Stuffed Animal Evolution Throughout the Years, Inside Out
From straw, felt, and printed cotton to mohair, wood wool, kapok, nylon, and foam, then to ASTM F963 and EU toy rules: how stuffed animals changed inside and out.
Stuffed Animals
Finding the Oldest Plush in the World in Museum Records
The oldest stuffed animals in museum catalogs date to 1892, and the oldest firmly dated plush is a 1904–1905 Steiff bear. Here are the objects, their records, and the gaps.
Who Invented the First Stuffed Animal? Meet Margarete Steiff
Margarete Steiff sewed the first commercial stuffed animal, a felt elephant, in 1880. Here is how her claim compares with the 1892 Tabby Cat patents and the 1903 Peter Rabbit doll.
The History of Stuffed Animals Is Older Than the Teddy Bear
Papyrus-stuffed dolls from Roman Egypt, Steiff’s felt elephant, printed cloth cats, plush bears, and washable postwar toys: the documented history of stuffed animals, with the dates sources still dispute.