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Strunz
Company History
| Date |
Event |
| 1902 |
Founded, by the owner Wilhelm
Strauss, in Allersberg and Nuremberg, Germany as Wilhelm Strunz
Felt Toy Co. |
| 1904 |
First Strunz teddy bears produced |
| 1908 |
After legal disputes with Steiff re the use of labels and
buttons in the ear Strunz was authorised to staple a paper label
in ear |
| 1914-18 |
As no post war products have been found it
is believed the company did not survive beyond World War I |
Strunz
Teddy Bears
Willhelm Strunz began by making various felt toys - as the company
name suggests. Based on patent numbers it would appear the company
first began producing teddy bears in 1904, some of the earliest
bears had limbs attached using metal joints visible from the outside.
Strunz teddy bears were made of good quality long and short white,
blonde or brown mohair plush, in a variety of sizes ranging from
20cm up to 120cm - a number of Strunz bears were dressed e.g. as
a policeman, a soldier, a boy or girl or in a bathing costume. Strunz
bears would have been manufactured for about 10 years only so they
are quite rare.
| 1910 Strunz Teddy Bear |
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Strunz Teddy
Bear Identification
- In 1904-5 a blank button was placed in the right ear
- 1905 to late1908 six sided metal buttons, with a white label
reading "Strunz Toys", were placed in the ear
- Late1908 it was agreed a label could be stapled into the ear
but it seems unlikely Strunz actually did this
- Strunz teddy bears bore a very close resemblance
to early Steiff teddy bears e.g. shoe button eyes, pronounced
muzzle, long arms and legs, hump on the back - the two companies
were often in dispute regarding product design
- Nose stitching often horizontal and forming a triangular shape
- Foot pads were often inlaid with cardboard
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