Founded in 1894 by the Süssenguth brothers in Neustadt, Bavaria, Germany, for the production of dolls bodies en heads of composite for the German dolls industry. Around 1925 the company made a unique, but at that time not very popular, bear: ‘Peter’.
This rare model originally had a breast label which read: ‘Peter Ges
Gesch’ (legally protected) and the number 895257. The bulging, glass
eyes and the tongue of moulded composite moved up and down when the head
was turned. Existing ‘Peters’ usually are in fine condition, probably
because children found the bear scary with his spinning eyes and black
eye-sockets. He didn’t sell well, because of that.
‘Peter’ was available in three different colours: brown, dark grey and a kind of gold colour.
In 1976, hundred ‘Peters’ were found in a closed down factory in East Germany. They were still in perfect condition. This forced the prices down on this exceptionally bear.
Peter, the most lifelike bear. This slogan was right in every way, but the bear was too scary for smaller kids, which weight on sales.
