Developing A Plush Crush On This Early Steiff Rod Bear

Steiffgal's just a little out of joint when it comes to today's special guest. And you probably will be too! This turn of last century cub is off the charts rare, totally adorable, and has great provenance. Check out "Plush," an all original Steiff rod jointed bear, and see what makes him so amazing from the historical and product development perspectives. 

This grand old man is Steiff's 28PB. This somewhat technical name refers to 28=measures 28 cm sitting down, P=plush material, and B=jointed. Plush was "born" around 1904, is fully jointed, and is very solidly stuffed with excelsior. His early and signature features include black wooden shoe button eyes, a prominent back hump, an "American" football shaped torso, very curved wrists, felt pads, a simple tan embroidered mouth, a trimmed muzzle, and five black hand embroidered claws on each of his paws. He has very long arms, as he was originally designed to be posed standing on all fours. He also has his original black gutta percha nose. This is pretty special, and also unusual, as this hard rubber facial feature often is lost to time. He would have sported the company's earliest elephant style button when he left the factory c. 120 years ago - but that ID has been lost to time. Without a doubt, Plush is a great example of Steiff's early turn of last century commercial production.  

Steiff's rod bears are typically firm to hard in their texture... not usually "cuddly" as we think of Teddy bears today. They need to be "sturdy," in part, because of their jointing. Their metal rod jointing is heavy and clunky, and would shift around in the bear if it were not tightly packed into his body. The reason rod bears typically have a football shaped torso and slightly unnatural proportions is because these shapes can hold the rods and hardware securely in place when augmented with wood wool stuffing. 

The nose also knows when it comes to rod bears. Each rod bear's nose was applied by hand - with an artisan dropping bits of melted gutta percha directly on the bear's muzzle area until there was enough there to configure this important facial feature. The warm gutta percha was sculpted by hand, so each nose was a little different, and often included the fingerprints of the person making the nose. Legacy has it that Richard Steiff saw this production step and felt it took far too long, and was not consistent enough. So, when he designed the next version of his fully jointed bear - a cardboard disk version that was introduced around 1905/06 - this cub pattern had an embroidered nose (and mouth) to simplify and add efficiencies to the manufacturing process. 

Now let's talk a little bit about Plush's history and background. This bear originally belonged to Katharine Wilson Walker (2/14/1899 - 2/28/1985). Kathe (as she was called) named the bear "Plush" when she was a young child. Kathe passed the bear to her great niece, Barbara Walker Burrows, in the early 1980s. Until most recently, Barbara proudly displayed Plush in her china cabinet, along with other family treasures and period antiques.You can see Plush right at home amongst some lovely blue and white plates in the photo here on the left. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's early rod style bears has given you a "Plush Crush" on this remarkable Walker family treasure!

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

Ralph, Unboxed

Well, hello handsome! It's been a long time in the making... but a studio sized Steiff Teddy Baby bear named Ralph has finally made it into Steiffgal's hug! Check out this huge and heavy heartthrob and see what makes him fabulous in so many ways.

Remarkable Ralph truly is in a class by himself. He is standing, made from lovely long chocolate brown mohair, 160 cm tall, and arm and head jointed. He is SOLIDLY stuffed with excelsior from head to toe. His hand paw pads are made from a suede-like material. His larger than life face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes; a black hand embroidered nose and mouth; an open, smiling, felt lined mouth; and a light tan mohair inset muzzle. His feet are covered in black felt and Steiffgal suspects that these mommy-made "slippers" cover up some damage on his mohair feet.

Like his namesake, Ralph has all the typical Steiff Teddy Baby design features - on steroids! These include flat feet made for standing, downturned wrists, a chubby belly, and a distinctly toddler-esque personality and presentation. This prehistorically proportioned cub left the factory in Giengen, Germany more than a half century ago wearing a red leather collar with an oversized bell, but those accessories have been lost to time. His silver raised script button is about the size of a US dime and remains in his left ear. It is Steiffgal's best guess that Ralph was probably born in the c. 1960-1967 time frame.

The heyday for Steiff's studio animal production was in the 1960s. In the company's "Display Animals" catalog from the late 1960s, over 70 different models are represented - including this Teddy baby. On his page, which is pictured here on the left, his article number is 0339/15 and he is noted at standing 160 cm or 60 inches tall. It is interesting to note, that although the Teddy baby design has been produced in brown, blonde, and a number of rare mohair color variations since his introduction in the late 1920s, Steiff only rendered their largest display size in brown mohair. 

Now, what's the deal with the name Ralph? And why was Ralph's arrival so anticipated? For over 50 years, Ralph lived with a family on the west coast of the USA. Ralph's original owner won him in a contest as a young girl and immediately adopted him as one of the family! She named him Ralph. When asked why, the family said... just because! Perhaps Ralph was the name of a friend, family member, or even childhood crush at the time. Only Ralph knows for sure. And Steiffgal is keeping his name as Ralph to honor his legacy. 

Time marched on, and it was time for Ralph to find his next forever home. The family contacted Steiffgal to learn more about their family treasure, and to see if she had a place in her hug for him! Of course she did! But the challenge was moving him from the west to the east coast in a safe and cost effective manner. After almost a year of research and planning, Ralph was packed for a trip to Mars in multiple layers of boxes and made his cross country journey on a large moving van. When he arrived at Steiffgal's doorstep, she could hardly believe her eyes concerning the size and weight of his packaging!

After a long afternoon of careful unpacking, Ralph finally made his proper introduction. You can watch this unboxing on the YouTube video included just above this paragraph. Although loved and cherished as a friend, toy, and confidante, he clearly has many more years of love and joy to give! Steiffgal will give him a good cleaning, fix up a few bumps and bruises on him, and then display him as a crown jewel in her collection.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's studio sized Teddy Baby bear has you living large today. 

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

Hands In The Air Over This Marvelous Prewar Steiff Charly Puppet!

The eyes have it with this marvelous Steiff creation. Steiffgal recently welcomed a rare Steiff prewar novelty into her collection... this marvelous Charly the King Charles Spaniel puppet! This darling dog has truly captured Steiffgal's heart via her irresistible expression as well as her place in the Steiff product development timeline. Admit it, you can't look away either! Come take a look at what makes this puppet such a top dog!

This happy handful is 17 cm tall, unjointed, and made from mohair. Her body, ears, arms, and face are made from longer mohair, while her muzzle is made from slightly shorter mohair. Her head is stuffed with excelsior and is lined with a cardboard finger tube. Her ears are long, floppy, and stitched lightly to the sides of her head. Her mohair has faded overall and evenly to a mellow vanilla color. When she was new, her ears and parts of her face were light brown, and the rest of her was white. Charly has three hand embroidered black claws on each of her paws; these each have a little bit of excelsior in the ends to give them some dimension. Her pouty face comes to life with oversized brown and black glass pupil eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. She retains her long trailing "f" button as her Steiff ID. Her article number is 317, which translates to 3=mohair and 17=17 cm. This lovely puppet appeared in the line from 1928 through 1939 in this size only. 

This Charly puppet, of course, is a novelty based on the company's beloved and best selling prewar Charly the King Charles Spaniel. Steiff introduced Charly in the late 1920s, a time of great creativity at Steiff. The original Steiff Charly was produced both sitting and standing; the two versions were head-jointed only. Charly dogs were made from light brown or orange-tipped mohair and white mohair; had extremely long fuzzy ears; large, childlike brown and black-pupil eyes; a very detailed facial seam structure; and a prominent tail. Their filling included soft kapok, meaning that they were lighter in weight and more cuddly than other animals stuffed exclusively with excelsior. Here on the left, you can see a picture of this Charly puppet, along with a number of other charming Steiff puppets in this vignette from the company's 1929 catalog. The image is from Carsten Esser's Steiff Kataloge 1920-1929.

Knowing a good thing when they saw it, the designers at Steiff recognized that Charly would be a great source for “theme and variation” product introductions, due to her popularity with collectors. As a result, she appeared as various novelties throughout the line through 1940 or so. In addition to the puppet discussed here today, other highlights included pincushions, music boxes; tiny Nomotta woolen miniatures, a purse, and a pajama bag. Perhaps the rarest Charly of all was a Pupp Animal Doll. This version was 28 cm and dressed in a playful purple outfit. She appeared in the line only from 1929 through 1930. In 2010, a Pupp Charly realized over $8,300 at auction at Christie's in London. She is pictured here on the left; the image is from Christies. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's prewar Charly puppet has been a very paw-sitive experience for you. 

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

Your Jaw Will Drop When You See This Turn Of Last Century Steiff Tom Cat!

Mouth agape! That was exactly Steiffgal's reaction when this turn-of-last-century rarity finally made its way into her Steiff collection. Like every Steiff enthusiast, Steiffgal also has a wish list, and this terrific Tom had been on it forever - until now! Check out this cover boy (really - and more about that later!) and see what makes this fantastic feline so interesting from the historical and design perspectives.

They say orange is the new black, but sometimes being old is in vogue, too! Here on the left is Steiff's original Tom Cat in the smallest sized produced. He is standing, unjointed, and made from jet black velvet. Measured vertically, he's 8 cm from the top of his head to his toes and 10 cm from the top of his tush to his toes. His thin, almost straight tail measures 8 cm long and .5 cm wide - and even more astonishingly - it is stuffed with excelsior! How did they do that, given its scale and configuration? Tom Cat wears his original silken bow and bell. This pattern was produced in 10, 14, and 17 cm from 1903 through 1919 in black velvet, and in 14 and 17 cm in white velvet from 1906 through 1908. This example retains his original blank button, dating his production to around 1905 or 1906.

Face it, you can't look away from Tom Cat's distinctive head design and construction. He comes to life with tiny, triangular shaped ears, black seed bead eyes backed in yellow felt, and an open, pink felt lined mouth. The lining is held in place with tiny pinkish-tan colored stitches - perhaps to resemble teeth? You can see where the seamstress tied the knot of pinkish-tan thread for these stitches on the cat's chin area. This is a tiny but interesting detail; it is not unusual to see an embroidery thread  knot on the face of an early Steiff bear or animal. Tom Cat also retains a number of his clear, monofilament whiskers. One could say he has a face only a (Steiff) mother could love! You can see all of these delicate details on the photo trio above. 

This Tom Cat is truly a headliner - from both aesthetic and well as historical angles. This petite treat was featured in an important photograph from the company's 1904/04 product line catalog. But what's so special about that? It's the same picture that debuted PB55... the world's first jointed Teddy bear! Timing is everything, eh? A snapshot of this catalog page is shown here on the left; you can spot the arched back Tom Cat a little to the right of center standing on top of a donkey on wheels. Given the scale of the items in the image, it is Steiffgal's best guess that the Tom Cat pictured is the 17 cm version. What you can't see on the photo is the cat's intricate mouth construction, but you can make out his bow and bell. This picture is from the Cieslik's Button in Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends reference book, published in 1989.

Now let's paws and look at the details noted on the photo. According to the hand written notes along the bottom of the page, these original black velvet Tom Cats were 14.40 Deutchmark per twelve. That is VERY ROUGHLY equivalent to $0.30 each in 1903.  This translates to approximately $8.59 in today's US dollars, given inflation and other financial and economic factors. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of this rare Tom Cat has left you on your toes for your next great find!

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

Thumbs Up Over This Fantastic Paddy Walrus Hand Puppet!

It's all hands in the air for Steiff's great mohair puppets - especially the really rare ones. Steiff started creating these high quality puppets in the early 1900's in the likenesses of some of their most popular characters and designs. This tradition was carried out for the most part through the 1970's; after then, the company's puppets were mostly constructed from plush, plastic, and other materials. Let's take a deep dive and check out one of the most unusual post-war mohair examples and see what makes him so interesting from the product design and historical perspectives.

It's not unusual to see collectors fighting tooth and nail over this walrus hand puppet. This unjointed rarity is 20 cm tall and made from tan mohair that has been airbrushed with brown and tan spots, shading, and highlights. He has a pair of dimensional flippers; the tips are stuffed with excelsior. His oversized, very round head is solidly stuffed with excelsior. His face come to life with two black and white google style eyes, jowls, a long, brown tipped mohair beard, a pink hand embroidered nose, and two white tusks. This walrus puppet was made in this size only in 1962 as an exclusive for high end toy retailer FAO Schwarz.

This perky puppet of course is based on the company's standard line Paddy walrus design. Paddy was produced in 10, 14, and 22 cm in the 1959 through 1965 time frame. It was not unusual in the 1950's and 1960's for Steiff to retool popular items as exclusives for FAO Schwarz. By "retool," Steiffgal means making an item in a bigger or smaller size; sitting instead of standing (or vice versa); dressing a piece in a fancy outfit or giving it a distinctive accessory, or taking a basic design and producing it in another toy category. That's what you see here - the Paddy design being reinterpreted as a puppet. 

To keep things twice as nice, Steiff also produced Paddy as a pajama bag as an exclusive for FAO Schwarz from 1962 through 1972. This delightful and functional collectible was 45 cm nose to tail; made from short brown mohair or dralon plush which was carefully airbrushed on its face, flippers, and tail; and was lined in blue colored silk material. He had a zipper up his belly and was "hollow", meaning that you could indeed store your adult sized pajamas inside of his torso!

Steiffgal's Paddy puppet clearly was someone's best friend at one point in his life, which is a good thing. He has some play wear to him, his beard is quite thin, and he lacked his traditional tusks upon arrival. So the question is, how important is condition when making a Steiff purchase? Of course, everyone has their very own algorithm for this, and it always comes down to personal choices and preferences. But if it is helpful in any way, here are three key things that Steiffgal considers when making a purchase decision for her own collection.

1. Do I have this item in my collection already? If not, then it may be a good choice, all things being equal. If you already do, is this example in better shape than the one you already have? If yes, then consider purchasing it and rehoming your lesser quality example. If no, then maybe pass on the opportunity.

2. How often do examples of this item come up for sale? If the item seldom if ever appears on the secondary market, condition plays somewhat of a lesser role in the decision making process. If the item is almost never seen for sale or at auction, consider adding it to your collection. If you have seen examples of the item come up for sale two or more times in the last year or so, and the item you are considering adopting today is not in great shape, consider waiting for the next purchase opportunity.

3. How "bad" is the condition? In the case of this puppet, he was really dirty, had a small tear in his beard, and had lost his tusks to time. These things can be fixed or restored, and that's exactly what Steiffgal did here. She cleaned him, stitched his beard, and made him tusks out of white Fimo clay. (After all, its not uncommon to need custom tooth implants over the age of 50 these days!) If you (or someone you know) can fix the item's condition to a state that you are comfortable with, and/or stabilizes it so it is around for many more decades to come, then consider the purchase. Just make sure that you fully disclose these repairs if you move the piece along sometime in the future.

If the item is in really rough shape, may attract insects, or has other condition issues that make its time on Earth quite limited, perhaps consider waiting for the next big find - which is always just around the corner!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this Paddy walrus puppet has been a happy handful for you. 

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

Care To Feather Your Nest With This Vintage Steiff Play Duck?

It's easy to go quackers over Steiff's ducks.  These fantastic fowl favorites have made a red carpet appearance in Steiff's commercial catalogs since their debut in 1892, first appearing in felt.  Steiffgal recently adopted a vintage and very darling duckling into her collection.  Waddle on over and check out some of his interesting, prewar design features.

What collector would not want to feather their nest with this dapper duck?   This toy is officially named "Play Duck." He is standing, 22 cm tall, unjointed, and stuffed with excelsior. Play Duck is made from yellow wool plush fabric.  His beak and feet are dimensional and are made from matching yellow felt. His feet are lined in wire and are posable.  His two small wings are spread out playfully along his back. Play Duck's eyes are made from black buttons and are backed in red felt circles - a design feature often seen on Steiff's birds.  He has a nonworking squeaker in his torso. He retains his short trailing "f" style Steiff button in his wing as his ID.  Play Duck was made in this size only from 1933 through 1943.

It's hard not to notice Play Duck's interesting material.  Wool plush is a lovely toy making fabric as it is durable, high quality, and gives items a charming, old fashioned look.  It has a "fuzzy" feeling to it, and even though it is also produced on a cotton backing like mohair, its fibers are more "continuous" than mohair fibers, which tend to be a little more "prickly" and distinctive.  Steiff often used wool plush as a substitute fabric in the place of mohair for a few years before and a few years after World War II, when the company's more traditional mohair and felt fabrics were sanctioned or not available at all. When you see a vintage Steiff item made from wool plush, there's a really good chance that it was made in the 1930's through early 1950's time frame.

Play Duck's felt features are also quite charming, and give him a toddler-esque look.  

First... his tootsies.  His somewhat oversized feet are actually webbed, like a real duck, and allow him to stand and balance easily.  His "toes" are formed by the stitching on his feet.  

Second... his beak. His two part, open beak is positioned in such a way that he appears to be smiling. It is detailed with two small grey marks on the top, indicating his nostrils. Most prewar Steiff ducks either have closed dimensional beaks, or simpler beaks made from orange single or double thick flat felt. As such, this is one lucky ducky! Remarkably, both Play Duck's feet and his beak are stuffed with excelsior.  Just imagine the precision, time, and skill required to do that!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on her new fine feathered friend had all its ducks in a row.

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

Outfoxing The Mystery Behind This Very Vintage Steiff Dog

Who doesn't love a surprise? Especially when it may have to do with Steiff! Check out this note from a new friend who writes about a "foundling" discovered in the home of a relative. Caroline shares,

"Hi there,

I was wondering if you could help me identify this charming straw stuffed dog? It was found in the basement of my mother-in-law's house back in the 60's but clearly it's a lot older. It has a hole in the right ear (there is velvet inside the ears) which made me think it could be Steiff if there was once a button there. I'm not sure if they were ever stuffed with straw or made of this material?

Anyway I know he's not not worth a lot but I love him and I'd love to know a bit more about him. Thank you so much for your time. 

Kindest regards,

Caroline"

Well, let's pull up a chair and check out this sitting sweetie. From what Steiffgal can make out from the photos, it is her best guess that this is an early Steiff Fox Terrier. It is not clear about his measurements, but based on his remaining materials, it is most likely that he originally was made from white mohair; the woolen covering has entirely been lost to time in this case. If he has a "crunchy" feeling to him when he is squeezed, then he is stuffed with excelsior, which would be consistent with his era of production. 

This early and beloved Steiff pattern is known for several design features.  These include one white ear and one orange one; pert black shoe button eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth; a black circle drawn around the dog's right eye; velvet lined ears; and adorable, perfectly-to-scale prominently formed back leg haunches. Steiffgal has also seen several of these early Fox Terriers detailed with an orange airbrushed ring around their tail end, although it is not clear if this model has this based on these limited photos.  

Steiff has a long history with Fox Terriers, and they have always been an important breed in Steiff's kennel club. They made their first appearance in 1899, just a handful of years after the company's debut commercial catalog launch in 1892. This particular sitting version, named simply "Foxterrier," has its origins as far back the very early 1900's, when a similar model was produced in felt in 10, 17, and 22 cm from 1902 to 1924. This sitting pattern was produced in mohair in 7, 17, 22, 28, and 35 from 1902 through 1929, as well as lamb's wool plush in 12, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1903 through 1917.   

This basic sitting Foxterrier pattern made a somewhat interesting "solo" appearance in 1928. For that year only, this design was also produced in mohair in 7, 17, 22, 28, and 35 cm but was specifically given the name "Spotty." This name appeared on a white tag with a metal wire rim worn as a chest tag. Two of these 1928 Spotty dogs are pictured here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Steiff Sortiment book.    

And what's up with this name-game? It is Steiffgal's best guess that this update from a generic breed to a more "playful" name in 1928 was not random, but part of a larger strategy. In the mid- to late 1920's, Steiff began producing a great number of beloved dogs and giving them endearing, child-like names. This was a directive straight from company management and was made to help reinvigorate the product line and align design priorities to the societal trends and preferences of the time. This marketing tactic proved quite successful, starting with the introduction of "Molly" the puppy dog, who debuted in 1925. Other named pups introduced around this era include "Treff" the Bloodhound in 1928, "Fellow" the puppy dog in 1928, and "Bully" the Bulldog in 1927.  You have to admit, the name "Spotty" is much sweeter and appealing than "Foxterrier!"

In 2013 - perhaps in honor of his 85th birthday? - Steiff produced a charming 17 cm replica of 1928's Spotty in an edition size of 1,000 pieces for the worldwide market.

Unfortunately, due to its condition, it is difficult to put a firm date on Caroline's Steiff dog. However, given the information available about the pattern and assuming that it did have a button-in-ear at one time, it would be safe to say that it was manufactured in the 1904 through 1929 time frame.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Caroline's vintage Foxterrier has made you sit up and take notice!

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