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Steiff Bear id please

(1 of 3)
Steiff Bear id please
Jun 7, 2012 02:43 PM

Please help in identifying this steiff bear and when he was made.  Thank you. Maria

 

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Steiff Bear id please

(2 Replies / 308 Views)
Steiff Bear id please
Jun 7, 2012 02:43 PM
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Please help in identifying this steiff bear and when he was made.  Thank you. Maria

 

Last Post
by 8whiteorchids (542 ) View Listings
(1 of 2)
Re: Steiff Bear id please
Jun 7, 2012 03:29 PM

"Steiff" refers to the German company Steiff. Just because a bear is five-way jointed, has mohair fur and glass eyes does not make him made by Steiff, and this bear is clearly not a Steiff.

 

This bear is probably made by Grisly Spielwaren, founded in 1954 in Rheinphalz, Germany. The founders were Karl Theodor and Luise Unfricht, and the people who took over when the founder died in 1964 were his son and daughter, Hans-George Unfrecht and Hannelore Wirth. I believe it is German because it is imitative of the Hermann bears (tipped fur, red eyes), and I think it's specifically made by Grisly because of the nose stitching, inset muzzle, the way the mouth is done and where the eyes are set (low-wide, outside of the head seams). I can find examples of Grisly bears in three of my bear books and he's close to them in regard to those details.

 

When was he made? The company was founded in 1954 and was making bears as late as 1995, per my Linda Mullins book. Other bears made by other companies of the time that featured the open-mouthed look seem to have been made around the 1960s. So I'll take a guess and say he could be circa 1960 or so. Maybe a little bit earlier. I have a 1930s Hermann with that type of tipped fur. You don't say how tall your bear is. I do see a $65 price tag, so I assume that's what you paid. Mullins shows a 22" bear circa 1960, mint, that she values at $400-500. Then in one of the Margaret Fox Mandel books (Teddy Bears & Steiff Animals 2nd series) she shows two, circa 1960 and 70, 21" and 29", and values them at $85 and $125. In yet another Mandel book (Teddy Bears, Analee's and Steiff Animals), she has a couple pictured that appear to be of high quality mohair, circa 1960,  15" tall, and they look gold in the book but she says they're pink (which is a higher value) and gives them $175 each. Yours is just super cute and has a more expressive face (I think) than any of the other Grisly's I could find, plus he has that tipped fur and vibrant pink mouth, so imho he probably could be valued at $175.  So you did all right. I love his happy, childlike expression.

 

 


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(2 of 2)
Re: Steiff Bear id please
Jun 7, 2012 03:33 PM
I forgot to mentioned that he has a growler.
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