Richard Steiff
Richard Steiff (born February 7, 1877 in Giengen an der Brenz , † March 30, 1939 in Jackson , Michigan ) was a German inventor and businessman. He was the nephew of the famous toy manufacturer Margarete Steiff .
He joined his aunt's business in 1897. Steiff is considered to be the inventor of the teddy bear , the prototype of which with the designation 55 PB contributed significantly to the great success of the Steiff company . He attended the arts and crafts school in Stuttgart , where his path led him again and again to what was then the "Nill'schen Tiergarten" , where he mostly sat in front of the bear enclosure and drew. The bear sketches were also the basis for the Steiff Bear 55 PB (55 cm tall, P = plush, B = mobile) developed in 1902. At the 1903 toy fair in Leipzig , the bear initially received hardly any attention; it was only shortly before the end of the fair that an American bought the whole lot of 100 bears and ordered a further 3,000 copies, which started the triumphal march. As early as 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition , the World's Fair in St. Louis , 12,000 bears were sold. In return, Margarete and Richard Steiff received the gold medal, the highest possible award at the event.
Richard Steiff was also responsible for other milestones. The hobbyist, designer and inventor also developed the Roloplan , a kite with which he took aerial photos of the Steiff family's factory and the area around Giengen . Among other things, the imperial army was interested in the Roloplan as a target and also as a means of aerial reconnaissance, for which, however, it turned out to be too sluggish.
He also planned the concrete and steel factory building built in Giengen in 1903, also known as the Jungfrau aquarium, which offered all employees workplaces flooded with light, a novelty at the time. So that his aunt Margarete could also reach the production area on the upper floor, the hall had a ramp so that he could go up with a wheelchair .
literature
- Günther Pfeiffer: 125 years of Steiff company history - Margarete Steiff GmbH , Heel Verlag GmbH, Königswinter 2005, ISBN 3-89880-387-2
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Steiff, Richard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German inventor and businessman, nephew of the toy manufacturer Margarete Steiff |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 7, 1877 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Giengen on the Brenz |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 30, 1939 |
| Place of death | Jackson , Michigan |