Early Steiff Repair:
This is a pre-restoration photo beside the completed restoration photo of an early Steiff bear. At first glance, it is hard to believe it is the same bear. A make shift repair had this poor fellow looking like a well loved ordinary older bear, when infact he was something special. Imagine the look on his owner's face when she saw his transformation.

This bear was cleaned as well as restored to it's original appearance. There were several areas of work involved. The paws, claws, snout, nose, and ears.

See an early Steiff Lamb here...
 

I'd like to share with you the before and after photos of this wonderful Ted. He is an early Steiff probably around 1904. When he came to me he was missing his ears, most of his stuffing, part of one leg and his remaining pads needed to be replaced as they had been sewn shut to prevent his stuffing from coming out. Not only a wonderful bear but a family heirloom, his owner was eager to have him restored. Many hours later, his leg was reconstructed from mohair aged and dyed to match the old mohair on the rest of his body, his new ears emerged, his pads were replaced, and his body filled a bit. Extensive restoration such as this is costly due to the time and knowledge involved. It may appear to be a simple thing to replace ears and a limb but the idea is to do it without looking as though it is a replacement and that is where the time comes in. Click to see him AFTER...