Warming Up To Some Of Steiff's More Unusual Dog Designs

Given it's just about the midpoint of the cold, dark winter (at least around these parts!) Steiffgal thought readers might appreciate a few warm fuzzies sent their way.  Perhaps you are aware of the saying "a three dog night?" This historically referred to the number of dogs a person would have to cuddle with at night to stay comfortable during frigid weather.  So, to REALLY help crank up the temperature, here are FIVE interesting and somewhat rare Steiff hounds that just might add a degree or two to your day!

Let's get started by taking a "peek" at this first great Steiff dog.  Here we have a large, lesser known Steiff Pekingese named Peky. Her pattern is very different from the company's better known, more common, and smaller Peky designs.  Peky is 30 cm, head jointed, and sitting. Her ears, back and tail are made from very tan long mohair while her face and legs are made from short mohair. Her face is detailed with huge, round black and white google eyes, a black hand embroidered nose, and airbrushing on her eyebrows and elaborately constructed muzzle. She has the most endearing, pouty expression... she is probably thinking, "Hand me over a taste of whatever you're eating right now!"  This large Peky pattern was made between 1965 and 1976; this example has a raised script button placing her production at or before 1969.  

It's time to hand off the spotlight to this most adorable puppet pup.  This is Steiff's Treff the Bloodhound hand puppet.  Treff is 17 cm tall and made from bright blond mohair. She has three black hand embroidered claws on each hand. Her head is modeled after the company's beloved Treff pattern, and comes to life with long droopy ears, oversized black and brown glass eyes set deep into eye pockets; a black hand embroidered nose; simple jowls; and airbrushed freckles. She retains traces of her original red ribbon.  This happy handful was produced in this size only from 1928 through 1940.  This example retains her long trailing f button, early chest tag, and traces of her red ear tag, putting her at the early part of the production timeline.

Rolling right along, here are two great and early examples of Steiff's wonderful dogs on wooden eccentric wheels.  Both have the appearance of bobbing up and down as they are pulled along.

The first coppery example begs a penny for your thoughts.  Here we have a lovely version of the company's beloved Waldi Dachshund pull toy.  Waldi is standing, 16 cm tall and 30 cm long nose to backside, unjointed, and made from long, glorious copper colored mohair.  His tail adds another 10 cm to his length. His face, arms, and legs are made from shorter copper colored mohair. Waldi has a simple black hand embroidered mouth and nose and black eyes. He glides upon four oversized, blue off-center wooden wheels. Waldi retains his original green leather collar, long trailing f button, and fully legible red ear tag.  Pre-war, Waldi was produced on eccentric wheels in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1933 through 1943; this example is from the early part of that period. Once the factory opened for toymaking business after the war, he again was produced in 17 and 25 cm from 1949 through 1970. 

This second Steiff dog on wheels comes sealed with a kiss.   This Sealyham is standing, 17 cm tall and 24 cm long nose to backside, unjointed, and made from long white mohair. His tail adds another 5 cm to his length. Sealy has a simple black hand embroidered mouth and nose, brown and black glass pupil eyes, and felt lined ears. He rides on four red off-center wooden wheels. Sealy retains his original red leather collar and brass bell, along with his long trailing f button.  He was produced on eccentric wheels in 17 and 22 cm from 1939 through 1943.  And, like Waldi, this model again appeared in the line post war, but for a much shorter interval.  He was available in 14 and 17 cm from 1949 through 1954.

Today's final highlight is a shoe in as a collector's favorite.  Here we have a nice example of a Hush Puppy Basset hound made for the footwear company of the same name.  He is sitting, unjointed, and is made from tan mohair that has been lovingly airbrushed in multiple shades of tan, brown, and black. He has has wonderfully long, droopy ears; a hand embroidered black nose; and realistic, dimensional soft jowls. Basset has brown airbrushed claws and extremely round, realistic-looking eyeballs that are embedded into his facial mask structure.  He retains his original red collar and all IDs, including his specially imprinted "Hush Puppies" chest tag.  

This delightful customer special was produced in 14 and 14 cm from 1970 through 1972, and is quite similar to Steiff's earlier, standard line 1960s-era Basset hounds.  These were produced from 1961 through 1963 in 12, 14, and 22 cm.  There are three main differences between the standard line Bassets and the Hush Puppy Bassets.  The Hush Puppy Bassets are unjointed, have a red collar, and have a special logo'ed chest tag.  The standard line Bassets are head jointed, have green collars, and have the word "Basset" on their chest tags.  

Steiffgal hopes this tour through Steiff's "kennel club" has lit a bit of a Steiff fire under you!

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

Care For A Sneak "Peek" At A Seldom Seen Prewar Steiff Dog?

Care to have a sneak "peek" at a really rare Steiff pup? Then check out this little love, who would definitely qualify as part of the canine "toy group" on many levels! You probably know of her breed through a later Steiff design; this model is the great grandmother of one of the most prolific and popular Steiff dogs of the 1950's-1970's.

This petite pooch is the earliest version of "Peky," Steiff's beloved Pekingese pattern. She stands 17 cm high and 20 cm long. Peky is made from tipped and highlighted cream colored mohair. She is standing on all fours and is head jointed. Her tail curves back over her rump, and is stitched in place. Peky has three black hand embroidered claws on each foot and a non-working side squeaker. She has relatively short ears, a shorter mohair face, oversized black and brown pupil eyes, and a hand embroidered nose and mouth. Her lips have a spot of pink airbrushing. 

Peky retains her trailing "f" style and pre-war style yellow ear tag with the numbers 1317,02. These correspond to 1=standing, 3=mohair. 17= 17 cm, 0=without wheels, and 2=squeaker. This pretty Pekingese was made in 10, 14, 17, 22, and 25 cm from 1938 through 1943. 

At first glance, Peky looks alot like two of her fellow standing dog sisters of the era, Charly the King Charles Spaniel (standing on the left), and the Chin Chin (standing in the middle). You can see this family resemblance here on the photo here.  Charly was made standing or sitting. Standing Charly was manufactured in 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1928 through 1938 while sitting Charly appeared in the line in 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 30, and 35 cm from 1928 through 1936. Chin Chin was only produced standing in 10, 14, 17, 20, 22, 25, 28, and 35 cm from 1931 though 1939. All share the same basic face with key design differences being in ear length, body shape, tail posture, and facial coloring.

Peky had a major makeover post war and was reintroduced to the collector's world in 1953. This updated Peky was produced in 8, 10, 14, and 22 cm though 1977. The post-war Peky is standing, made from light brown mohair, has a detailed black muzzle (mostly velvet in the smaller sizes; mohair in the larger ones), and a darling, pouty mouth. This pattern was also produced as an 18 cm hand puppet from 1963 through 1964. You can see these "new" Peky dogs here on the left.  Then, in 1965, Steiff went on to introduce a larger, 30 cm light blond mohair sitting Peky; she appeared in the line through 1976 and is a bit more rare than her smaller siblings. Because Peky's design is so expressive, it remains a collector's favorite to this day - as each Peky truly has her own look and personality. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of Steiff's early toy dogs is worthy of a little "pek" on the cheek.

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

Steiff's Delightful Puppy and Puppet Pooch Pal Pairs

Dog-gonnit!  Who doesn't just love Steiff's delightful canine designs from the 1950's and 1960's?  Their universal appeal makes them top dogs in the eyes of many Steiff collectors.  Many of these popular pups were also made as hand puppets.  For some reason, they are a little less popular than their full doggie inspirations, despite the fact that they are fun to collect and easy to display.  Let's take a look at four really sweet puppet and puppy pooch pairs - and maybe you'll be inspired to add a few of these happy hand puppets to your collection, too! 

Starting off this review is the "dynamic duo" of Steiff's Dally puppet and Dally puppy.  This Dalmatian puppet is 17 cm, unjointed, and made from white mohair.   Of course, his back and head are covered with delightful black dots! His open mouth is lined in pink velvet.  He has three black claws on each of his paws. Hand Dally has black and brown pupil eyes and a black hand stitched nose.  He is one of the rarer Steiff post war puppets, and was only in the line from 1955 through 1956.  The little "spotty dotty" dog on his left is 10 cm and head jointed. And, like his puppet cousin, Dally has an open pink velvet mouth, brown and black pupil eyes, and a black hand embroidered nose.  Dally the dog was produced in 10, 17, and 28 cm from 1953 through 1969. 

Let's now step into the ring with these great Steiff Boxer examples.  The puppet is 17 cm; his body, head, and and hands are made from tan mohair while his muzzle is made from black velvet. Boxer has very nice brown airbrushing on his face and back, and black airbrushing on the top of his muzzle. His ears are lined in peach colored felt. Boxer is detailed with black and brown pupil eyes, a black hand stitched nose, and black stitched claws on his paws. He was produced from 1951 through 1963. His little companion on his right is sitting, 10 cm, and head jointed.  Like many of Steiff's baby-sized items of the period, he has tiny felt ears.  He shares the same mohair, coloring, muzzle, and facial detailing as his puppet buddy, albeit on a much smaller scale.  Steiff manufactured sitting Boxer from 1951 through 1961 in 10 and 14 cm. He was called Sarras from 1951 through 1958 and Boxer from 1959 through 1961.

These next two Steiff dog pairs deserve a little "Pek" on the cheek for sure.   Here we have Peky Pekingese as a puppet and a dog toy.  The puppet version of Peky is 17 cm, unjointed, and made from soft blond mohair with a great golden glow to it.  Her back and head are highlighted with a touch of tan airbrushing. Her ears are made from longer matching color mohair.  Peky's little pouting face comes to life with oversized black and brown pupil eyes, a little black airbrushing, a hand embroidered nose, and a wonderfully detailed, dimensional muzzle made from mohair and velvet.  Like puppet Dally, puppet Peky also was only in the line for one year, in this case from 1963 through 1964. Peky's little counterpart on her right is 8 cm, standing, and head jointed.  As you can see, she is the "mini me" of her puppet pal in terms of her coloring, construction, and just plain appeal! Peky the Pekingese dog was produced in 8, 10, 14, and 22 cm from 1953 though 1977.

Our last great pup and puppet pals are as snug as a bug in a rug! These two buddies are Steiff's Mopsy Pugs.  The puppet version is 17 cm and made from light brown mohair.  She has darker brown highlights on her facial mask, forehead, and the tips of her paws.  Her ears fold over just like a real pugs do!  Her goofy pug face can only be described as "pugly" with its black and white google style eyes, black hand embroidered nose, and playful, sticking-out orange felt tongue.  Puppet Mopsy appeared in the line from 1960 through 1978.  This pug puppet's playful pal is 12 cm, sitting and head jointed.  And the two keep it all in the family with her similar coloring, "wrinkle-y" forehead and muzzle, and quizzical, asymmetric look! Mopsy the pug was produced in 12 and 22 cm from 1960 through 1981. 

Steiffgal hopes that this discussion on Steiff's doggy hand puppets (and their full bodied counterparts) deserves a hearty round of applause!

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