I studied him for a long time. Then I tried to imagine what he would have looked like with long, silky mohair.
If he's under 16", his nose stitching is wrong for a Bing (it should be horizontal). Also, most of the Bings around 1920 have a smile. It also seems odd that he would be so worn and yet his nose and mouth stitching seems intact--leading me to wonder if that stitching is replaced.
At first I thought it likely his eyes were replaced because they look so large in that face, yet if you imagine him with long, silky mohair, they would had have to compete with that and would have been peering out--and I think they're ok. A 17" 1920s Bing in one of my books has eyes of that color, so they could be original.
His arms are straight, which is not right for later Bings and for Farnells. Also, his ears are not big cup-like ears, and the later Bings in my books all have beautiful cupped ears. He's obviously not an early Bing in any way.
His muzzle is extremely long. This points to Bing (later). I have seen some Strunz with long noses, but their face (when looking straight on) doesn't look like him and he also doesn't look like the earliest bears.
I think he could possibly be 1915 Bing or a little later. Their muzzles started getting long then. The 1915 Bing in "Teddy Bears: A Complete Guide to History, Collecting and Care" has arms that look more straight than the later Bings. Also, his ears look like the ears on yours.
Of course, there were other German manufacturers at that time and because they're not in my books, I don't have a way to compare yours to them. I think the biggest problem with yours is how straight his arms are. They should at least be curved at the wrists.
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