Something to fill the time: Interesting Facts About Plush Stuffed Animals

Before plush stuffed animals ever came along, most toys for children had been manufactured out of hard materials, such as wood or tin. Dolls were popular, but their papier-mâché or porcelain heads and bodies, stuffed with horsehair, were not comforting to cuddle.

If it had not been for a bunch of felt elephant pincushions that have been given to women as gifts in 1877, who knows when plush stuffed animals would have been invented.

Those felt pincushions, were created by none other than Margarate Steiff, the creator of the first teddy bear.

After she gave away the pincushions, the children of the women they were given to, liked them so much, they claimed them for themselves, loving their size and tactile qualities.

Margarete began to receive so many requests for the tiny elephants that on December 29, 1880, she decided to start selling them.

The first batch produced sold out quickly and soon after that, soft toys which included dogs, camels, lions, monkeys, and donkeys, formed the majority of what was her original felt store where felt petticoats and children's clothes were made.

In 1889, Margarete's German based company moved to Muehlstrasse, to much larger premises.

It was here that in 1892, the company produced its first catalog which showed an overview of the entire range of products offered.

In the same year, the company applied for a patent "for the making of animals and other figures to serve as playthings."

The patent was designed so as to avoid the trouble of imitations in the future, but ironically, that trouble eventually came to pass.

In the same year as the catalog was produced and the patent obtained, the first Steiff bear was launched.

It was one of many animals which were available in a set. The tiny bear character was so popular, he was soon given the feature position amongst the set.

This was the beginning of the Steiff bear journey that would see him perfected and established as the world's most popular soft toy.

Margarete's brother and his six sons, all played vital roles in the further development of the company. Four years after the company had been registered, it was doing so well financially, that Margarete decided to have her own stand at the Leipzig Toy Fair.

The person chosen as the family representative was her nephew Richard, her brother's second oldest son.

At the time, he had just graduated from art school and would eventually become the most influential person (after his Aunt) when it came to the history of the soft toy.

Richard Steiff was responsible for designing and developing new toy lines at Margarete's company.

From the get go, he was fascinated with the possibility of having a soft toy bear and spent many hours trying to design one that children would be attracted to.

He went on to make numerous sketches of bears he saw at the Stuttgart Zoo, circuses, and animal shows. It is from here that what we now know as the best plush stuffed animal ever made - the teddy bear - finally came to life.

Animals have always had great influence in our lives in one way or another, but who knew that plush stuffed animals would one day take their inspiration from them as well.

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