Getting Down To Monkey Business With This Lovely And Very Early Steiff Chimp

Do you like Steiff's cheeky monkeys? Of course you do! This very early and very sassy girl named Clara recently joined Steiffgal's hug and she's understandably just bananas over her. Come take a look and see what makes Clara so interesting from the design and product development perspectives. 

There's no monkeying around when it comes to this precious primate! Clara measures 24 cm sitting and 40 cm standing. She is fully jointed and made from white mohair which has mellowed to a vanilla color over time. She has a long, thin mohair tail that is lined in wire and is posable. Her hands, feet, facial mask, and ears are made from white felt. Clara has a non-working squeaker in her torso. Her face comes to life with simple black button eyes, a seamed mouth, and a few stitches around her nose. Clara's pattern was produced in 28, 35, 43, 50, and 60 cm (measured sitting) from 1908 through 1915 overall. She is probably a petite version of the standard line 28 cm version. 

This charming chimp was introduced at a very interesting time in the company's product development timeline. Clara is based on an almost identical brown, fully jointed mohair monkey with a tail design that was introduced in 1904. The brown version was produced in 28, 35, 43, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 120 cm from 1904 through 1919 overall. Mohair became available on a commercial scale in Germany around 1903, and this added whole new dimensions and possibilities to the company's product design options. This fully jointed, playful chimp design translated beautifully in this appealing and soft-to-the-touch fabric. 

You can't also help but notice Clara's facial construction. This monkey pattern has a very endearing, human-like expression.  And, like the company's earliest cloth dolls introduced in 1903, has a prominent vertical seam that goes the entire length of her face. This feature emphasizes how symmetrical her face is, as well as enables a pleasing roundness to her construction. Steiff's doll line featured this similar detailing through the late 1920s. However, when it came to Steiff's monkeys, it is interesting to note that this center seamed pattern was quickly eclipsed by the company's mostly smooth felt faced mohair Jocko monkey pattern, introduced in 1909.

It's always fun to take a look at original advertising for early pieces such as this. Here on the left you can see the listing for this fully jointed, white mohair monkey from the company's 1912 United States catalog. It was published in conjunction with George Borgfeldt & Company, Steiff's American distributor at the time. This pattern is noted as joined and made from fine plush in brown and white. In 1912, the white version was available in 28, 35, and 43 cm. At the time, the 28 cm version cost $1.10, the 35 cm version cost $1.70, and the 43 cm cost $2.20. In 2021 dollars, that is the equivalent of about $30.04, $46.42, and $60.08, respectively.

Steiffgal hopes you've found this discussion as entertaining as a barrel full of monkeys!

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