Black Forest Germany Teddy Bear Invention

So begins the saga of the Teddy Bear, a phenomenal soft toy named after a President of the United States, Teddy Roosevelt.

Margarete Steiff contracted polio at the age of eighteen months, a dreaded and debilitating disease. She was destined to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair for her left foot was totally paralyzed, her right foot was lame, and she had only partial use of her right arm.

Perhaps a lighter spirit would bemoan the slings and arrows that fate had bestowed, but Margarete proved to have strength, courage and a will to become far more than most women of her generation.

Margarete Steiff attended school and was even carried, by stronger children, to some of her classes. She learned to sew on a machine and, though painful, became proficient in hand needlework as well.

With the completion of her education she was employed as a dressmaker and succeeded not only because of her skill, but as a result of her vibrant personality.

In 1880, she made her first toy fashioned of felt and stuffed with lambs wool. The tiny elephant delighted the children who received it; as it did the adults who used it as a pin cushion.

She even sold a few (although production was limited, reaching only 29 by 1882). Soon new animals were created. Ten years later, this extraordinary woman had formed a company and applied for patents to make other playthings.

The Steiff Company of Giengen an der Brenz, Germany, produced it's first jointed stuffed bears during the 1902-1903 period. The animals were the creation of Margaret Steiff.

Steiff bears were first introduced at the 1903 Leipzig Fair, where an American buyer saw them and ordered several thousand for shipment to the US.

See the collection ....
*Steiff Teddy Bears Online

Black Forest Woodcarvings

Black Forest Germany Woodcarvings
Some Samples of Traditional Woodcraft

Woodcarvings are still handmade by skilled masters as they were 200 years ago. Old clocks, original drawings of the first clocks etc. are still used and modified as patterns for new models, but the cuckoo clock in its basic form is 200 years old and has survived until now. The cuckoo clock symbolizes the past, present and the future.

Black Forest Germany Clockmaking

In the 17th century the Black Forest was a hard place. Europe was going through a mini-ice age, and it was so cold during the winters that milk sometimes froze in the pail between the barn and the house.

People began to make clocks in their homes during the long, harsh winters. These clocks soon became an important source of income

The first Black Forest Cuckoo Clock was designed and made in 1738 by Franz Anton Ketterer in the small village of Schönwald near Triberg, Germany, in the depths of the Black Forest. Ketterer managed to reproduce the cuckoo's call by the clever use of bellows producing two different sounds.

Clocks that were made in winter were sold by the clock peddlars in the summer months during long journeys throughout Europe. The clocks were secured on a frame and carried on the back. They were works of art, sought after luxuries that conquered the hearts of people all over the world.

This ancient craft continued to develop, becoming soon a flourishing industry. The poorly lit "cabinets" on attic floors where watchmakers worked in the past have become light and well-equipped workshops where clock movements and cases are manufactured by up-to-date methods.

Over the following years, the clock industry developed rapidly in the Black Forest. With their inventive genius, cleverness and dexterity, the inhabitants of the region employed the long winter months in making cuckoo clocks with richly handcarved decorations from various woods.

It is known for example that in 1808 in Triberg, and the surrounding villages, 790 of 9013 inhabitants were involved in the clock-making. In 1850 a school for clock-making was founded in Furtwangen, where students learned math and drawing as well as making cases and movements for the clocks.

During the long winter months, the farms were snowed-in and the people had a lot of time to create finely handcrafted cuckoo clocks of many styles with rich and varied carvings.

Clockmaking become widespread in the Black Forest, and folks began to specialize. Some cut gears, others carved the decorations or made the cases, and still others did the painting.

Many cuckoo clocks in the 18th and 19th centuries were painted with elaborate scenes on the front of the case. According to one source, in 1808 in the town of Triberg, 790 of the towns 9,013 residents were involved in clockmaking.

World Famous German Black Forest Model Trains

In the USA, names like *Marklin and *Faller are household names to American Model Railroaders. German Black Forest Model Railroading layouts depict the landscapes and feel of the area as they are in real life. Here are some layout pics as good as the real thing ....































More Black Forest Germany photos ....
*EuroYank Black Forest Germany Photos