ExpertAdvice

Q I just inherited a collection of Steiff-brand teddy bears. To me, they just look like stuffed animals. But I don't want to be a laughing stock of the collecting world, like that family who unknowingly served crab for dinner in a multimillion-dollar antique Chinese dish. How valuable are these bears?

WHAT THE EXPERT SAYS: 'People have been collecting Steiff bears since the early 1900s,' says Rebekah Kaufman, marketing manager for Steiff North America. 'In the early 1950s, Steiff bears and animals were featured in a FAO Schwarz catalogue, giving them broad distribution and visibility. This exposure started to catalyse people's emotional reaction to Steiff, as the teddies reminded them of the playful toys of their happy childhood. By the 1970's, collecting vintage Steiff teddies really began to gather steam. Today, collecting both old and new Steiff products is a passion for hundreds of thousands of people all around the world.' The company, Margarete Steiff GmbH, was founded in Germany in 1880.

The first Steiff animal, a felt elephant, was made as a pincushion, but was much more popular as a toy and became one of the first stuffed animal toys. Kaufman says it was Richard Steiff, Margarete's nephew, who invented the world's first teddy bear in 1902. When the bears were presented for the first time in 1903 at the Leipzig Spring Fair, 3,000 were snatched up by a department store buyer from New York. They reminded the buyer of the popular US president Teddy Roosevelt, hence the bear's name.

BUTTONED UP: The Steiff signature was added in 1904, and collectors today still look out for the bear's 'tags'. 'Every Steiff animal that left the factory had a 'Button in Ear',' says Kaufman. Today there are three types of Steiff ear tags. The yellow and red tag signifies an unlimited edition from the regular line. The red and white tag is for special editions. The white and black tag is a limited edition, meaning historically accurate reproduction items that are designed as closely to the original as possible, including excelsior hand-stuffing and other labour-intensive manufacturing processes. There will usually be the EAN number, the number of the piece, and the edition size on the back of the tag.

'If a bear has any of the Steiff markings this greatly increases its value to a collector,' says Kaufman. 'Every collector has his or her own favourites. Many sophisticated collectors covet vintage centre seam bears and rod jointed bears from the early 1900s.'

Another sought after model is the original Steiff hot water bottle bear, produced from 1907 to 1914. 'Only 90 of these hot water bottle bears were manufactured over this entire period,' she says.