`MORPETH TEDDY BEARS` Goodmorning, Mohair Steiff Archives
Transcription
`MORPETH TEDDY BEARS` Goodmorning, Mohair Steiff Archives
‘MORPETH TEDDY BEARS’ Morpeth Teddy Bears, Campbell’s Store Craft Centre 175 Swan Street, Morpeth NSW 2321 Phone 02 49343938 Thursday to Sunday or 02 49331407 any time. Fax 02 49342107 Shop open 10am-5pm Thurs till Sunday Website: www.morpethteddybears.com www.morpethgallery.com Email: [email protected] May 2012 www.morpethteddybears.com Goodmorning, Mohair I have come to realise that I would need another lifetime to make all of my mohair stash into bears, along with sewing quilts, knitting tea cosies, making sock monkeys, magnetic soap holders by the thousands, travelling and keeping up with grandchildren. So I have made the sad decision to sell most of my mohair. There is a lot of it and every single piece has been personally chosen by me with special bears in mind. I spent a whole weekend sorting and pricing and just drooling over the beautiful pieces. Much of it I have purchased at the factory in Germany so it is almost all Steiff Schulte Mohair. I know that some of you are also bear makers, so if you would like some of this amazing fabric, come in and see Barb. The fabric is in the front shop of Campbell’s Store near the scarves and Akubra Hats. Mention this letter and she will gift you a pattern to go with your mohair. For those who live far away, we can always post. Most of the fabric is cut into fat ¼ ‘s or ½ metre pieces. Steiff Archives I was so excited I didn’t sleep a wink the night before my tour through the Steiff Archives, Giengen, Germany. On th 13 March 2012, it was up early to travel the one hour from the beautiful medieval walled township of Rothenburg, to reach the front gate of Steiff by 8.30am. Editor of the Steiff Club Magazine Inge Zinnecker, was there to greet Kylie & I, and once the introductions had been made, it was off to the rarefied world of the Steiff archives. Located in the back of the Steiff Factory and museum, the archives have been purpose built in an upstairs area of one of the 100 plus year old factory buildings. There we were left in the capable hands of Manuela Fustig, who manages the archives, along with her capable assistant. Their work initially began in 2005, by gathering together all the bears, animals, furry samples and documents that had been scattered around the entire Steiff factory – a huge conglomerate of many multi level buildings and bring them together in the one place, into purpose built rooms. Temperature controlled, dark, with shelves that stacked together, so that they were dust free, when not being used. Manuela told us there were bits and pieces hidden or stuffed into many nooks and cranny’s. Even now a worker may find a rare article whilst cleaning up a long forgotten corner! Manuela is also responsible for curating rotating exhibits in the Steiff Museum, selecting and packing items for worldwide exhibitions in other countries such as Russia and Japan, organising pieces for magazine and photo shoots and locating samples for future production. In between these tasks, every new Steiff item must be entered into the computer system with its EAN number, description, including interesting features and limited edition number if applicable, before being located a space on the archive shelves. Through the big metal door we went into a huge room which was full of concertined shelving units, just like you might see at the doctors, or in a library. My heart skipped a beat as we passed an area full of animals on wheels. Friend and travelling companion Claire would have cried out with delight, seeing 250+ of the Steiff items she loves to collect above all others! Some dating back to the late 1800’s, when Steiff first began making toys. These animals on wheels were designed to hold the weight of 16 fully grown men! 1 Down to the end of the room we walked and there to my delight was a market cart, just like the one featured in our new Cabinets of Curiosities museum at Campbell’s Store. This particular one had belonged to Paul Steiff (brother of Richard, who created the first ever Teddy bear). Manuela explained that in 1924 Paul’s cart was borrowed by a neighbour and brought back and left in the rain. Paul had written a story along the inside of the cart explaining that if one was to borrow his cart again, please replace it to exactly where you got it from, because he was not impressed that it had been left out to be ruined in the elements. Signed, Paul Steiff. Paul’s market cart contained a large Affe (ape), dating from 1908. It was in perfect condition. Kylie owns a replica of this monkey, and was excited to see the original. This was where the tour really started for us – as all the animals are alphabetised. ‘A’ for Affe was where all the monkeys were & Kylie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. Kylie collects vintage Steiff Jocko monkeys, and there they all were – one of every monkey ever created. Sommersaulting monkeys, ones with mechanised heads, googly eyes, red tags and the oldest white tags. Blank button monkeys dating to 1904 and some that had the word Muster written on them. In German this means, ‘sample’ and many never made it into production, for one reason or another. We were to learn that Paul was a prolific note taker, journal & letter writer and documenter. It is because of notes in margins, on patterns and even scribbled on 100 year old Steiff samples themselves, that we can learn what the brothers were developing, how they were feeling and what they were passionate about in the company. An original first edition from the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit series was tucked away on the shelves along with an original Steiff Peter Rabbit from 1904 in mint condition. The book had been sent from Richard Steiff in New York, to Paul back in Germany in 1936. His inscription read that when designing the original Peter Rabbit, Paul had only had a small book to work from. Now he would have a big book with beautifully illustrated pictures to work from. Paul’s original small first edition book had notes in it, stating that he had decided to give Peter Rabbit a pair of red slippers to wear, to add some colour to his re-creation. There were rows of dogs, cats, woollen animals, birds, bats, foxes… if Steiff had made it there was a sample there. I was delighted to be handed a red elephant pincushion, dating to 1888. It was made as a sample only and until recently had been in the collection of Clara Steiff. She was the great grand cousin of Marguerite, and had no children of her own. Clara’s elephant was given back to the Steiff company for posterity when the archives commenced. One of the only items not in the Steiff archives is 55PB Teddy bear. The sample went to the patent office with the paperwork to register it, along with affe monkey (in the market cart). Whilst the monkey came back to the factory, PB55 did not and the original sample was never seen again. This means that PB35 from 1904 is the oldest existing Teddy bear. Another teddy from the 1908 caught my eye, and I just had to give him a cuddle. He was big, yet extremely light to hold, and this is because over time the excelsior wood wool stuffing dries out and lightens the weight of the bear. This teddy was also one of the first to contain a growler. Before this they had squeakers. After visiting all the Teddys in the shelves it was onto the dolls and puppets, many of which were still contained in their original boxes from the 1930’s. These unique boxes were held together in the four corners using Steiff buttons. Amazing. The most beautiful of all the dolls were the ones with a centre seam, as opposed to those with pressed faces. I even found a shelf of tea cosies, many of which never went into production. If only I could borrow these for our annual tea cosy competition, they would make a fabulous display! Our three hours in the archives went so quickly, and we’d barely touched the surface. No time to look at anything produced after 1980. After a quick cuppa in the archive office, where Kylie was allowed to bring out her favourite archive monkey to say hello to Teddy, it was time to spend an hour looking at paper documents. Private letters that belonged to Marguerite, Richard and Paul… never before seen photographs of Marguerite and workers in the factory, thankyou letters for donations Steiff had made in the community, even a Christmas gift list Margarite had made up, detailing what all her nieces and nephews would be receiving for Christmas presents. Richards Steiff’s original sketch books and original patent applications and Marguerite’s guest book from her funeral were incredible items to behold. 2 Then, the hour was up. Manuela had us sign her archive guest book, and we noted we were the very first Australians to enter the archives. After farewelling Manuela we were whisked away for a full traditional German three course lunch at a Giengen restaurant with champagne to toast our amazing morning. Over lunch Inge divulged a few secrets about the upcoming Steiff Festival and we learnt a little more about what was involved in editing the Steiff magazine. Then it was off for a private tour of Margarite Steiff’s house, before returning to the Steiff Museum for another private tour. The new multi-million dollar Steiff Museum was amazing last time I visited, and this time it had a new attraction in the form of a giant Steiff snake slippery slide for little and big kids alike. It begins on the third story up and you slide at a very fast pace all the way down to the bottom. Teddy and Kylie took a ride together, and I was ready at the bottom to take their photo when they appeared. We wandered around taking in exhibits in the cabinets, highlighting each decade of Steiff through its creations, through the area demonstrating how to make a Teddy bear & the interactive section for children. As our day came to a close in the gift shop, Inge gifted us a beautiful Classic Steiff Teddy Bear each with a personalised ribbon around each Teddy’s neck with our name and date of our visit on it. Wow! Thankyou Steiff for a memorable visit. Words can’t really do it justice. It was such an honour, terrific learning experience and a privilege to see and in some cases hold, some of the most precious Steiff items made. Teddy got an extra cuddle that night, before I settled down to a well-earned sleep & sweet dreams featuring Steiff. 110th Anniversary PB55 th Steiff celebrates the 110 anniversary of the Teddy bear with this half-size version of the original PB55. He is not a replica, but is a new version. (That is, a version of the first ever jointed Teddy bear – the only one not in the Steiff Archives). He is 26cm and made from dark brown slightly curly mohair. His hand stitched nose has had wax applied and then been polished to simulate the sealing wax nose of the original PB55. The mouth stitching is still made from the same strong, waxed Saddler thread as used 110 years ago. Of course, the anniversary edition has the unique five-claw stitching. Limited to 1,902 pieces worldwide, stuffed with synthetic filling. You can own a true piece of history – The th 110 Anniversary PB55. $350. Waiting for you at Morpeth Bears. Steiff Othello When in England recently Ian Pout confirmed to us that the original Othello, who resides at Teddy Bears of Witney, will be going up for auction. This official announcement was to be made at Teddy Total at Munster at the end of April and Othello will go up for auction at the Steiff Festival at the end June 2012. The reserve is 25,000 pounds ($38,000 Australian) but it is expected to sell for three or four times this price. The Othello replica released for 2012 is a beautiful bear and is available for $795. There are only 1912 pieces worldwide and it will sell out fast. Picture: The original Steiff Othello at Teddy Bears of Witney 3 Steiff Centenary Titanic Ted is an exclusive for the UK and North America. 36cm limited edition of 1912 pieces. I brought just a couple of these back from England with me last week. Price is $395. from Morpeth Bears You will notice that the Titanic bears have a red outline behind their eyes which gives a feeling of sadness or grief, which was the case when the Titanic sank one hundred years ago. Woody Teddy Bear You simply must see the warm and natural shades of Woody to truly understand how this Teddy earned his name. Woody is made from the finest long pile mohair in various brown colour shades on a dark olive cotton backing. He’s scrumptious, you’ll love him. He’s 38cm and limited to 1,500 pieces worldwide. His nose and claws are hand stitched with a nicely contrasting light beige embroidery thread. His shiny black eyes will charm you and Woody will speak to you with his full, rich-sounding growler. In fact, he was growling as he arrived, anxious to get out of the box for a cuddle. $390. A beautiful bear from Morpeth Bears. Millie Teddy Bear Millie is 30cm and has all the hallmarks of an antique bear. Her mohair has a vintage feel and at first glance you might think she has been hidden away in the attic forever. There are a few skipped stitches on the nose where the mohair shows through, simulating wear. Her paws are shaded to make her look old and dusty from the attic. Limited edition of 1,500 pieces worldwide, stuffed with synthetic stuffing. Her head is loosely attached for the wobbly feel of an old bear. She wears a vintage-style collar made from velvet and felt. $330. at Morpeth Bears. Until next time…..keep on enjoying Teddy Bears. P.S. If you are a reader of the Australian Teddy Bear Creations magazine you may have seen a feature article on Kelly Dean, big bear maker, from USA. I was very impressed and just had to order a bear. It arrived today and what a great time I had unwrapping that parcel. A beautiful big grizzly bear. He is 32 inches tall with extensive armature and mechanical jointing and comes with nine leather handmade food cans he has been pilfering from the rubbish. I also bought a serving of “Duck Soup”. The attention to detail is second to none. You will be able to see them in our new collectors museum “Cabinets of Curiosities” when it opens at the end of May 2012, first floor Campbell’s Store. 4 Granger with Duck Soup.