On 14 April 1912 the passenger liner Titanic was speeding towards New York on her maiden transatlantic voyage when, shortly before midnight, she struck an iceberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada. Water began pouring in immediately, and in less than three hours the liner had sunk. The sinking of the Titanic was one of the worst shipping tragedies of all time. 1,513 people lost their lives. When news of the catastrophe reached England the whole country was plunged into mourning.

Steiff responded by producing black mohair bears to mourn the disaster. These were displayed in shop windows throughout London within weeks of the disaster. Clearly touching a chord, they sold out quickly. Only 494 were produced resulting in them being greatly prized today. In 1912 a tragic historical event inspired the design of a Steiff bear; however, this was not the first nor last black bear that Steiff were to produce.

In 1907 Richard Steiff designed a pure black bear of outstanding quality. The bear remained a prototype never to be commercially produced. Five years later Richard was given the opportunity to once again offer a design made using pure black mohair and this time it was met with enormous success. Thereafter, variations were produced using different types of mohair and introducing new styles and sizes. Each and everyone one of these black beauties excel in spirit and overflow with personality. Today, in 2012, Steiff once again surpass with an outstanding bear that is sure to capture your imagination and win your heart. Inspired by the design of 1912, this superior black bear embodies the exceptional qualities, distinguished characteristics and marvelous magic that was first born from an historical event in our history.