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.

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more!

Cat Got Your Tongue Over These Fantastic Steiff Kittens?

These days, you just can't get enough of creature comforts. And nothing fits that bill better than Steiff's fantastic vintage cats. These purr-fect pets are always available to give - or get - a cuddle. Here are three tiny favorites from Steiffgal's collection. Come take a look to see what makes them so precious from the collectors' and historical perspectives.

Our first fine feline is an adorable example of Steiff's Fluffy cat. This example is 10 cm tall, sitting, and head jointed. She is made from white and blue-grey tipped mohair. Her little tail wraps sweetly around her body. Fluffy's face is detailed with oversized, deep turquoise green and black glass slit pupil eyes and a simple hand embroidered pink nose and mouth. She has managed to hold onto her her original clear monofilament whiskers over time; her blue bow and bell are replaced. Fluffy retains her metal rimmed, named chest tag as her Steiff ID. Pre-World War II, this pattern was produced in 7, 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 30, 35, and 43 cm from 1926 through 1943 overall. After the war, she appeared briefly again in the line in 14, 17, and 22 cm through 1950. 

It's easy to see why this Fluffy has a paw up in Steiffgal's collection. Her adorable presentation matches the vibe of the mid-1920s when she was designed and debuted. She is quite fluffy, and very feminine, with soft coloring and a playful personality. Her oversized eyes are placed low upon her center-seamed face, further emphasizing her childlike innocence. Her size makes her so easy and fun to display... and her fantastic chest tag confirms that she was made in the mid-1920s, dating her at the very beginning of her production timeline.

Now let's get around to our second pretty kitty. Here we have a lovely 9 cm Steiff ball cat. Her body is a simple, round form about the size of a golf ball. Her head is about the size of a walnut and is detailed with a white inset mohair muzzle, black and green glass slit pupil eyes, and a simple, pink hand embroidered nose and mouth. Her sweet little tail wraps around her backside, much like Steiff's fully formed cats of her era. Cat's two front limbs are made from tan colored woolen pom-poms. Her clear monofilament whiskers have unfortunately been lost to time. This ball cat pattern was made from 1932 through 1943 in 9 and 15 cm. This excellent example retains her long trailing "F" button and bits of her red ear tag, dating her to the early 1930s. 

These neat novelties rolled out during a difficult period at Steiff. Starting around 1930, Steiff's product development strategy focused in part on creating a series of affordable, appealing, and small scaled products. This was a very challenging time geopolitically throughout Germany, and many consumers did not have a great deal - if any - disposable income for toys and other "non-essentials." Ball animals, given their size, simplicity, and low material and labor costs, seem to fit the bill pretty well. So the company made eight versions overall; all were based on Steiff's most popular designs of the time. These included rabbits, Teddy bears, elephants, ducks, cats, lions, a Chin-Chin dog, and a Molly the Puppy. It is interesting to note that the company's inexpensive, palm sized woolen miniature animals also debuted in the early 1930s.

And finally, you're gonna have to face the fact that this last kitten has the best facial expression - ever. Here we have an 11 cm Siamy the Siamese cat. She is sitting and head jointed. She is made from tan mohair which has been airbrushed with overall tan and chocolate brown highlights. Her ears are made from light brown felt, and her muzzle is made from brown velvet. Her sweet tail wraps around her little behind. Her face is detailed with striking blue and black glass pupil eyes, a tan hand embroidered nose, and an open, peach felt lined mouth. Siamy appeared in the Steiff catalog post war from 1953 through 1954 only. She was produced in 11, 15, and 23 cm during that time. This precious example retains her red imprinted chest tag, raised script button in ear, and legible yellow ear tag as her Steiff IDs.

Despite their relatively short midcentury appearance, Siamy cats have been noted with numerous subtle differences in their detailing. In all three sizes, some have open mouths while some have closed mouths. Some have pink noses; others have light or dark brown noses. And their coloring also varies dramatically; some are mostly medium to dark brown, while others have just a touch of color contrast. Given this variety, it is easy to see why this pattern is truly the cat's meow and how it has remained a collector's favorite more than a half-century after its production ended. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on some of her favorite Steiff kittens has added a little meow mix to your day.

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more!

Purr-haps You Recognize This Unusual Steiff Cat ?

Guess who just walked in on little cat's feet? This charming Steiff kitten! Do you recognize her classic design? She's from a very interesting production era at Steiff. Let's take a closer look at this pretty kitty with an eye towards her period features and place on the Steiff cat "family tree."

This purr-fectly lovely girl is an early version of Steiff's Susi cat. She is 17 cm tall, sitting, and head jointed. Susi is made from artificial silk plush. Her muzzle, front feet, and chest area are (were) white while her body, head, and tail are (were) grey. The grey areas are hand airbrushed with black stripes. Her face comes to life with back painted green and black slit pupil glass eyes and a pink embroidered nose and mouth. Her clear monofilament whiskers and her red claws have been lost to time. You can feel the squeaker in her belly, but it is not working now. This version of Susi was produced in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1948 to 1949 only.

Let's paws for a moment and take a peek at the history of this fabulous feline. Steiff debuted its original Susi cat in 1936. Prewar, she was produced in mohair in 14, 17, 22, and 28 cm through 1943. In Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment, she is described as "mohair plush, gray tabby, sitting, very pretty model, round shape." It is very unusual to find subjective or "flattering" descriptions in the Sortiment books as they are almost always entirely factual and literal. So Susi's design must have really caught someone's eye!

Given cats do have nine lives, and taking into account her date of introduction, it is possible Susi's updated pattern was designed to replace the company's legacy sitting, head jointed "Fluffy" cat pattern. Fluffy was introduced in the mid-1920's and reflected the "roaring 20's" aesthetic ideal of that era. Items designed for that period were often "fat, fluffy, and feminine," and sometimes featured "unnatural" color - like the blue on Fluffy's backside. But the times had clearly changed in the interim. You can see a photo of Fluffy here on the left; this example is from the collection of Shelley Smith.  

Post war, Susi remained the cat's meow.   She was produced in mohair from 1949 through 1978 overall in 10, 12, 14, 17 and 22 cm. Almost 40 years onward, she is still a classic favorite, with the smallest versions especially in demand among Steiff and doll collectors alike.

Now let's get into the meow-mix of Susi's period features.  This Susi is made from artificial silk plush.  This substitute fabric was used in the place of mohair during times of material shortages at Steiff.  It was seen on popular line items from the mid-1930's through the very early 1950's - just before, and just after WWII.  It is safe to say that Steiff items made from artificial silk plush were produced during very difficult political and economic times in Germany. Artificial silk plush wears out and get dirty easily, so its initial shine and good looks fade almost immediately. It is not a very durable or attractive fabric in the long run.  However, it was available for toy production, and to their credit, Steiff always found a way to get their job done - making fine playthings for children. 

This Susi cat's construction also has several "old fashioned" details that are not seen on later versions of this pattern.  These include a prominent white "triangular" shaped forehead and inset white front feet.  It is possible that these seams were eliminated for cost and labor saving reasons as the design evolved over time.  And early Susi's - like this one - were made from distinctly grey and white fabrics, while those produced years or decades later were all white with grey and black airbrushing to produce the same "fur" effects. 

And to button up this discussion, it's important to note artificial silk plush Susi's ID.  She proudly wears the somewhat rare STEIFF all capital letters button.  This button appeared approximately in the 1947 through 1952 timeframe, perfectly aligning with her actual production time.   
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's rare early post war silk plush Susi cat has you feline groovy.

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

These Two Steiff Mystery Kittens Are Truly The Cat's Meow!

Sometimes Steiff treasures tip-toe in on little cat's feet. Check out this brief note from Steiff Superfan Holly, who had the great pleasure of finding and adopting these two tiny - albeit mysterious - sweethearts. She shares through a series of correspondences...

"Hi Steiffgal,

I just wanted to share a couple of oddities. It's been soooo long since I've added to my kitty collection and couldn't pass these up. Both are complete with all IDs. Their flag numbers are 2308,90. It's interesting that their 'chest' tags made it on their backs. Not a whole lot of room under their necks I suppose!

The cats themselves are not jointed, about 10cm across, 6cm tall, hard stuffed, the tail is not sewn to the body, velvet backed ears like an 11cm Tapsy. It's probably why I love them so much, they remind me of a curled up Tapsy! The body is a very simplistic design.

Cheers, Holly"

Well, it goes without saying that these two are truly the cat's meow.  They embody all that enthusiasts love - and are purr-fect in every way! They have a remarkable presentation; they appear to be in complete condition with all IDs; they are CATS (which are universal favorites); and most likely do not appear in any commercial scale catalog or reference book - at least as far as Steiffgal can recall.

Let's take things in order here and first check out the cat's article number - 2308,90 - and see if that helps to tell us anything about these darlings.  In this case, 2=lying; 3=mohair; 08=8 cm; 9=display animals or special editions; and 0=normal coloring.  Taken as a whole, that does for the most part describe these cats in the broadest sense.  

Now let's take a closer look at their presentation and see if that can help date or place their manufacturing and design within a relatively tight date range. 

• Clearly, their general look and coloring is much like the company's beloved "Tapsy" kitten. Tapsy was produced from 1959 through 1966 in 8, 11, 15 and 18 cm.  

• The facial expression on the sleeping version also may be a nod to Steiff's "Snurry" the dozing-off cat, who was produced from 1964 through 1966 in 15, 20, and 25 cm.  

• Another thing to look at is the cat's body construction and simplicity.  The one analogous item Steiffgal can come up with here is the company's Dormy the edible dormouse.  This little guy was also tucked up and styled with a long tail as an important part of his presentation.  These were made from 1966 through 1974 in 12 and 20 cm.  

• And finally, given that Holly's items are a special edition, it's important to check out another somewhat analogous special edition produced for FAO Schwarz here in the USA - the beloved "Cat Family Basket."  This item, which included three or four Steiff cats each, appeared from 1962 through 1972.  It is important to note that occasionally, other undocumented Steiff cats with velvet ear detailing - including a stretched out model and a crouching model - sometimes appeared in these baskets as well.

Like many Steiff rarities, Holly's kitties are probably a hybrid of a number of Steiff cat and design themes happening in the early to mid- 1960's time frame.  Steiff is well known for blending and matching themes, sizes, colorations, and detailing on their items to generate new product ideas. As such, these two kittens truly are a meow-mix! Steiffgal does think that these kittens are from the c. 1960-65 time frame, given article numbering conventions and their appearance.

So what is the back story with these pretty kitties?  They may have been produced on a very small scale as an exclusive product for a store such as FAO Schwarz but never documented as such. Steiffgal has seen that happen with a mohair squirrel edition.  They may have been made to be part of the "Cat Family Basket" and either got separated from the basket or never made it into one, and were sold on their own.  They might even be one-offs, meaning they were made as samples or prototypes and never produced on a commercial scale.  Steiff often sold these sorts of "orphans" to stores as they did not hold onto "rejects" if they could get them into the retail market.  But, at the end of the day, unfortunately only the kittens themselves know their real background and history. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Holly's mystery kittens has clued you in on their most interesting origins.

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.

Behind The Scenes Of The October, 2014 Teddy Dorado Steiff Auction Event

It's fun to talk Steiff - especially with professionals who have the distinct pleasure of working with the brand we all know and love for a living!  Steiffgal recently had the wonderful experience of chatting with auctioneer Carsten Esser from Teddy Dorado about his upcoming Steiff sales event on October 25, 2014 in Germany.  This is the company's lucky 13th Steiff auction, and there are so many interesting items available at this sale, both for new and vintage Steiff enthusiasts... and the catalog in its entirety can be viewed here.  But for right now, lets go behind the scenes and learn a little more about this auction and the stories behind some of its highlights!

Steiffgal: Of all the delightful items coming up for auction, which ones would you most like to add to your own collection?

Carsten Esser: I have collected Steiff since I was a young boy, and have forever loved the company's very small dogs. They have always seemed to have such fantastic craftsmanship, and even today I wonder how it is possible to bring excelsior and plush to life in such a magical way. The upcoming Teddy Dorado Auction features some minty mint doggies from the 1950s; this of course brings me great pleasure - and hopefully the same to Steiff dog collectors from all over the world. A wonderful example is lot 13-1204, a 10 cm St. Bernard dog from 1953-1955 in pristine condition; he is pictured here on the left. 

However, when I founded Teddy Dorado four years ago, I made the very difficult decision not to actively collect Steiff anymore. I did so because I felt that if I continued to build my collection, I could not be a fair agent between those who would like to buy and/or sell fine Steiff treasures. So this fabulous example will have to find a new home that is not with me and my family.  But I am certain that this will not be a problem!

Steiffgal: Although you have handled Steiff for many years, and are very familiar with the company's products from the very beginning, are there any items in the upcoming auction that were new to you? 

Carsten Esser: Whenever an item appears that I have not seen in the past, well, this is always a very exciting experience indeed! And yes, this did occur with an item in this auction. We ran a Steiff valuation clinic during a Steiff Club event in a very large shopping center in southern Germany some months ago. Here, someone brought us a Steiff pedal car, which is lot TD 13-2601. The owner told us that it was his favorite toy when he was a kid, that the car still works very well, and that he hoped that now this vehicle could find a good new home. This was the first time I had seen one of these in person, and all I could think about was how exciting it will be to share this great and unusual find with the rest of the Steiff collecting world!  (This pedal car is pictured here on the left.)

But then the story gets even more interesting! The same man with the Steiff pedal car then took a tiny woolen miniature Pomeranian dog (now lot TD 13-7009) out of this pocket. He told me that he suspected that the dog was made by Steiff due to its white paper ear tag, but that it felt it was probably not terribly valuable and not worth enough to be auctioned off. Much to his surprise, I told him that the small dog would also do quite well at auction, and that his car and dog would be important lots in the upcoming October overall sale.  (This dog is pictured here on the left.)

I sometimes do see very rare or uncataloged items, and that is due in part to our business location, which is relatively close to Giengen.  My company very often receives consignments from people who live nearby the Steiff factory who have - or had - relatives who were employed by Steiff. And that is true in this auction as well, where we are listing a large and most likely one of a kind rabbit, lot TD 13-1503, from the estate of a former long term Steiff employee.  He is brown and white dralon and was most likely a prototype that was never put into production.  I particularly like his eyes, which are backed in felt. (This rabbit is pictured here on the left.)

Steiffgal: Your printed catalogs are so professionally done, well illustrated, and most informative. But how do you decide what appears on the cover? Is it the age of the items, or the lot numbers, or values, or something else?

Carsten Esser: We try to have the items on our catalog covers to be representative of the entire auction, as well as highlight some very special pieces, too. We choose items which are the "celebrities" of an auction (like Black Jack, the 1912 black bear who appeared on our summer, 2014 catalog cover and hammered for 15,000 €), items in extremely good or like new condition, very unusual treasures (like the White Teddy Girl on a mohair cushion who also appeared on our summer, 2014 catalog cover and hammered for 8,000 €), highly valued items, and things that go together nicely, like "couples." Our current cover features two such pairs: two small Teddy bears (lots 13-7001 and 13-7002) and a Fluffy cat and Rattler dog who have been together for many, many decades. They all came to us from the same private estate. If you check out our fall, 2014 catalog cover, you'd have to agree that they look great together! (Cover pets Fluffy and Rattler are pictured here on the left.)

Steiffgal: Carsten, as always, thank you so much for your time, and sharing some of your behind the scenes auction secrets with the Steifflife readers today!  

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.