~ ANTIQUE WHITE STEIFF TEDDY BEAR c1907 FF BUTTON IN EAR! ~
"JINGLES" the Jester Bear! There is nothing that compares to the beauty of an early German Steiff teddy bear! This 14" white Steiff teddy is no exception. Aptly named JINGLES because he wears a jester suit as old as him that jingles from the 8 bells attached to it's ruff and the 2 on his hat! His suit is covered in lots of tiny gold paper stars like he stepped out of a fairy tale.Jingles is a gorgeous all original Steiff teddy bear who was "born" circa 1907. He still retains his FF Button-In-Ear. He is fully jointed and all joints work well. He is a strong teddy who retains lots of his clean and soft white mohair, which has yellowed over time. He has the most GORGEOUS classic early Steiff face! His original caramel colored nose & mouth stitching is perfectly intact and his eyes are original as well. His excelsior has settled over the years, which made him very slumpy giving him an appealing look! Yes, he is saggy, but his fabric is still very strong so he could be filled by a professional restorer if his new owner prefers him firmly stuffed. I liked keeping him slumpy! All of his pads are original with tiny holes and old stitched repairs in places as seen in the photos. Lastly, he is clean with no odors of any kind.Being over 100+ years, Jingles is not perfect. He has some wear and his mohair is thinning in various places on his body. Luckily he has plenty of mohair to compensate for it. It is most noticeable under his left arm along his torso, there is a balding area where he must have been picked up perhaps by a child many years ago (see photo). Also, there is some thinning in front of his chest, around face, back of legs, back of head, and a little around the arms. There is also a small stitched repair down his right leg that you have to look closely to notice it.His jester suit is not perfect either, but in very good shape for its age (early 1900s). The gold paper stars are worn as seen with edges curled. The outside of the hat is very good, but the inside lining reveals the cotton batting under the paper lining. The lining is almost all worn off and pieces still fall off. The suit is in very good condition and only has a tear around the crotch area on both the red and blue side, it's a very simple sewing job to fix it. This jester suit looks wonderful on this bear. I've tried it on a beige Steiff and it didn't look as good, so it's staying with Jingles and he will arrive to his new home wearing it!Many more photos are included (12 above) and extra ones to follow below. Please see all photos and contact me with any questions. This is a sale! Good luck offerding!TERMS: Paypal accepted. Winning buyer pays $20 USPS Priority Insured Shipping in the USA. International Shipping is a flat rate of $55 for USPS Priority Insured International. Payment is due with 3 days of sale end. Thank you.
On Nov-14-14 at 04:14:40 PST, seller added the following information:
* THIS EARLY TEDDY IS IN OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION & RETAINS APPROX. 90% OF HIS MOHAIR!*
On Nov-14-14 at 04:53:38 PST, seller added the following information:
NOTE: I mentioned he is slumpy, but it's just in his middle area and his limbs are chunky and strong. He sits upright fine and doesn't need to lean on anything. He is overall a strong bear.
On Nov-17-14 at 04:27:52 PST, seller added the following information:
Here is a better photo of Jingle's FF ear button (the other photo came out blurry):
