This Antique Steiff Doll Is Just A Kid At Heart!

Oh boy! Literally! That was Steiffgal's reaction when she laid eyes on this charming character. Check out this extremely early Steiff doll and see why he's alot more than snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

It's hard to outfox this turn of last century "Foxy Boy." He is 28 cm and arm and leg jointed. He has a felt, center seamed face and felt hands. His feet are very large in proportion to his body. His hands are early and primitive, like fists, with embroidered digits. His body is primarily made from velvet. His simple, integral outfit consists of a green velvet shirt and black socks, red felt pants and tan laced shoes, and a leather buckled belt. He comes to life with an inset blond wig, black shoe button eyes, and painted facial features. This is one of Steiff's earliest doll designs. He appeared in the line from c. 1904 through 1924; given his details, Steiffgal suspects he's from around 1909 or so. The earliest "Foxy Boy" dolls produced were string jointed and had elephant buttons as part of their branding. Unfortunately, this example's IDs have been lost to time.

Foxy Boy is one of the characters from the turn of last century American cartoon series “Foxy Grandpa.” The strip was introduced in 1900 and penned by Carl E. Schultze. It ran through the 1930's. The strip told of the adventures, and misadventures, of a grandfather and his two grandsons. The strip was wildly popular with readers throughout its run.

In the early 20th century, Steiff took much inspiration for its doll line through popular cartoon strips, as the characters and their presentations translated so well into the Steiff aesthetic of the times. This look included exaggerated facial features, big feet, and very fat or very thin torsos. In addition to the Foxy Grandpa crew, beloved Steiff cartoon character dolls from the early 1900s included Happy, Alphonse, and Gaston from Happy Hooligans and Mama (often produced as a tea cosy) and the Fat Captain from the Katzenjammer Kids. 

Age was just a number when it came to Steiff's interest in the Foxy Grandpa cartoon strip. Steiff produced the "star" of Foxy Grandpa, the actual Grandpa, from 1904 through 1915, and the the two grandchildren as dolls in the overall 1904 through 1924 time frame. Here above you can see the catalog page for Foxy Boy in 1913; you can click on it to make it bigger. According to listing, Foxy Boy weighed .10 kg, his item number was Bu28, and he cost $0.85, which is equivalent to $22.10 in 2020. It is interesting to note that "Foxy Boy" was offered as an “aviator doll” in the French catalog, probably because the French were not familiar with him in the context of the American comic strip.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Foxy Boy has been a blast from the past for you.

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

Feeling Bullish Over This Fantastic and Early Steiff Comic Strip Dog

It's no laughing matter when it comes to Steiff's early cartoon-based creations!  And this one is a canine comic legend.  After many years of searching, Steiffgal finally welcomed this blue-ribbon buddy into her collection.  And besides a few really senior Teddy bears, he is now amongst the oldest Steiff items in her hug. Please say hello to Tige the Bull Terrier!

Things couldn't be merrier when it comes to this Terrier. Tige measures 17 cm tall standing and 25 cm long from head to fanny, not including his long, skinny tail. He is five ways jointed and made from brown short pile plush. This material feels like an itchy old coat or blanket, with its fibers smooth to the surface instead of vertical to it, like mohair. His broad chest and front two paws are made from traditional white mohair. He has three black hand embroidered claws on each of his paws and floppy, brown felt lined ears. Tige's face comes to life with black shoe button eyes, a prominent black hand embroidered nose and mouth, dimensional jowls, and a white stitch to indicate a tooth at the intersection of his mouth lines. He also has black painted lines all over his face most likely to suggests folds and coloration, as well as a few spots and lines on his body and limbs. This Tige was produced in 17, 22, 28, 35, and 43 cm from 1906 through 1917 overall. Tige retains his long trailing "F" button and traces of his white ear tag as his IDs. He left the factory with a collar and leash which unfortunately in this case has been lost to time. He was also available with a muzzle in the place of the collar for a few years.

Steiff went a little bull-istic on this wonderful Bull Terrier design.  In addition to the short pile plush version, he was also produced in the same pattern in brown mohair with a white mohair chest and white front feet.  Like his short pile plush cousin, the mohair Tige was made in 17, 22, 28, 35, and 43 cm but appeared in the line from 1907 through 1918.  Both the short pile plush and the mohair versions were also available with tri-colored (white, brown, and black), round, movable glass "eccentric eyes." These eccentric eyes were available only for a handful of years and are rarer than the shoe button eyes, especially on the short pile plush versions.  

Tige of course is modeled on the forever friend of the comic hero Buster Brown.  This American comic strip debuted in 1902 and was penned by Richard F. Outcault.  It starred the earnest prankster Buster Brown, his gal pal Mary Jane, and a host of well meaning society adults. The cartoon proved so popular and was such a commercial success that the characters were soon used to sell shoes, as well as clothing, books, baked goods, and a huge range of other novelties for children. Did you know that girl's "Mary Jane" style shoes with straps are named after the female lead from this beloved comic strip?

For a wonderful overview of early and original Buster Brown comic strips, please click here to view a great document provided by The Smithsonian Libraries. It takes awhile to load, and the cartoons start around page 7, but all of this is totally worth it!

Seeing how popular Bull Terriers were in America - perhaps because of the "Buster Brown effect" - Steiff began producing their own version of this dog breed for national and international distribution.  However, the company did not secure a licence to produce a Buster Brown or Mary Jane felt doll.  Over time, Steiff produced a few special order dolls in the likeness of Buster Brown for customers in London and New York.  It wasn't until 1913 that the company added their versions of Buster Brown and Mary Jane to their standard catalog offering.  Named Willy and Lilly, both were 43 cm and fully 
jointed. They were designed as elegant playthings and as such, each was detailed with elegantly tailored velvet clothing and long, hand-rooted hair. Lilly is pictured here on the left, the photo is from Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH. However, according to company records, in 1913 Steiff only sold 27 Willy dolls and 26 Lilly dolls, so their time in the line was extremely short.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early Tige Bull Terriers has left you feeling bullish.

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

Make 'Em Laugh... With Steiff's Vintage Comic Strip Dolls

It's kind of funny, but Steiffgal has always had a fascination with Steiff's interpretation of famous cartoon figures. So of course she was delighted when a colleague gave her the heads up about a great group of vintage Steiff comic strip dolls coming up for auction at Theriault's January, 2013 "Stars - A Celestial Collection of Antique Dolls" three day event.  Three items in particular really caught her eye.  Let's take a look and see what makes them so interesting from the design and historical perspectives. 

Foxy Grandpa, lot #237

This first selection clearly proves it is possible to become more handsome the older you get!  Here we have Steiff's Grosspapa or Grandpa, produced from 1904 through 1915.  He is lot #237 and is described as...

"14" (36 cm.) Felt swivel head with press-modeled facial features, pronounced nose, center seam, stitched ears, black shoe-button eyes on felt pads, mohair wig, attached hat, firm ball-shaped stomach with jointed arms and legs, shaped knees, over-sized feet, wearing original sewn-on blue wool costume. Condition: fair, some fading, few moth holes, wig very sparse. Comments: depicted is the comic character "Foxy Grandpa" from the early 20th century comic series, Steiff, circa 1910. Value Points: very rare early doll by the firm, he has an early Foxy Grandpa celluloid pin and a first prize award from a 1944 doll show."

Original Foxy Grandpa comic strip from 1905, click to enlarge

And just who is this silver fox?  "Foxy Grandpa," a US cartoon series introduced in 1900, was penned by Carl E. Schultze.  It ran through the 1930's.  The strip told of the (mis)adventures of a grandfather and his two grandsons.  You can see an example of the strip above.  Steiff also manufactured the two grandchildren as dolls in the overall 1904 through 1924 time frame.  Steiff produced Foxy Grandpa with both a velvet face and a felt face, but the velvet face is much rarer.  According to Steiff records, both versions had a press voice box hidden under Grandpa's felt hat.  In 1996, Steiff reproduced Foxy Grandpa as a replica in an edition size of 1,200.

Barney Google and Spark Plug, lot #235

It's time to hit the ground running with our next cartoon highlight.  Here we have Barney Google and Spark Plug, his faithful racehorse.  The pair was produced from 1925 through 1927.  They comprise lot #235 and are described as...

"5" (13 cm.) 5"(13 cm.) Barney, 8"l. Spark Plug. The set comprises stockinette Barney with press-shaped and painted features, prominent nose, large felt eye whites with black bead eyes, whiskers, armature padded body, wearing original purple vest and blue jacket, shoes and hat, plaid cotton pants; along with Spark Plug, who has grey mohair coat with sparsely-inset yarn mane, bead eyes on felt pads, felt tongue and feet, harness, and yellow felt blanket with patches and printed Spark Plug name. Condition: generally excellent, bright fresh colors, few moth holes on blanket. Marks: Copyright 1923-1924 by King Features Synd, Inc. DeBeck (muslin pad on one foot) Steiff (silver button in ear). Comments: Steiff, Germany, the set was issued in 1925-1927 only, and according to company archives only 615 sets were sold. Value Points: very rare Steiff comic character set is well-preserved and delightful."



Here's more about this (sort of) dynamic duo.  Barney Google, penned by artist Billy DeBeck, debuted in the Hearst Newspapers in 1919.  Barney was a silly, bumbling little man who seemed to find even the simplest things complicated. In 1922, DeBeck gave Barney a new companion, a race horse named Spark Plug; a few years later they were joined by an ostrich named Rudy.  Barney Google was so popular that he inspired the 1923 hit tune "Barney Google (with the Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes)," as well as the 1923 record, "Come On, Spark Plug!"  You can listen to the song above by pressing on the white arrow in the middle of the record.  In addition to this Barney/Spark Plug set, Steiff also produced several Barney Google themed pull toys on wooden during this same period.  Rudy was made as a sample, but never put into widescale production.  

And just how rare are Steiff Barney Google themed items?  Steiff was asked to set up an exhibit of incredible rarities at the FAO Schwarz store in New York City in honor of the retailer's 150th anniversary in August, 2012.  From the archives, Steiff sent over a Barney Google and Spark Plug on wheels  - along with things like the earliest rod bear, an original hot water bottle Teddy, and a turn of last century tumbling bear.  So even Steiff considers these characters quite legendary!

Happy Hooligan, lot #232

Let's move happily along to our third and final Steiff cartoon auction highlight.  Here we have Steiff's Hoolygan or Happy Hooligan, produced from 1904 through 1927.  He is lot #232 and is described as...

"14" (36 cm.) Firmly-stuffed felt character with egg-shaped head having center-seam, shoe-button eyes, caricature face, upturned nose, stitched-on ears, red attached cap, big plump red felt stomach with painted circle designs, green felt jointed arms and jacket, and long spindly jointed legs with patched knees and over-sized leather feet. Condition: good, some shelf dustiness, few moth holes. Comments: Steiff, from their premiere series of character dolls, representing the popular comic strip character of Happy Hooligan, circa 1910. Value Points: delightful character exactly captures the beloved figure from the comic series."

Original Happy Hooligan comic strip from 1904, click to enlarge

Steiffgal's happy to tell you more about this rare comic character.  Happy, who is actually usually unhappy, was penned by popular and prolific writer Frederick Bur Opper and introduced in 1900.  According to the artist, Happy is "a sad, smiling victim of wayward children and heartless adults... and a direct ancestor of (Charlie) Chaplin's "little man"."  He and his two brothers, Montmorency and Gloomy Gus, were Irish tramps who traveled across Europe.  They were sometimes joined by two Frenchmen named Alphonse and Gaston.  Steiff produced a 35 cm version of Alphonse from 1904 through 1928 and a 50 cm version of Gaston from 1904 through 1927.  Steiff records also show that these Frenchmen were also produced as pantom or marionette style puppets on roller skates.  Like Foxy Grandpa, Happy Hooligan also had a press voice box hidden under his red felt hat.

Steiffgal hopes this review of Theriault's cartoon doll auction highlights has been as delightful as reading the Sunday newspaper comic section!

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