It's Easy To Love Steiff's Woolen Miniatures In A Really Big Way!

Sometimes just a little bit is more than enough!  And that is the case when it comes to Steiff's delightful woolen miniatures.  These petite and precious treasures, which are amazingly constructed and pack so much detail into so little space, have been collector's favorites since their introduction in 1931.  Steiffgal recently welcomed several new, somewhat unusual wonderful woolies into her collection.  Take a big look at these tiny treats - perhaps you'll fall in love with them, too!

Let's kick things off with this adorable "pet set."  Here we have Steiff's woolen miniature guinea pig and hamster.  Both are 6 cm, made from woolen yarn, with peach colored felt ears and double thick white felt front feet.  Both the guinea pig and hamster have black button eyes and clear mono filament whiskers.  The guinea pig is white, black, and orange while the hamster is golden yellow and white.  They are basically the same design in different colors with one finishing difference:  the hamster has a tiny white felt tail while the guinea pig is tail-less.  Both these items never had chest tags. Guinea pig appeared in the line from 1973 through 1980 and hamster from 1973 through 1979; both were made in this size only.

This next woolie will certainly bug you, but that's ok in this case.  Here we have Steiff's woolen cockchafer, also known as a may bug or beetle.  He is 4 cm and made of brown, white, and black yarn.  His underside and six legs are formed from a thin piece of brown dye-cut plastic.  He has a tiny black woolen tail.  His head most interestingly is made from a round black plastic bead, which is finished with two black string antennae.  Cockchafer was manufactured from 1969 through 1974 in this size only; he is one of the very few Steiff items that never had a Steiff button or tag.

Here we have a very small bundle of joy.  This lovely item is Steiff's woolen stork.  She is 11 cm, standing, and made from pure white woolen yarn.  Her tail feathers are scalloped and made from black felt, and her long legs and toe-d feet are red plastic.  Her tiny face is detailed with black button eyes and an orange plastic beak - which would be perfect to hold a tiny new baby! Her neck contains a flexible metal wire so it is somewhat poseable.  This item never had a chest tag as there was no place to put it. Stork was manufactured from 1970 through 1977 in this size only.  

It's always fun to hang out with Steiff, and this last item really illustrates that point.  Here we have Steiff's highly kinetic "Woolen Coral Reef Fish Mobile."  The mobile consists of five little woolen miniature fish that are carefully balanced and weighted on tan strings and thin metal wires to create this hanging piece of art.  The fish themselves are 7 cm each and made from colorful woolen yarns.  Each has black plastic fins, large brown and black pupil eyes, and a large, smiling, felt mouth.  The fish are primarily blue, yellow, green, orange, and red, and all have their button and yellow flag on their top fin area. This set appeared from 1969 through 1975 packaged in a square plastic box.  This marvelous mobile hangs playfully from Steiffgal's dining room chandelier and is a constant source of food for thought - no pun intended!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of unusual Steiff post war woolen miniatures has helped to brighten your day in a big way.

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