In 1902, Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in Mississippi. Legend has it that his companions captured a bear cub and tied it to a tree and offered it to Roosevelt for him to finish it off. Roosevelt refused and was known then as being a soft-hearted guy who saved a bear. Soon the 'teddy bear' was all the rage. Ideal Novelty and Toy company as well as the German Steiff Company both decided to get in on the craze. In 1907, Steiff produced close to a million bears. Ever since, they've been known for their bears and stuffed animals.

Prior to the fascination with teddy bears, Steiff was known for making cloth dolls. In the 1870s, Margarete Steiff put her creative talents to use by creating cloth dolls for the neighborhood children. They boomed in popularity, so she and her brother, Fritz Steiff, formed a company that composed their dolls from factory cloth scraps. By 1903, the European market was ripe with Steiff dolls--it was time to export.

By 1909, there were 3,000 employees at the Steiff factory. Part of this was due to the teddy bear, but the cloth dolls still remained extremely popular during this time. Beginning around 1894, the doll heads began to be made out of felt or velvet, though there were the occasional rubber heads. The bodies were made of felt and stuffed with cork dust. They could be as tall as 21' and had prominent facial features. Prior to 1922, they can also be identified by their vertical seam.

If you believe that you might have a Steiff doll, there are a few other things to check. Does the doll have flat feet that are large enough that they allow the doll to stand alone? Any Steiff doll that was made after 1905 will have a metal identification button (similar to what's on their stuffed animals) as well. And, if you're really lucky, you'll have one of the ethnic dolls that they produced--Eskimo or Chinese--or an occupational doll, like a cowboy or sailor.