1909 Steiff Teddy Bear
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GUEST:
This little bear belonged to my father. He is 95 years old. The picture here shows my father with the bear at age two.
APPRAISER:
Now, he gave the bear a name.
GUEST:
The bear, it has always been known as Ted. I have photographs of, of me actually at my first birthday and second and subsequent birthdays, with all of my toys, and Ted was always there.
APPRAISER:
He's a mohair teddy bear, and he is German. And did you know anything about manufacturer or anything like that?
GUEST:
There are no markings, no tickets, labels, or anything that we ever could find to make sure. We always were in hopes that he was a Steiff.
APPRAISER:
Well, in fact, Ted is a Steiff.
GUEST:
Is that right?
APPRAISER:
He does have the original button in the ear, and it's the button that has the underscored F at the end of "Steiff." And that's an early button, and it ties him to the right period, everything. He's a nice, light brown, mohair teddy bear.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Now, obviously, Ted has had quite a life. He shows a lot of wear.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
You see the pads have worn. We see here that the pads have been replaced or covered up with a patch.
GUEST:
I wondered about that.
APPRAISER:
And he's lost some of his excelsior stuffing here.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So he's a little bit folded up in the stomach. His muzzle has some loss. He has some mohair loss. But all those years, he's been on display and loved, and Margarete Steiff made the teddy bear to do just that. And that's what's great about Ted. And what's going to happen to Ted after?
GUEST:
Well, I have two wonderful children, that I hope one of them will take care of Ted for the rest of their lives.
APPRAISER:
Right, he has a lifetime of being exposed, and there's a, a heavy residue of dirt on him. We don't recommend cleaning all the time, but it might be okay to brush Ted.
GUEST:
Well, he's so fragile-looking that we were really afraid to do anything to him, so he's natural.
APPRAISER:
How long has he been in the chair?
GUEST:
He's been in the chair 30 years.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, well, based upon his condition, Ted's value would be $2,000 to $2,500.
GUEST:
Is that a fact?
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
Well, he's worth a lot more than that in my heart.
APPRAISER:
Oh, absolutely-- he's priceless.
GUEST:
He's, very much so.
APPRAISER:
If Ted was in perfect condition, he would be probably around $4,500, $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
Appraisal Details
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