This first Steiff bear was made of mohair plush rather than felt, the first such use of the material in a children's toys. Starting a trend followed by Steiff from that point onward in this history, this first original Steiff bear was marked 55PB (55 cm tall, Plush, and Beweglich (German for jointed). Sold for the first time at the Leipzig Spring Fair, the Steiff bear was introduced at the same time that famous American artist Clifford Berryman's 1902 caricature of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt with a young bear was published in the Washington Post newspaper. Roosevelt, nicknamed "Teddy" and a passionate bear hunter, was as we all know now the ispiration of the name "Teddy Bear", and the mohair Steiff plush and jointed 55PB bear came along at the perfect time to capitalize on the "Teddy" Roosevelt publicity and the public fascination with his bear hunting. In fact, all of Berryman's future caricatures of the President included a decorative little bear in the drawing. By 1903, more than 3000 Steiff "teddy bears" were being sold around the world. In 1904, Richard Steiff traveled to America and went to the World's Fair in St. Louis to show their Steiff bears and other plush animals, and he returned to Germany with substantial orders as well as gold medals from the Fair and a prestigious Grand Prix Award. Perhaps even more significant than the production of the first plush mohair bear, Margarete's newphew Franz Steiff, the company's chief technician, created the famous "button in ear" Steiff trademark in 1904. From that point and to present day, every Steiff plush animal has a metal button embossed with an elephant (a symbol of the company's first plush animal) attached to the ear. The button as well as the term "Button in Ear" was registered as a company trademark in December, 1904 and patented in May, 1905. A fabric tag with the model number on it was also added to the animal ears in 1908, and the combination of the button and the tag remains a mark of Steiff quality and a means by which Steiff bears and animals can be identified and dated. The Margarete Steiff GmbH company remains in business today and continues to produce primarily hand stitched and individually produced bears and other plush animals- now around 1.5 million animals each year in the German community of Giengen/Brenz and still loved by children as well as collectors.

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