20" Brownish red teddy bear
20 inches in height cinammon brown bear. Jointed with discs - head turns from side to side. Bear does not growl and I cannot feel anything inside his belly (like a growler devise). He seems to be stuffed with wood chips. His hand and feet pads are velvet. His eyes do not seem to be glass but they seem to be plastic. He has a hump on the back of his neck.There is a hole in the back of his ear which shows that he MAY have had an ear tag originally. There is also the remnant of a tag in the middle of his chest where the seam is. He is heavy - about 3 1/2 pounds. When I measure across his belly it is 7 1/2" so he is a bit stout.
Auction house from estate sale in Central Florida
Auction House
Yes
Good morning, Susan,
Thank you for using Mearto for your appraisal inquiry. This looks very much like the Steiff bears from the late 19th century but the lack of an ear tag will, unfortunately, hurt the value, as well as its obvious wear from use. What you describe as wood chips are probably "wood wool" (also known as excelsior), which was wood shavings and used before 1914. I wonder if the eyes are later replacements?
Based on the photographs and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
An Antique Cinnamon Mohair Five-Joint Teddy Bear
Attributed to Steiff, late 19th/early 20th Century
20 inches tall
CONDITION: not examined in person; exhibits use wear. Eyes possibly replaced. Ear lacking a button; chest seam with remnant of a tag.
PROVENANCE: acquired at an estate auction in Central Florida
$100-150*
*Represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, and thank you again for using Mearto.
Hi Susan,
It doesn't look like most of the Steiff button backings I'm familiar with and is also a bit larger than Steiff buttons.
The bear still looks to me like a Steiff bear, and has the nice mohair fur and joints you'd expect to find in a Steiff bear. I think the valuation is OK even though I would more accurately catalogue this as "possibly Steiff" instead of "attributed to Steiff".
Hi. That is the same information I figured out from researching antique bears online. I wish I had more concrete confirmation of the brand of bear I have. Thank you anyway for trying to help me figure it out.
Hi Delia, Thank you for your appraisal of the bear. I do many online sales and I'm looking forward to using your service as instead of the service I have been using for my online appraisals. I sent a photo of what might be the back of the button that was possibly attached to this bears ear at one time. The administrator emailed me that he/she uploaded the photo of the button. I found this button back (or whatever it is) in the box with the bear and some other stuffed animals. Can you please let me know if this is the backing for a Steif button ? Thank you so much