Margarete Steiff was born on 24 July 1847 in Giengen an der Brenz, near Ulm, Germany. 1949 she contracted polio, a children's illness about which little was known at the time. From this point on, her legs had been paralysed.

When she was older, Margarete's elder sisters - Marie and Pauline - opened a dressmaker's shop in which Margarete worked part-time. When Marie and Pauline left their home town some eight years later, Margarete continued on her own.

Margarete's breakthrough came at the end of 1879, when she happened to see a pattern for an elephant made of fabric in a dressmaking journal. She gives five lovingly created elephants to friends, where they are received with great enthusiasm - but not as pincushions, as originally intended, but as toys. In just six years, these felt elephants give rise to sales of over 5,000. The little dressmaking shop is transformed into a "felt article and toy manufacturing establishment".

In 1902, having been in the company for five years, her nephew Richard designed the world's first jointed toy bear. Margarete was initially sceptical, since she found the bear too ungainly for children's hands. However, her misgivings soon gave way to enthusiasm. The success of the bear spoke for itself. When a Teddy bear boom emerged in the USA under Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, sales reached an all-time high. The "Bear 55 PB" - sold as "Teddy Bear" from 1906 onwards - becomes an international top seller.

Margarete Steiff died on 9 May 1909 with her family around her. A hard blow for the whole Steiff family, her friends and her employees. Margarete's nephews took over the running of the company and people all over the world have been keeping her flame alive ever since. Margarete Steiff created something that is larger than life.

(For more information please visit www.steiff.de – Company History)