Steiff – EAN 408519 – Teddy Bear 1953 Replica – 35 cm – Mohair – Limited Edition – 2004

Description

A particularly attractive Steiff Teddy Bear 1953 Replica, EAN 408519, produced in Germany in 2004 as a worldwide limited edition of 3,000 examples. This bear is numbered 00898/3000 and is complete with its original Steiff box, certificate, chest label and white numbered ear tag.

The model reproduces a notably scarce post-war Steiff black teddy bear design first introduced in 1953. Steiff’s accompanying certificate explains that black bears of this type were originally made only in very small numbers and records that a surviving 35 cm example offered at the 2002 Steiff Festival realised €55,800. The 2004 edition was therefore conceived as a faithful revival of one of the rarer designs from the company’s mid-century production.

The bear is made from dense black mohair, with contrasting tan felt paw pads, brown glass eyes and hand-stitched brown nose, mouth and claws. It is traditionally constructed and fully jointed at the neck, shoulders and hips, allowing the head and limbs to be positioned independently. In keeping with the historical model, the body is filled with excelsior wood shavings, rather than modern synthetic stuffing, and incorporates an internal squeaker, which remains in working order.

The bear retains its circular “Teddybär 1953 Replica” chest label and Steiff’s white limited-edition ear tag, together with the gold-plated Button in Ear bearing the embossed elephant motif used for this replica series. The original certificate identifies the model, materials, limitation and historical inspiration and is numbered to correspond with the bear.

The combination of traditional mohair construction, excelsior filling, glass eyes, working sound mechanism and historically based design makes this considerably more appealing than many later Steiff limited editions. Complete examples retaining the box, certificate and original labels are especially desirable to specialist collectors.

Condition
Excellent original condition. The black mohair remains dense and well preserved, with only slight natural disturbance to the pile consistent with age and handling. Felt paw pads are clean and intact, the stitched nose and claw detail remains strong, and the glass eyes are well preserved. All joints operate correctly and the internal squeaker is working. Original chest label, numbered white ear tag and Steiff Button in Ear remain present. Complete with original certificate and presentation box; the box shows light storage wear only. Please refer to the photographs for a full visual record of condition.

Maker: Margarete Steiff GmbH, Giengen/Brenz, Germany
Date: 2004
Height: 35 cm
Material: Black mohair with felt paw pads, glass eyes and excelsior wood-shaving filling
Construction: Traditional fully jointed construction at neck, shoulders and hips; hand-stitched nose and claws; glass eyes; excelsior filling; internal squeaker; gold-plated Steiff Button in Ear with elephant motif; numbered white limited-edition ear tag.

Why Buy from Hornseys?

Every item offered by Hornseys is handled, inspected and catalogued in-house before being offered for sale. We take particular care to identify manufacturers, edition details, materials, accessories and condition accurately, using the object itself and its surviving original documentation wherever possible.

Hornseys has been established in Ripon, North Yorkshire, since 1976, and our stock encompasses fine art, illustration, rare books, collectables, toys and unusual decorative objects.

We provide free UK delivery, carefully packed tracked shipping and a 14-day unconditional return guarantee, provided the item is returned in the same condition in which it was supplied.

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