Apollonia Margarete Steiff (1847 - 1909)

Born 24 Jul 1847 in Giengen an der Brenz, Heidenheim, Württemberg, Deutscher Bund

Ancestors

Died 9 May 1909 at age 61 in Giengen an der Brenz, Heidenheim, Württemberg, Deutsches Reich

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Biography

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Margarete Steiff is Notable.

Margarete Steiff wurde in Württemberg geboren.

• "Only the best is good enough for children!" That was the motto of toy pioneer Margarete Steiff. From humble beginnings in her home workroom, a global company was born.
• Margarete Steiff was a German seamstress and craftswoman, who founded in 1880 the later global company Margarete Steiff GmbH. Margarete Steiff made a small stuffed elephant for fun in 1880 - without realizing that she would own a world-class company within a few decades. To this day, Steiff stuffed animals are among the best-known toys in the world.

Apollonia Margarete 'Gretle' Steiff was born on 24 July 1847 as the third of four children in the Swabian town of Giengen an der Brenz (Ledergasse 26), Heidenheim, Königreich Württemberg, Deutscher Bund, daughter of Friedrich Steif (1816–1894) and Maria Margareta Hähnle, widowed Wulz (1815–1889).^[1][2]

Margarete had a brother, Friedrich 'Fritz' Steif (27 December 1848 – 16 March 1900) and 2 older sisters Marie and Pauline and a younger sister Elisabeth, who died just 2 weeks after birth.

At 18 months, Margarete developed a high fever, after which both legs were paralyzed and her right arm could only be moved with pain.

But Margarete's enjoyment of life, her self-esteem and courage enabled her to believe in her own opportunities for development. She persistently demanded to be allowed to attend school, and a wooden ladder truck and friendly helpers who carried her to class enabled her to take part in lessons. It was only years later that she was given a wheelchair.

After leaving school, she completed an apprenticeship as a seamstress and was then able to work in her sisters' dressmaking business. She bought the first sewing machine available in Giengen and, as she had difficulty operating the flywheel with her right hand, she turned the machine around and operated it with her left hand.

At the age of 30, she opened her own business making coats and underwear from felt. The model for a felt pincushion in the shape of a small elephant, which she found in a fashion magazine, became the initial spark for the further development of her business. Initially, she gave a few "Elefäntle" to her nieces and nephews, who played with them enthusiastically. When demand from other families increased, Margarete increased production and, accompanied by her brother Fritz, went to the Heidenheim Christmas market. Margarete soon expanded her animal repertoire to include horses, donkeys, pigs and camels. This toy production became her second mainstay in the business.

Her brother Fritz built a residential and commercial building for Margarete with a wheelchair ramp to the upper floor. She hired home workers and in 1893 her factory was entered in the commercial register.

The company grows rapidly and needs more managers. Childless Margarete loves her brother Fritz's five sons as if they were her own. Between 1897 and 1906, Margarete successively employs her nephews Richard, Paul, Franz, Hugo and Otto Steiff in the up-and-coming factory.

Her relationship with her nephew Richard is particularly close and personal. Margarete appreciated his imagination, his humor and his artistic side, but also his sobriety. Richard Steiff becomes the creative mastermind of the manufactory.

A bear named Bär 55 PB as one of the first of its kind, designed by her nephew Richard became a milestone for the company. The Bear is the world's first plush bear with movable limbs. The bear's name means that it is 55 centimeters tall, made of plush (P) and movable (B). Margarete initially found the shaggy, plump animal unattractive for children. At the toy fair in Leipzig, an American discovered the cuddly toy and enthusiastically bought up the entire collection. The American people, including their President Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt, were delighted and the "Teddy bear" became a bestseller.

Margarete lived to see her small factory develop into a global company.

She passed away, aged 61, unexpectedly of pneumonia on 9 May 1909 in Giengen an der Brenz, Heidenheim, Königreich Württemberg, Deutsches Reich.

Today there is a Steiff Museum in Giengen, which commemorates the life's work of Margarete Steiff and shows visitors the history of the teddy bear, selected and now rare exhibits from over 140 years of Steiff company history.

BURIAL: Friedhof Giengen, Giengen an der Brenz, Landkreis Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Church book Giengen an der Brenz, Württemberg: Landeskirchliches Archiv Stuttgart > Dekanat Heidenheim an der Brenz > Giengen an der Brenz > Taufregister 1847-1860 Band 11 Archion image 8 (pay wall)
2. ↑ Family table Giengen an der Brenz, Württemberg: Landeskirchliches Archiv Stuttgart > Dekanat Heidenheim an der Brenz > Giengen an der Brenz > Familienregister 1835-1874 Band 37, p. 152 Archion image 167 (pay wall)
3. ↑ Find a Grave, memorial page for Margarete Steiff (24 Jul 1847–9 May 1909), Find A Grave: Memorial #240249227, citing Friedhof Giengen, Giengen an der Brenz, Landkreis Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Maintained by Frank N. Stein (contributor 47342271)

• Wikipedia (de) Margarete Steiff
• Wikipedia (de) Steiff - Markenname der Margarete Steiff GmbH
• Margarete Steiff GmbH – Informationen zu Leben, Firma, Museum
• Haug, Martin (Hg.) (1969): Sie fanden den Weg. 9 Frauenschicksale. Elly Heuss Knapp, Gladys Alward, Amalie Sieveking, Margarete Steiff, Johanna Faust Kessler, Paula Jordan, Haruko Kgawa, Minna Popken, Selma Lagerlöf. Stuttgart. Calwer Verlag
• Stiefel, Elisabeth (2005): Kleine Chronik großer Frauen. Band 1: Anna Magdalena Bach, Margarete Steiff, Selma Lagerlöf und andere. Marburg. Francke. ISBN 3-86122-776-2
• 100 Jahre Qualität, Steiff Knopf im Ohr. (1980) 1880 – 1980. Geschichte und Gegenwart einer Marke. Giengen/Brenz. Margarete-Steiff-GmbH
• Cieslik, Jürgen; Cieslik, Marianne (1989): Knopf im Ohr. Die Geschichte des Teddybären und seiner Freunde. Jülich. Cieslik. ISBN 3-921844-16-9
• Erhard, Annegret (1999): Margarete Steiff. Berlin. Ullstein. 2000. (Ullstein-Bücher, 35945 : Made in Germany) ISBN 3-548-35945-0
• Halbe-Bauer, Ulrike (2007): Margarete Steiff. »Ich gebe, was ich kann«. Biografischer Roman. Gießen, Basel. Brunnen. ISBN 978-3-7655-1965-9
• Pfeiffer, Günther (1998): 150. Geburtstag von Frau Margarete Steiff und 1. Steiff-Festival. Jubiläums-Dokumentation. Text deutsch und englisch. Fotografien: Manuela Heymann-Baxendale. Englische Übersetzung Christa and Brian Ingram. Taunusstein. GAF Günther Pfeiffer GmbH. ISBN 3-9804712-1-7
• Völker-Kraemer, Sabine (1996): Wie ich zur Teddymutter wurde. Das Leben der Margarete Steiff nach ihren eigenen Aufzeichnungen. Stuttgart. Quell. ISBN 3-7918-1978-X
• Wunderlich, Dieter (2008): WageMutige Frauen. 16 Porträts aus drei Jahrhunderten. München, Zürich. Piper. (Serie Piper, 4772) ISBN 978-3-492-24772-6
• Gabriele Katz: Margarete Steiff. Die Biografie. Neue, überarbeitete Auflage. Der Kleine Buch Verlag, Karlsruhe 2015, ISBN 978-3-7650-8902-2
• FamilySearch ID LZF6-NS7 - Apollonia Margarete Steiff