Check Out This Purr-fectly Lovely, Time Traveling Steiff Cat!

There's no need for a fluff factor to describe how lovely this sweet kitten really is! Cats have been a key part of Steiff's offering since the very beginning, and have evolved in their presentation and construction over time. Just a handful of cat designs bridge the company's pre- and postwar production. This excellent example just squeezes into that elite category.

Here's a tip: this darling cat is going to steal your heart! What we have here is a 14 cm version of Steiff's Fluffy cat. Fluffy is sitting, head jointed, and made in part from blueish/lilac tipped mohair - which is just spectacular. Her little tail wraps sweetly around her body. Fluffy's face is detailed with large deep turquoise green and black pupil eyes, a simple hand embroidered pink nose and mouth, and clear monofilament whiskers. Her claws are indicted by pink paint, and she retains her original pink silken ribbon.

And just what makes her such a time traveler? For the most part, Fluffy is usually considered to be a legacy prewar production item. Her childlike proportions and colorful presentation (and personality!) all reflect the aesthetics of the time she was born, the "roaring '20s". Fluffy appeared in 7, 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 30, 35, and 43 from 1926-1943 overall. However, this particular model IDs include traces of a white ear tag, a raised script button, a named, red imprinted chest tag, and a US Zone tag, suggesting that she left the factory in Giengen in the very early 1950s.

Well, it turns out this pattern also tiptoed its way into Steiff's postwar production on little cat's feet. Sitting, head jointed Fluffy in the prewar tipped bluish lilac mohair pattern was produced in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1949 through 1950! The branding on this sweet girl really does align perfectly to this manufacturing timeframe.

Given her popularity, it is curious to think about why her production ended midcentury. This might have to do with her distinctive, signature material - a blueish/lilac tipped mohair. This distinctively old fashioned looking fabric may not have been produced in sufficient quantities or just "timed out" in popularity in the early 1950s. For the most part, Steiff rolled out a huge number of brand new, or updated dog, cat, bear, and animal patterns starting in the 1950s, perhaps to re-launch and re-invigorate its brand post war. Perhaps Steiff felt Fluffy's presentation was "too dated" for the midcentury marketplace which was focused on the space race, technology, television, and rock and roll music. In terms of sitting cats, Fluffy's design was slowly replaced by Susi, another favorite design that spanned the pre- and postwar periods. Susi was a line standard through 1978. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this midcentury cat has been as close to purr-fect as possible.

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