superstars has hammered your interest in these once in a lifetime cubs. 

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

The MAINE Steiff Event Of The Early Summer!

Well, it is safe to say that this week's Steiff auction at Julia's was the main, or in this case the MAINE Steiff event of the early summer!  On Friday, June 13th, James D. Julia, Inc. auctioned off over 120 treasures from the Chuck and late Cathy Steffes collection of magnificent Steiff rarities.  The auction, held at Julia's headquarters in Fairfield, Maine, attracted attention, bids, and visits from collectors all over the globe!  Here's a first-hand report of some of the highlights and fun associated with the event.

And we're off!  Julia's official auction preview period started on Tuesday morning, June 10th.  During preview, the auction facility was set up to display the lots on offer, and without a doubt the hall looked more like a museum of fine arts or treasures than anything else.  In this case, all the Steiff bears were presented majestically on shelves in glass-doored display cabinets. Visitors were allowed to handle and examine any item - even the "crown jewel" treasures - which in this case were the Steffe's Titanic bear, Teddy Clown bear, Petsy bear, and rod bear. Julia's set up inspection stations - which included draped tables, bright lights, and even high powered magnifiers -  so potential buyers could literally examine each Steiff item on a stitch-by-stitch level!  Julia's also provided snacks and meals throughout the entire four day preview event, as looking at the finest Steiff in the world can certainly build up one's appetite! 

Preview lasted through Friday morning, just before the auction got started at 10am, and was a beehive of activity!  Many visitors arrived on Thursday, June 12th, and it was so much fun to see old friends reunite, as well as see strangers immediately connect over this marvelous collection.  People traveled from all across North America to attend the event in person, including collectors from New England, California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and even Canada.  Several press and media professionals also attended preview, and it was clear they also were falling under the spell of this remarkable hug.  Steiffgal had the once in a lifetime opportunity to receive a personal tour of the collection from Chuck Steffes, were she learned the back stories behind some of the bears.  It was particularly moving to learn which were Cathy's favorites, and why.

The Steffes collection consisted mostly of spectacular bears, cats, and rabbits.  Chuck told Steiffgal that he and Cathy originally set out only to collect bears when they began their hobby three decades ago.  It was only within the last several years that they began adding cats and rabbits to their hug - in part to add a new focus and dimension to the collection. 

By about 9:30am on Friday, many people had taken their seats in the auction hall, but it was clear that many more chairs would have to be added to accommodate the overflow crowd.  Most folks, when asked why they came to the hall instead of watching the auction on the Internet, said that they wanted to see this sale in person as they felt it was an important moment in the Steiff collector's community.   At 10am, auctioneer and company owner Jim Julia approached the podium and welcomed the crowd.  He introduced the staff and explained the logistics of the auction.  He then did something most unexpected - he gave a beautiful and gracious tribute to Cathy Steffes, and thanked Chuck and the family for the opportunity to share her passion and exquisite collection with the world.  Then Jim began the exciting event!

Today in the auction world, a very small percentage of auction bidders are actually live in the audience, and that was no different for this auction.  Many bidders placed pre-bids by phone, fax, or mail.  Others watched and bid online through the e-platforms Proxibid and Invaluable.  At this auction, there were a large bank of phone operators working with customers from all over the world.  It was really entertaining to watch them juggle pens, phones, paperwork, and bid cards - while at the same time giving a play by play description of the auction proceedings and encouraging participation from their telephone bidders.  Rumor has it that royalty from far away could have been on the other end of one of those phone lines!

It took about 90 minutes overall to auction the Steffes lots - but the time felt like the blink of an eye to Steiffgal.  There were plenty of highlights throughout the auction - and like all events like this, some people even scored with some fine buys that escaped the radar of other collectors.  

Lets button things up and take a look at notable Steiff Teddy bear sales!  These included lot 3002, a gorgeous 70 cm early white mohair cub who sold for $14,220; lot 3008, a 38 cm rod bear who also sold for $14,220; lot 3009 a 50 cm yellow "Happy" bear who sold for $13,035; and lot 3025 a 31 cm black Titanic mourning bear who sold for $35,550.  Perhaps the biggest surprise was lot 3010, an utterly charming circa 1910 60 cm gold mohair bear who came with a photo of his original owners and a letter explaining his history.  Estimated at $8,000 to $12,000, he sold for $21,330.

Felines seemed to be the cat's meow with collectors during this sale.   There was great interest in lot 3036, a very early velvet cat with an elephant button that sold for $7,703; lot 3035, an unusual mohair tail moves head cat from the early 1930's that sold for $3,851; lot 3013, an irresistible tiny "Fluffy" kitten on a cotton-candy pink mohair pincushion that sold for $7,110; and lot 3032, a simply marvelous, very early 15 cm six ways jointed cat with all IDs that sold for $10,665.

And finally, let's hop to it an check out the rabbit highlights.  Collectors jumped at lot 3015, an extremely rare 33 cm fully dressed Jack Rabbit who sold for $7,703; lot 3017, a 34 cm lilac mohair colored begging rabbit who sold for $7,110; lot 3042, a bright orange begging mohair rabbit on olive green wheels who sold for $2,963; and lot 3100, a sweet and petite bright orange mohair begging rabbit rattle who sold for $2,015.  All prices noted include the buyer's premium, which is 18.5%.

Overall, this was a magical event on many levels.  This gathering allowed the Steiff community to come together and honor the Steffes for their remarkable commitment to the brand, as well as remember Cathy, who was a good friend to many in attendance.  The event invigorated many dormant collectors - who learned about the sale through friends, the Internet, newspaper articles, or other industry channels - and it was wonderful to welcome them back to the world of Steiff. The sale also was like a calling to active collectors across North America to come together to share their love of Steiff, as there has not been such a Steiff-centric event in the USA in quite some time.  And finally, this happening has brought much joy to many collectors who now have new Steiff memories, as well as treasures, to add to their hugs.  When Steiffgal cataloged this collection many months ago - after writing up and examining each item - she gave each treasure a hug and small kiss, and promised each one it soon would have a new loving home.  At last the circle is complete.

Steiffgal hopes you have enjoyed this report on the Steffes Steiff auction as much as she has relished preparing it for you!

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.