Rolling Along With This Marvelous Miniature Steiff Donkey On Wheels

It's easy to be young at heart, even if you are not technically "young." And Steiff collectors have a knack for being youthful, as these beautiful toys make everyone feel like a kid again! This week we are taking a look at a lovely baby donkey who just happens to be over a century old. Check out this fantastic foal and see what makes her - and her ride - so lovely from the design and historical perspectives.

This happy handful packs alot of detail into a small space. She is about 13 cm tall and 15 cm wide, standing, unjointed, and made from grey mohair. Her mane and the tip of her tail are made from black mohair. Her all-mohair ears are pert and cheerful, and her face comes to life with black button eyes and a touch of airbrushing. She retains her original leather saddle, which is connected to her via two strips of linen ribbon. The saddle is detailed with three buttons, which probably helped to keep additional reins - which have been lost to time - in place. She glides along on four blue wooden wheels that are connected by metal axles.

Buttoning things up here, donkey retains her long trailing “f” knopf im ohr as her Steiff ID. This mohair donkey on wheels pattern was made in 14, 17, 22, 28, 35, 43, 50, 60, 80, and 150 cm from 1914 through 1943 overall and is one of Steiff's most beloved and endearing prewar patterns. It is Steiffgal's best guess that she is a petite version of the 14 cm edition. Given her configuration and detailing, it is suspected she is from the 1920s.

Wooden it be good to know a little more about her great blue wheels? Steiff's earliest wheeled toys were made with metal wheels. But starting in the 19-teens, the company began producing items on wooden wheels, like this darling donkey. Why is that? Steiffgal can come up with three possible business reasons for this significant and material change.

The first was to enable design flexibility. Wooden wheels, unlike metal wheels, could be painted in fun colors, adding to an items appeal, appearance, and perceived value. They also could be drilled slightly off center, becoming the company's beloved "eccentric" wheels. When an eccentric wheeled toy was pulled along, it waddled or shimmied in motion, just like the real animal would. To grow and stay competitive, Steiff needed to constantly come up with new and interesting products for the marketplace. Early wooden wheeled items lead to other rolling toys, including "Record" style, gallop, roly-poly, and wi-wag novelties.

The second was to create distribution efficiencies. Wood is lighter than metal, and that needs to be taken into consideration in terms of transportation. By the 19-teens, Steiff was indeed sending its toys and playthings all over the world. The lighter they could be made, the cheaper it would be to get them from here to there.

The third was to take advantage of available resources. The Steiff factory is located in an area with many trees and forests. Towards the end of WWI, and through the 1930s, Steiff significantly increased the number of exclusively wooden toys, and toys with wooden features, in their catalogs. It is a little known fact that Steiff produced a small line of painted, wooden furniture for children in the early 1920s. Steiff also figured out a way to create stuffed toys made from wood-plush when traditional woolen fabrics were not readily available around 1919. There is no question that the use of wood simplified the supply chain, created efficiencies, and provided factory jobs at a critical time in the company's history.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of donkeys and wheels has been a real go-getter for you.

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