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HERMANN-Spielwaren GmbH
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HERMANN-Spielwaren GmbH
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Excelsior is a very fine kind of wood wool, which
is used since generations for the Teddy Bear stuffing. It is very different
from that wood wool, which is used for packing. Excelsior exists in several
thicknesses. The bigger Teddy Bears have to be stuffed with more corpulent
excelsior with thicker threads, otherwise the work don't get ahead.
But for the smaller Bears you need very fine excelsior with thin threads. In the HERMANN-Coburg factory still today excelsior is used in 4 different thicknesses, because also the Miniature Teddy Bears, which have only a size of 3 3/4 inches are traditionally stuffed with excelsior. No other company do this. To stuff these little Bears, which are not much bigger than a finger of the large hands of an Excelsiorstuffer, also with excelsior is really a little artwork, and you can imagine, that it is not possible to use for a 31 1/2 inches Teddy Bear the same thickness of excelsior as for a 3 3/4 inches Teddy Bear.
The picture shows Martin-J. Hermann with the Old Max Bear 31 1/2 inches and the little Däumling Bear 3 3/4 inches
But much more important than the thickness is
the kind of wood, which is used to make the excelsior. The most traditional
and best wood is the wood of a tree with the German word "Fichte". This is
a species of a spruce or pine tree. But it is nearly not possible to stuff
a Teddy Bear with excelsior made of a tree, which is called in German "Tanne".
This is a species of a fir tree. Fir wood excelsior don't glide, and the
stuffing will not work.
You cannot see the different kinds of wood at the first sight, but you will "hear" it. Also in former times, whenever the companies, which made the excelsior, tried to smuggle fir wood into the stuffing excelsior, the Excelsiorstuffers set out to revile at the top of their voice. It is not possible to deceive an Excelsiorstuffer. He will notice the difference at the first minute of his work, and whenever you want to hear an Excelsiorstuffer crying, you only have to give him fir wood excelsior.
