Richard Steiff

Richard Steiff ( born February 7, 1877 in Giengen, † March 30, 1939 in Jackson, Michigan) was the nephew of the famous toy manufacturer Margarete Steiff, inventor and businessman.

He joined the operation of the aunt in 1897. Steiff is considered the inventor of the teddy bear, the prototype of which 55 PB contributed significantly with the designation to the great success of the company. He attended the School of Applied Arts in Stuttgart, where his path led him again and again in the then " Nill'schen Tiergarten ", where he usually sat in front of the bear enclosure and recorded. The Bears sketches were also the basis for the 1902 Steiff Bear 55 PB developed (55 cm, P = plush, B = move ). At the Toy Fair 1903 in Leipzig, the bear was initially little attention, just before the official closing time an American bought all the items of 100 bears and ordered an additional 3,000 copies, bringing the triumph began. Early as 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the World's Fair in St. Louis, sold to 12,000 bears. For Margarete and Richard Steiff then received the Gold Medal, the highest award of the event.

In addition, Richard Steiff was also responsible for other milestones. For the hobbyist, designer and inventor also developed the Roloplan, a dragon, with which he made aerial photographs of the factory of the Steiff family and also around Giengen. The imperial army was interested in the Roloplan as a means of aerial reconnaissance. This proved to be too slow.

In addition, he designed and built in 1903 in Giengen a factory building made ​​of concrete and steel ( " Mermaid Aquarium "), which all employees flooded with light jobs offered a novelty at that time. So that his aunt Margaret could reach the production on the upper floor, ordered the hall via a ramp to drive the wheelchair up to.