Posted 5 years ago
FuturesPast
(1 item)
I have a bunch of vintage 1950's Steiff Original teddy bears in my collection. They came in 4 different colors and I always wanted a chocolate brown one. I bought this on ebay thinking this bear was their chocolate version. I asked Steiff expert Rebekah Kaufman (Steiff Gal) if this was a Steiff and she said no. I believe he is German and don't think he was made by Hermann. Could he be a Bing Bear Or Petz (Anton Kieswetter) brand bear?
He may be older and from the 1920's-1940's. He came with a 1920's-1930's men's starched shirt collar around his neck that had a (Ostend) Belgium tailor store logo stamped inside. His original owner had a sense of humor it seems and dressed him up. I was told this collar always was with him and his former owner always had him wearing it. I don't know how true that is as sometimes these are just stories people tell. I took it off of him for the photos.
He is big and approximately 22 inches tall, 3 black claws on each paw, fully jointed, felt paw pads may have been replaced (don't know if they are original), straw stuffed, has a tilt growler that works when tipping him forward and backwards, glass eyes and lush mohair. Does anyone know precisely how old he is and who made him? Thanks in advance for your help.
Mystery Solved. He was appraised by Brenda Yenke who said he is actually English and was made By Merrythought in the 1940s-1950s.