Keeping It In The Family With This Nearly Century-Old Steiff Bear

Old friends make for the best of friends. And so it is with this heirloom who calls the Western part of the USA home. He has lived his nearly century long life with the same family, which is wonderful for both the bear and his people! His owners simply write...

"We are interested in getting more info on a red tag bear who measures approximately 28” standing and 20" sitting. He's been in the family since the 1930s. Thank you."

This delightful and most appealing five ways jointed cub is Steiff's legacy, standard line blonde mohair Teddy bear. This pattern in this color was made in 10, 15, 18, 22, 25, 30, 32, 35, 40, 46, 50, 60, 70, and 115 cm from 1906-1933. Like most prewar blonde Steiff bears, he has black hand embroidered nose, mouth, and claw stitching. He has longish arms with spoon shaped paws and a moderately sized back hump. His paw pads are made from felt and appear to be original to him. His eyes are brown and black glass pupil style, perhaps slightly oversized in proportion.

Bear's red ear tag, long trailing "f" button, and proportions date his production to the c. 1926-1933 time frame. This aligns really well with the history his family shared. Steiffgal suspects that he was born probably towards the beginning of that time frame as he has more of a 1920s era look to him. Bears from the 1920s tend to be more fuzzy, full figured, and youthful looking. Those from the 1930s often are less fuzzy, more serious looking, and leaner all around. You can check out an image of Steiff's bears from the company's 1929 catalog here on the left for reference. As you can see, they really have a fun and upbeat look to them. 

Given Ted's dimensions - 20 inches/50 cm sitting and 28 inches/70 cm standing - this bear is technically the company's 70 cm version. This suggests his article number would be 5350,2. This translates to 5=jointed, 3=mohair, 50=size sitting, and ,2=has a growler (noisemaker) in the belly. Sometimes these growlers work but often they break over time. It is not clear if this Ted still talks. However, 5350,2 is the number that would be most likely on his red tag if it were still legible.

As for value, something is worth what someone will pay for it. Steiffgal has not seen or handled this bear firsthand, and does not know if he has any significant losses or condition issues, including those that don't show up in pictures. These include things like dry mohair, smoke damage, or insect damage. However, given he is as nice - and as "healthy" - as he appears in his photos, Steiffgal suspects he may trade hands in the c. $2,500-4,500 range.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this heirloom prewar Ted has timeless appeal to you.

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

The His-Story Behind A Marvelous Turn of Last Century Steiff Cub

Provenance can add such an interesting dimension to a precious Steiff item. Here's the story behind a beloved family heirloom Steiffgal recently handled for a new friend from the western part of the USA. She was looking to find a new forever home for her Grandmother's bear - a gorgeous, 19-teens era cub. Here's his story!

Maggie shares:

"Here is a little history on this bear, which has been in my family for over 100 years. He was given to my Grandmother by her older brother, when he came home from World War I. She said that he had gotten the bear in France. My Grandmother called him Buster, probably after Buster Brown, and my mother and I called him Mr. Bear.

I put the little black ribbon on him when my Grandmother passed away in 1981. He's never been like professionally cleaned or refreshed or anything like that. I can remember my mother once shaking him in a brown paper bag with oatmeal to clean him off, that would be in the late sixties.

I took him once to an open casting call for Antiques Roadshow, but they said that they didn't want to do any stuffed toys that particular season. They valued him at somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000 BUT they misidentified him as being from the early 1920s.

I've had him for a really long time, and he does remind me of my Grandmother, but as I am nearing 60 now, I realize that I have no one to pass him down to. And I know that 99% of what people leave behind ends up at Goodwill. I would just be interested in maybe selling him to someone who collects bears and loves them."

Now here's more about Buster Brown, or Mr. Bear! This handsome dude is 40 cm tall standing, fully jointed, and made from lovely dark blonde mohair. Typical to his era, he has a prominent back hump, long thin felt padded feet, pert proportional brown and black glass pupil eyes, a sort of fuzzy muzzle, and a now faded black hand embroidered mouth, nose, and claws. He is stuffed with excelsior, with a nonworking squeaker in his belly. He has a distinctly sweet and childlike look to him. He retains his long trailing "f" button as his Steiff ID. Given his details and history, this charming cub was born in the c. 1915-1919 time frame. A picture of this bear is here on the left - before he hit the spa. 

As Maggie notes, this bear has never had a proper bath in over a century. So Steiffgal got to work on this. With the understanding that every item is different, and that pre-existing condition issues really matters when it comes to cleaning, this bear totally qualified for a light but comprehensive scrub. His mohair and backing were lush and intact, with no signs whatsoever of dry mohair or rot. Using the technique outlined in this blog and/or in this video, Steiffgal gave him a good cleaning and fluff, and now he looks even more marvelous than ever! The picture here on the left is the bear post cleaning. Look how his fur just glows!

Now Buster Brown, or Mr. Bear, is off to his new home, far far away, where he will be loved and cherished forever per Maggie's wishes. And look how happy he looks about that!

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

Sitting On Top Of The World With This Great Prewar Steiff Find

Steiffgal's fostering a sweet Steiff pup - at least for a few days! A local friend came across this great button in ear pooch amongst a bunch of other items in a boxed lot from an auction. When Steiffgal checked out the dog in person, he was even better than her friend described. But he needed just a little work to bring out his best self. Check out this cute canine  - he's certain to warm your heart, in the best possible way. 

Here we have Steiff's Chinook Byrds Arctic Expedition Dog. He is sitting, head jointed, and 28 cm tall. He is made from blonde wool plush. He is very authentically rendered with great curves and proportions. His sweet long tail curves upward and hugs his body. He has black hand embroidered claws on each of his paws. His face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes, a black hand embroidered nose, and a happy, smiling open felt lined mouth. His airbrushing includes overall shading, pads on the bottom of his feet, back striping, and facial highlighting. He wears a red leather collar that closes with two Steiff buttons. He has a large bell which may or may not be original to him. He retains his button in ear. This dog was made in 22, 28, and 35 cm from 1930-1931 only. He was also made in a lying configuration in 22, 32, 35, and 50 cm from 1930-1931 and as a tail moves head version in 23, 29, and 35 cm from 1931-1932.

Although he's simply gorgeous now, that's not how he arrived at Steiffgal's home. His original eyes were replaced with glass eyes that were clearly way too small, broken, and not original to him. He had a few open seams, and his tail was not attached to his body. And he was FILTHLY! Like stored in an attic and wrapped in old newspaper for 50 years dirty. But these things can easily be addressed. First, Steiffgal gave him a soft, gentle cleaning. She followed this process and it worked really well. After a few go rounds, he went from dark grey to light blonde. Wool plush cleans up well, and is sturdy, so much of his natural beauty came to life again. This cleaning also revealed traces of his once prominent contour and highlight airbrushing which were hidden under his dust. 

Next, she replaced his eyes with ones that were more proportional to his face. He presented with broken glass eyes that measured about 3 mm. After studying his face, and consulting with similar sized dogs from his era, Steiffgal determined that the right size eyes for him would be 9 cm. So she ordered them from www.glasseyesonline.com; this website has tons of options for restoration projects like this. She inserted them into his head in the "traditional" Steiff way, using a long needle to secure the eyes to the head via a knot at the back of the head. 

And finally, she simply added a few stitches to bring him back to good form. She gently tacked his tail into place, matching the curve noted in photos of this item when it was new. And she closed a small loose seam on one of his slightly folded over ears. 

Now let's take a quick look at the history of the Chinook breed, and its relationship to Byrd's Antarctic Expedition. A Chinook is a relatively recent breed of dog that was created by Arthur Walden of Wonalancet, New Hampshire in 1917 as a working dog. This breed was "formulated" from crossbreeding dogs from the Peary North Pole Expedition with other breeds with great stamina, strength, and cold weather tolerance. You can see a photo of a real life Chinook here on the left.

Mr. Walden was an experienced dog driver with years of experience in the Yukon.  For that reason was selected as the lead driver and trainer on the 1929 Byrd expedition, even though he was close to 60 at the time! Walden brought along his original Chinook, now 12 years old, and fifteen of his dog sons to provide surface transportation on the Antarctic ice for this critical exploratory mission.  

And what does this mean in terms of Steiff? It is not uncommon since the turn of last century for Steiff to use "celebrities" as inspiration for new products. The world was in love with Chinooks and the role they played in Byrd's operations; why not make him as a plaything?  The precedent had already been set with a series of delightful and popular dolls and toys honoring Peary's North Pole Expedition in the 1908 - 1919 time frame.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's polar pups has you sitting on top of the world!

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

Hans Down, This Prewar Steiff Teddy Bear Has Amazing ID!

This Steiff blog entry is designed to test your "metal" in the most interesting way possible. Check out this delightful and purely period prewar Steiff Ted that Steiffgal has named Hans. He recently joined Steiffgal's hug and previously belonged to a Canadian collector. Can you believe he's close to 90 years old? Indeed, he does check out in every way as a late prewar cub... with a very special and little known detail that helps to narrow down his dating. But more about that in just a bit.

This little love of a cub is a wonderful time capsule of Steiff's mid-1930s to mid-1940s Teddy bear design directives. In terms of his physical properties, Hans stands at 10 inches/25 cm tall and is made from yellow-blonde mohair. He has a back hump, but it is less pronounced than the company's earlier bear editions. He is fully jointed and has both felt hand and foot pads. Each pad is detailed with four black claws. His feet are long and narrow, and his wrists turn slightly upward. Hans' face comes alive with proportional black and brown glass pupil eyes, an unshaven muzzle, and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. Hans' side-squeeze squeaker works, once in a while.

Hans also has a few "intangible" properties that tie him to the late prewar period. He has a very distinctive long, lean, and somewhat "pensive" appearance. He's a "no nonsense" Ted indeed. This "look and feel" is often seen on Steiff's prewar bear production from the early 1930s onward. It is possible that bears created at this time reflected the feelings of the seamstresses making them, as the 1930s and 1940s were very stressful decades in Germany due to challenging and ongoing social, political, and economic realities. In contrast, consider Steiff's early postwar bear production - from the early 1950s onward. Newly introduced midcentury patterns like Zotty and Jackie and the company's re-engineered "Original Teddy Bears" are noted for their jolly faces, rotund bodies, and playful personalities.

Perhaps the most concrete metric in terms of dating Hans is his unexpected branding. He sports an unusual BRASS colored Steiff button. It is the short trailing "f" style and 6 mm in diameter. This button appeared on a few items from 1933/34 through 1943. He also has traces of his yellow linen ear tag, but the information on it is not legible. The yellow tag was introduced around 1934, which suggests Hans' birth year falls roughly between 1934 and 1943. This is one of a handful of times Steiffgal has ever seen this brass button, and Hans is only the second item in her collection of antique Steiff treasures bearing this distinctive trademark. Most of the time, for items produced in the mid 1930's through early 1940's time frame, Steiff used a silver colored short trailing "f" button. It is possible that Steiff substituted brass buttons for silver colored ones during this time for economic or supply chain reasons, but Steiffgal does not know for certain. Whatever the reason, finding items like Hans with this late prewar branding is a rare and wonderful experience for sure!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's rarer prewar brass buttons has brought the topic full circle for you.

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

Playing The Dating Game With Steiff's Precious Pre- And Post War Chimp Puppets

How do you tell how old a vintage Steiff collectible is, if it doesn't have tell-tale IDs? For Steiff items produced over a very limited time, this is easy, and can be solved through reference book or online research. However, for some legacy items that appeared in the line for decades, this can be tricky. Dating is an art, and not a science, especially when it comes to timeless items like the company's Jocko chimpanzee puppets. 

Steiff's chimp puppets have been produced almost continuously in mohair from 1911 through 1978 (with a pause in the 1940s for World War II) and are beloved universally. Steiff's monkey puppet design was produced prewar from 1911-1943. He was called Punch Chimpanzee through 1928 and Jocko from 1929 onward. Greater variants of this puppet were produced prewar than postwar. Prewar, they were made in 17 cm in brown, blonde, and white mohair. Brown was the most popular and prolific color and appeared from 1911-1943. A larger, 28 cm brown mohair version was produced from 1912-1916. The blonde version is super rare and was produced only from 1913-1916. And the white version appeared in the line from 1925-1928 - probably coinciding with the popularity of John Galsworthy’s 1925 best-selling book, “The White Monkey." A sweet 17 cm prewar brown mohair chimp puppet is pictured here on the left. 

 

Steiffgal has also seen prewar Jocko puppets with the traditional mohair head and felt hands, but with a red felt or purple felt body. These were probably made to match the "colorful" aesthetic of their production time - 1921 through 1942. These are relatively rare and seldom seen on the secondary market. You check out these fun novelties here on the left, the photo is LiveAuctioneers. Steiffgal also knows of a few other examples of these felt and mohair puppets, including one that has a blue felt body.

The Jocko puppet was also a mainstay in the postwar Steiff product line through 1978. He was produced in brown artificial silk plush in early 1949, and then again in brown mohair starting later in 1949 onward. Like the popular, standard line prewar version, he measured 17 cm and basically shared the same general detailing as his earlier ancestors. A sweet 17 cm postwar brown mohair chimp puppet is pictured here on the left. 

So how do you date a Steiff chimp puppet sans IDs? There is no one simple answer here, and every expert probably has their own set of criteria and ways of thinking about this. Steiffgal personally can think of four subtle differences that are distinctive between older versions and more recent ones. They are:

1. Finger tube. As far as Steiffgal can tell, prewar chimp puppets have a cardboard finger tube, while postwar ones have a plastic one.

2. Eyes. For the most part, Steiff used glass pupil eyes on these puppets through the early 1960s; by the end of the 1960s these were almost entirely replaced by plastic ones for health and safety reasons.

3. Fabrics. Steiff produced these monkey puppets in a number of mohair and felt colors prewar, but only in brown postwar. Steiffgal has noticed that occasionally the brown mohair on the prewar versions feels or looks a little different than "traditional" mohair. By that she means it is a bit lighter or darker in color, or has a slightly different touch or feel to it. This may be because of wartime-related production limitations or supply chain issues.

4. Appearance. Steiffgal has noticed that the prewar versions in her collection have a more "delicate" presence to them than do the post war versions. The prewar ones tend to have longer, leaner heads with more angular felt masks; the postwar ones are a bit more rounded and childlike, with curvy felt masks. The prewar ones have gentle, nuanced painting and shading on the face and ears, while the postwar ones have darker, more prominent shading. The prewar ones have larger, almond shaped eye pockets while the postwar ones have smaller, more circular ones. And for the most part, the prewar versions have their button on the outside of their ears, and the postwar ones have their button on the inside of their ears. Here on the left you can see a closeup on the faces of a prewar Jocko puppet (on the left) and a postwar Jocko puppet (on the right) for comparison. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on pre- vs. postwar Jocko hand puppets has been more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. 

Many thanks to Marcus Sampaio of Once Upon A Puppet for his contributions to this article!

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

Sending Gigantic Midcentury Teddy Hugs To You!

Steiffgal's got news. Really big news! Super-humongous news! A brand new cub has joined her hug, and she couldn't be more excited or pleased. But this isn't just any Ted, he's really in a class all to himself. Come learn more about this bouncing bundle of joy and what makes him so interesting from the design and historical perspectives.

This big, beautiful bear is of course a huge Teddy baby. He measures 40 inches or 100 cm tall. He is solidly stuffed with excelsior and weighs a whopping 16 pounds. He is five ways jointed and made from glowing, long shaggy blonde mohair. His inset facial muzzle and the tops of his flat toddler feet are made from shorter matching blonde mohair. His nose and claws are hand embroidered in brown. He has a smiling, open, peach colored felt lined mouth and a touch of tan airbrushing to give his face a bit more definition. The same peach colored felt lines his paw pads. His eyes are oversized, brown and black pupil style. And he wears a blue leather color that is decorated with a bell and 16 raised script style buttons. His working growler is activated by a metal pull string and loop on his back.

The Teddy Baby pattern is a legacy one for Steiff. It debuted in 1929; pre-World War II, Teddy Baby was made in 9, 12, 13, 15, 20, 22, 25, 30, 35, 38, 40, 45, and 65cm sizes. It is interesting to note that Teddy Baby was one of the very first items Steiff started producing when the factory in Germany opened after the war. Due to limited supplies and logistical complications, he was made in artificial silk plush in 1948. Then, once supplies and operations were back in order, he was produced in blonde or brown mohair in 9, 22, 28, 30, and 40 cm in the identical pattern made before the war. All sizes over 9 cm came with a leather collar with a bell. Teddy Baby remained in the Steiff line from 1949 to 1957, although due to his popularity with collectors, has been replicated many times in numerous limited edition series. Here above you can see a variety of early postwar standard line Teddy baby bears ranging from 9 to 40 cm. 

So... what's the history behind this larger than life version? He's only had one family, so Steiffgal was able to get the entire scoop on him from his original owners. Here's what she learned. This bear was purchased in about 1950 from Macy's on 34th Street in New York City. The woman who Steiffgal purchased this bear from was a little girl at the time and accompanied her father to the store to pick out a special present for her mother. Their mom loved Teddy bears, so of course Steiff would be a perfect fit for this mission. The two walked into Macy's toy department and saw him there... and it was love at first sight! They bought the bear right away for $100 at the time. Today, $100 in 1950 dollars has the buying power of almost $1,100 today! A pretty penny both then and now. Mom loved the bear, and treated him like a prince - bringing him out once a year to add to the family's Christmas celebrations. 

Size defies in a number of ways when it comes to this Ted. Clearly, he is not from the standard line, which topped out at 65 cm early postwar. Steiff did make a display, or studio sized brown mohair Teddy baby in 60 inches or 150 cm in the mid-1960s. You can see the 1967 catalog page promoting this bear above. And, he's not a "one of a kind" as other almost identical one was sold at auction a few years back. It is Steiffgal's suspicion that this bear in this size may have been produced in very low numbers for "special" or high profile customers around 1950. This was exactly the timing in which Steiff was trying to regain its worldwide distribution, reputation, and visibility right after WWII. As such, it is possible that the company produced these "monumental" sized and styled bears to catch the eye, attention, and wallets of affluent midcentury consumers. And what better place than Macy's in NYC to make that happen!?

Finally, Steiffgal can't emphasize enough the power of a good scrub when it comes to welcoming a new vintage friend into your hug. Yes, this Ted is GORGEOUS and his original family took extra loving care of him. However, he's been around almost 70 years without a bath... so that's the first thing Steiffgal did when she got him home. Over the course of two hours, he went from totally handsome to POSITIVELY GLOWING with the help of a dozen white washcloths, a light cleaning solution, and lots of elbow grease. You can see his "before" and "after" cleaning photos here on the left.   

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this huge Teddy baby has brought you enormous joy today.

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

Playing the Name Game With This Adorable Vintage Steiff Bear

Looks can be deceiving! This sweet vintage Steiff bear looks sad or thoughtful, but he's actually just trying to tug at your heartstrings. At least that's what Steiffgal thinks! This petite prince joined Steiffgal's hug over the summer, and she couldn't be happier about it! Let's take a look at his history and design and see what makes him so interesting from the collector's perspective.

What we have here is a smaller scaled Steiff Dicky bear. He measures 23 cm standing and is fully jointed. His body is made from blonde mohair and his muzzle is made from white mohair. His dear face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. His mouth is somewhat asymmetrical, adding to his appeal and personality. Unlike the majority of Dicky bears, this particular example has plain tan colored felt paw pads and not stencilled velvet ones. 

Dicky was produced in blond, white, and brown in a wide range of sizes. All were five ways jointed and had the same distinctively shaped and constructed muzzle. His pattern was specifically designed to be as cost, labor, and material efficient as possible, given that he was launched during a period of economic depression and widespread unemployment in Germany. The blond and white versions were mohair and were made in 15, 29, 23, 25, 30, 32, 35, 43, 45, 50, 65, and 75 cm (measured standing) from 1930 to 1937 overall. A dark brown wool plush version was made in 25, 32, and 43 cm (measured standing) from 1935 thorough 1941. This particular Dickie has a long trailing "f" button and tiny traces of a red ear tag, dating him to the beginning of this production timeline.

One thing that has always been interesting to Steiffgal about this pattern is its name. Some of Steiff's bears and animals started having "endearing" names in the 1920's. Before that, most things were just cataloged as their species or breed. For example, Petsy the Baby Bear, Molly the Puppy, Bully the Bulldog, and and Charly the King Charles Spaniel all debuted during the "roaring '20s." A quick search of the most popular German boy names in 1930 reveals that "Richard" was the 50th most common of the year. So chances are, this bear was not named for popular cultural appeal. Steiffgal wonders if perchance he was named endearingly for Richard Steiff, the genius who invented the fully jointed Teddy bear as we know him today, for Steiff around 1903? Naming a model for a member of the Steiff family is not without precedence; it is thought that the company's adorable Susi cat, introduced in 1936, was also named for a Steiff family relative. Only Dickie knows for sure!

It's also a clothes call with Dicky's new wardrobe. As pictured above, Dicky arrived from overseas naked, and clearly had been someone's best friend for a number of years - given his somewhat "threadbear" presentation! Sometimes, if this is the case, it is a good idea to give a new vintage friend some protective clothing. As such, Steiffgal's sister jumped into action and handmade this sweet boy his trousers, red t-shirt, and grey sweater. Notice how the button on his cardigan matches the mushroom design on his pants! Isn't he stylin'? A shout-out to Steiff Sis for such a great job.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this pensive Dicky has been thought provoking for you.

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

Setting Records With This Wonderful Steiff Vintage Rabbit on Wheels!

Hoppy Easter, dear Steiff friends and collectors!  Just in the nick of time, look who just cruised into town - a marvelous vintage Steiff bunny on wheels.  No wonder he's on a cart and taking things easy today... he had a very long night of delivering candy worldwide last night!  Let's take a look at this rolling rabbit and see what makes him our much deserved "Celebrity of the Week!".

This cheerful-earful has enormous appeal!  He is 25 cm tall overall, five ways jointed, solidly stuffed with excelsior, and made from blond mohair.  Rabbit has very straight arms, thick and chunky thighs, and long narrow feet.  He does not have any paw pads.  His distinctly old fashioned face is detailed with oversized black and brown glass pupil eyes, a pink nose, and a black mouth.  There is a tiny spot of red on the tip of his mouth, perhaps to suggest his tongue.  He retains a few of his clear monofilament whiskers.  He rides upon a metal carriage with four large wooden wheels.  When the cart is pulled along, it appears that the rabbit is bobbing up and down, pumping the carriage forward with his arms and body.

Steiff produced these pull toy rabbits in 25 cm from 1926 through 1943, and then again from 1949 through 1964.  They were called "Record Rabbits" from 1926 through 1950, and then "Record Hansi" from 1951 through 1964.  A post war Steiff "Record Hansi" is pictured here on the left for reference.

It's never polite to ask someone's age (or weight) for sure.  And we can't check out his driver's license to get this information, unfortunately.  But it would be very interesting to know about how old he is, given he does not have any IDs, and appeared in the Steiff line for almost four decades!  Dating Steiff "legacy" items without IDs, like Jockos, Mollies, and Waldis - to name a few - can be very challenging.  It is also an art more than science, where tiny details and differences can help at least narrow down a production time frame. 

Based on a few hours of research and comparing photos of Steiff's wheeled and period rabbits from the late 1920's through the mid 1960's, it is Steiffgal's best guess that this particular example is from the pre-war production timeframe.  Here's why:

1.  The rabbit under discussion here has a hand embroidered, closed mouth.  Steiff's "record" style rabbits produced post WWII seem to have open, smiling, mouths.  You can clearly see this difference in the two photos above.

2.  The rabbit under discussion here has really large glass pupil eyes, giving him that distinct "youthful" look of items designed and produced in the late 1920's.  They have a distinct arch of blush/tan colored highlighting around them, which is typical to other Steiff rabbits from the late 1920's period.  You can see these facial details here on the photo here on the left. These eyes also exactly match those of other late 1920's era Steiff items in Steiffgal's collection.  Steiff's "record" style rabbits produced post WWII seem to feature smaller, more proportional eyes. 

3.  The rabbit under discussion here has extremely narrow feet and no felt paw pads.  Steiff's "record" style rabbits produced post WWII seem to have wider feet and felt paw pads. You can see these paws on the photo of the Record Hansi above.

4.  The rabbit under discussion here has a tiny drop of red on his lips; this is pictured close up on the photo to the left. The only other rabbit that comes to Steiffgal's mind that has this red dot lip feature and nose stitching pattern is a late 1920's rabbit that was auctioned off at the James D. Julia 2014 early summer toy auction.  You can check out that 1920's rabbit by clicking here; you can also see how it shares many of the same facial characteristics, general proportions, and scale of the "mystery" record rabbit.

So, what do you think about this rabbit on the go? Is he the "wheel deal" in terms of his senior citizen status? If Steiffgal had to put her money on this record style bunny, she'd date him to about 1930, give or take a handful of years. But, only he knows for sure!
 
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this Steiff rabbit on wheels is truly one for the record!

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