Fine Toys and Steiff Ephemera Available With German Auction House Teddy Dorado
Subject-specific ephemera, including photographs, letters, memos, catalogs, sales sheets, and brochures, is a great complement to a collection of any sort. Steiff collectors have a particularly broad selection of ephemera to choose from. Margarete Steiff GmbH of Giengen, Germany has been a premier designer and manufacturer of soft plush dolls, bears, and animals since 1880. Teddy Dorado of Wachtberg, Germany will present over 100 lots of century-spanning Steiff ephemera during its December 4th, 2021 early winter sales event. A strong selection of mid-century and earlier button-in-ear catalogs, price lists, and specialty sales materials will be available. These materials all provide great insights into one of the world’s most beloved and oldest toy companies. Here are three highlighted lots from that sale that caught our eye— and why.Photograph of a Steiff delivery truck in 1949. Image from Teddy Dorado.The first lot of notable Steiff ephemera is #29-2900, a collection of five black and white photographs bridging the 1928 to 1960 time frame. Each photo measures about 30 cm by 20 cm and features transportation vehicles in and around the Steiff factory campus. This group of five images has an opening bid of EUR 20 (USD 22).Photos are great for research, storytelling, and bringing history to life, and these images do just that. It is quite impressive that this small factory— located in a remote, pastoral area in the south of Germany— has supplied world-class playthings to royalty, department stores, and specialty retailers since the turn of the last century. These photos partly demonstrate how and why that is possible. Of particular interest is an image dated September 15, 1949. It pictures a truck and loading dock overflowing with crated materials for export to the elite United States toy store FAO Schwarz in New York. World War II ended in September of 1945. As