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    • Cloth DollsCloth dolls are some of the oldest forms of doll. Many are referred to as rag dolls but other dolls such as boudoir dolls also come under this term. This category has information and price guides to antique and vintage cloth dolls including boudoir dolls.
    • Teddy Bears
  • Soft Toy Makers
    • Gebrüder BingGebrüder Bing, originally Nuremberg Spielwarenfabrik Gebruder Bing,  was founded in 1865 by the brothers Ignaz and Adolf Bing. In 1907 they began to produce their first plush toys. In the beginning, Bing used a button in the right ear with the initials G.B.N. impressed on it. This led to Bing being taken to court by Steiff in 1908 and they were subsequently forced to remove the button from the ear and refrain from using the advertising slogan, “button in the ear”. Bing then tried to use a metal tag shaped like a signal in black, cream and red but Steiff also rejected that. Eventually Bing placed a button under the arm but after Steiff took legal action to prevent them using the words “button under the arm”, Bing began to use the term “GBN tag under the arm”. Reference: Miller’s Teddy Bears by Sue Pearson This category has information, history and price guides to antique and vintage Bing soft toys.
    • Steiff
  • Glossary

Steiff

Steiff button with red cloth label circa 1930 - 1933
Steiff button with red cloth label circa 1930 – 1933

Steiff is a German-based plush toy company. It was founded in 1880 by Margarete Steiff, a seamstress. The toys began as elephants, and were originally a design Steiff found in a magazine and sold as pincushions to her customers. However, children began playing with them, and in the years following she went on to design many other animal-themed toys for children, such as dogs, cats and pigs. She designed and made most of the prototypes herself.

Steiff’s nephew Richard joined in 1897 and gave the company an enormous boost by creating stuffed animals from drawings made at the zoo. A 3000 piece order was placed in 1903 by a buyer in America after the “Teddy” bear craze began showing a cartoon with President Roosevelt and a young cub. By 1907, Steiff manufactured 974,000 bears, and has been increasing its output ever since. Reference: Wikipedia

This category has information and price guides to Steiff teddy bears and other animals such as elephants and kangaroos.

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STEIFF ELEPHANT PULL TOY
Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys Soft Toy Makers Steiff

Steiff Elephants

Steiff Elephants. Below are some examples, information and price guides to antique and vintage Steiff elephants including a mohair circus elephant with rotating head and a German studio elephant.  
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Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys, Soft Toy Makers, Steiff
A STEIFF JOINTED BURLAP KANGAROO
Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys Soft Toy Makers Steiff

Steiff Kangaroos

Steiff Kangaroos. Below are some examples, information and price guides to antique and vintage Steiff kangaroos including a burlap kangaroo dating to around 1910 and a miniature velvet kangaroo.  
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Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys, Soft Toy Makers, Steiff
Steiff Teddy Bear
Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys Soft Toy Makers Steiff Teddy Bears

Steiff Teddy Bears

Steiff Teddy Bears. The success of the teddy bear greatly increased the sale of all the engaging stuffed animals made by Steiff. Reference: Steiff Animals by Margaret Fox Mandel. Steiff…
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Posted inAntique and Vintage Soft Toys, Soft Toy Makers, Steiff, Teddy Bears

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