Welcome to Bel Air's Magical Steiff Bears

The history of the teddy bear isn’t straightforward. For years, people have debated who truly created the first one. Exploring this question helps us understand the beginnings of one of the world’s most loved toys.

The name ‘teddy bear’ comes from U.S. President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. On a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902, a black bear captured in the wild was tied to a tree so Roosevelt could take a shot at it. He refused to shoot the bear, saying it would be unsportsmanlike.

The moment was illustrated in a Washington Post cartoon by Clifford Berryman and soon became famous. Inspired by the cartoon, Russian-born shop owner Morris Michtom created a soft toy bear and named it the “Teddy Bear.” It was an instant success, leading him to establish the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company and begin making teddy bears commercially.

Around the same time in Germany, and entirely unaware of Michtom’s creation, the Steiff company developed its own bear. Richard Steiff, who studied at the School of Arts and Crafts in Stuttgart, spent his days sketching real bears at the Nill’scher Zoo. In 1902, after one of his visits to the Zoo the prototype for the Steiff Bär 55 PB was produced; the Steiff bear was born.