Teddy bears are very special toys because each Teddy bear is unique to the person who owns it. A Teddy bear is often a trusted friend as well as a plaything, with its own way of becoming an essential part of its owner's life.
Our cuddly love affair with the stuffed baby bear started over 100 years ago in Germany. In 1903, a remarkable woman called Margarete Steiff decided to present a new toy she had designed at the Leipzig Toy Fair. It was a great success and Margarete suddenly found her small family business in the spotlight as demand for her new Teddy bear toy outstripped all the other toys presented at the fair.
Margarete was born in 1847 in a small town in Germany. Her father was a builder and the Steiff family lived a comfortable lifestyle. Margarete and her two sisters and brother had everything that gave them a happy childhood but when little Margarete was 18 months old she fell ill with polio and the happiness in the Steiff family was suddenly shattered.
Polio was a disease that usually left its victims crippled. When Margarete recovered from the illness her legs were paralysed and the Steiffs had to accept the fact that their youngest daughter would never walk again and would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
But Margarete was a determined little girl and she did not let her disability stop her doing most of the things she wanted to do. Her sisters and friends carried her where her wheelchair would not go and she invented new games that she could play with her friends. When she was old enough to go to school she worked hard to overcome her disability and she was popular with all her teachers.
As she was growing up, Margarete spent a lot of time sewing and by the time she was in her teens she was an expert dressmaker. Her father converted a room in the family house into a dressmaker's workshop and when she was 17 Margarete persuaded her two sisters to start a small business making clothes for friends and neighbours.
