Care To Go On A Date With This Prewar Steiff Scotty?

It's never appropriate to ask someone how old they are - right? But in this case, this vintage Steiff friend proudly advertises his "birthday" in a very special, and very prominent, way. Intrigued? Then check out this little black Scotty and his amazing and informative chest tag to learn more.

Here we have Steiff's 1930s-era Scotty dog. He is standing on all fours, head jointed, and solidly stuffed with excelsior. He has a non-working side squeaker in his torso. He measures 12 cm tall and 18 cm long, not including his tail. He is made from black mohair, with a longer mohair beard. His pert triangular ears are lined in felt. He comes to life with a black hand embroidered nose and lovely white, black, and brown glass pupil eyes in the shape of almonds. He retains his long trailing "f" button, trace of his red ear tag, and his named chest tag as his IDs. This pattern was made in 8, 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, and 35 cm in grey or black or dark grey from 1930-1943 overall.

Now let's take a closer look at his chest tag. It is amazing how much information is squeezed onto this tiny piece of cardboard measuring just a pinch more than 1/2" in diameter. The design features Steiff's prewar and angular yellow and blue Teddy bear face. Its center copy reads in red: SCOTTY, D.R. Patent, U.S. Patented Jan. 9, 1932. This means that the Scotty pattern was registered in D.R. - which is short for "Deutsches Reich," the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The tag also gives the EXACT date that the design was also patented in the United States - January 9, 1932!

The vast number of Steiff prewar chest tags simply had the bears, animal, or doll's name noted in the center of the label. However, it is interesting to note that in some cases, like this one, that the tag also specifically mentioned that the item's patent protection status in the United States. For example, check out the tags on a 14 cm Molly and a 10 cm Tabby from the 1920s as pictured here on the left. Both have the  on this words, "Reg. U.S. Pat. Off." on their chest tags as well.

Scotty, Tabby, and Molly were extremely popular 1920s-era patterns. So it would be reasonable to assume that the Steiff management team in Germany was concerned about other companies - especially those in America - "stealing" these beloved designs. Steiff's business in the USA was really booming in the mid-1920s through early 1930s, partially due to the efforts of Richard Steiff. He moved to the States in the early 1920s with his family to grow the family business, alongside the company's US distributor, George Borgfeldt & Company. For Steiff to take the time and expense to register their designs with the US Patent Office says suggested that they really meant business when it came to design intellectual property, that they were in the United States market for the long run, and that they wanted to perhaps "American-ize" their line, making it less foreign or exotic, to add to its marketing appeal and potential.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on chest tag details has had patent appeal with you. 

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

This Steiff Senior Citizen Really Knows How To Move And Groove!

Certain things just seem to get better with time. And vintage Steiff toys often fit that bill to a T! An item does not need to be in perfect shape to have enormous interest, charm, and appeal. Steiffgal is certain you will agree - especially when it comes to this very well loved polar pal! 

Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of handling this very vintage polar bear. He measures about 12 cm tall standing and about 23 cm long, nose to fanny. He is standing, six ways jointed (more on that soon!), and made from white mohair. His fabric has mellowed to a vanilla color, as well as thinned significantly over time. He used to have felt paw pads, but they have been replaced over time with linen "bandages." His detailing includes tiny pert ears, black claws, a simple hand embroidered black nose and mouth, and little black shoe button eyes. He also has a non-working side squeaker in his belly. Polar bear was produced in 14, 17, 22, 28, 35, and 80 cm from 1908 through 1928. Unfortunately, his IDs have been lost to time. It is Steiffgal's best guess that this guy was produced at the early end of his production run, and would have had a tiny long trailing "f" button as part of his Steiff ID ensemble. 

Steiff often described their pre-war production of dolls and animals as "practically indestructible." And such is the case here, especially when it comes to this bear's amazing and unusual "ball jointed" neck. This early prewar feature enabled the head and neck to be twisted and rotated into different lifelike positions. When Steiffgal GENTLY held this senior citizen in her hands for the first time, she suspected that his neck may be ball jointed, based on his form. But given his condition, she feared that it may have locked or disintegrated over time. May wonders never cease! His neck moved and grooved like a young person enthusiastically dancing to their favorite song... without a drop of age or "arthritis." So again, Steiff DELIVERED on its marketing promise, more than a century later!

Steiff launched a line of ball jointed items around 1908 as it was building its reputation as a leading regional and global toy production company. The proprietary head movement behind these early playthings was invented by Franz Steiff and registered on May 24, 1908 in the German patent office. The paperwork described this unique and novel technology as a "toy animal with movable head." According to company records, this was accomplished by... "attaching a swivel jointed mechanism to the head which was then secured to the body by means of a tube running from the neck to the torso." In addition to polar bears, Steiff also used this feature on begging poodles, pigs, cats, and opossums. These models were a good fit for this technology as they had, or could be produced with, slightly longer and more robust necks to accommodate the internal fittings as well as greater wear associated with this innovative (at the time) feature. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this polar bear with a ball jointed neck has been a headliner for you.

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