An early Steiff teddy bear dating to 1907/1908 has sold with excellent results at Unique Auctions' October 26-27 sale in the UK.
 The very first Steiff bear is named Bear 55 PB, and was designed by Richard Steiff in 1902 |
The bear, a wonderful example that originates from the collection of respected Steiff expert Sue Pearson, sold for ?�1,800 ($2,909) - a 20% increase on its ?�1,000-1,500 estimate. It is in excellent condition, though the pads have been replaced.
The original Steiff bear - the world's first toy bear - was produced by Richard Steiff in 1902, named Bear 55 PB. It was showcased at the 1903 Leipzig Toy Fair, where a US businessman placed an order for 3,000 and began selling them with great success in America.
It wasn't until 1906 that the bear was sold under the name Teddy Bear, after US president Theodore Roosevelt.
The record for a toy bear at auction is held by the Steiff Louis Vitton teddy bear, which sold for $2.1m in 2000 to South Korean businessman Jessie Kim.
Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for more of the latest from across the auction world.
