A Fine Selection Of Century-Spanning Steiff Teddy Baby Bears Headlines Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's November 6th Sale!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Big news on the Steiff front... Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH is holding a simply awesome premier Steiff sales event on November 6th. The catalog has just been published online and features 368 button-in-ear temptations. In all honesty, there are so many breathtaking options it's a bit overwhelming to pick overall highlights. That being the case, let's take a look at the "cream of the crop" per category or character over the next few weeks. There's not a better place to start this series than with a peek at Ladenburger's offering of century spanning Teddy Baby bears.

All Steiffgal can say is "Ohhhh baby..." when it comes to this first pick. Here we have lot #3977, a most appealing Teddy Baby made from golden artificial silk plush. His starting bid is a very conservative 750 euro. It is cataloged simply as, "teddy-baby, synthetic silk plush, complete with button, sign and cloth tag label, red writing on sign, very nice original-condition, with original-collar and bell, 30 cm, rare." This sweet cub appears to have all of his IDs, including his button, yellow ear tag, and red bear faced chest tag. Given his IDs, materials, and appearance, Steiffgal suspects this irresistible imp may have been made in the late 1940s.

What is not to love about this fine fellow? The catalog pictures suggest his condition is quite wonderful, and his happy-go-lucky expression lights up any room. Artificial silk plush is a delicate fabric which loses its shine and soft texture easily, so to find a vintage example which still has its "sheen" is unusual. Although his paw pads are not specifically called out, Steiffgal has a much loved, artificial silk plush Steiff Teddy baby from this similar time period in her collection. She has linen paw pads. That might just be the case for lot #3977 as well.

Steiffgal's second pick is also quite the head turner. This is lot #4234, an early postwar brown mohair Teddy Baby with all IDs and a million watt smile. His starting bid is 220 euro and he is cataloged as, "teddy-baby, produced 1949-53, with button, chest label and cloth tag label, No. 7322, original condition without damage , additional with US-zone cloth tag label, paws in very good condition, 22 cm, nice full mohair, condition without damage."

The auction catalog photos suggest that this sweet guy is in practically like new condition. Steiffgal is always a little sad when it is clear that a precious toy was not loved by a child as it was intended. On the other side of the coin, this example would make for a crown jewel in any collection, so there is some justice there. Over time, Teddy Baby bears have been produced in sizes ranging from a few inches to over five feet! In Steiffgal's opinion, the smaller sized ones - like this guy - are particularly appealing in their scale, presentation, and proportions. He would be easy to display, doesn't take up too much shelf or cabinet space, and would look charming as a companion for a larger scaled doll or Ted from any era.

And last but not least, check out lot #4314, a super sweet - and super rare - prewar white Teddy Baby. His starting bid is 520 euro. He is cataloged as, "teddy-baby, white, with button, long stretched F, breast sign, inscription Teddy Baby, inset velvet in face and velvet feet, with painted claws, 13 cm, produced from 1930 to 1933, white mohair, except of minimally place with mohair loss in very nice condition, very expressive, unusual, collection Koskinen."

There's something really magical about white mohair Teddy Baby bears. Unlike their blonde and brown mohair peers, the white versions were made for only a handful of years - from 1930 to 1933 overall. Blonde and brown mohair versions appeared from 1930 to 1943. As such, far fewer white mohair versions were produced over time, and most collectors would love to add one to their hugs. Like most coveted collectibles, it’s a supply and demand thing, and Steiffgal suspects this petite treat will be on many auction watchers' wish lists. It is also interesting to note that this example comes from the Koskinen collection. Edith and Johan Koskinen authored several well respected Steiff reference books and price guides over the years. You can see a few of them here on the left, the photo is from Bloss Auktionen. His top shelf provenance certainly adds to his appeal - if that's even possible!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Teddy Baby auction highlights has brought out a bit of your inner child today!

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

Are You All Ears To Learn About This Unusual Prewar Steiff Rabbit?

Steiffgal's simply jumping for joy over this latest collection addition! This remarkable rabbit, produced during a most challenging era at Steiff, has so many interesting details - including his "colorful" history. Come see what makes this begging bun so much fun!

There's not a hare out of place when it comes to this prewar charmer. He is begging, head jointed, and made from long, shaggy tan artificial silk plush which has been highlighted with black (that has faded to a deep forest green.) He measures 23 cm head to toe, and his tan felt lined ears add another 12 cm to his height. His face is detailed with pink and red glass pupil eyes and a simple red hand embroidered nose and mouth. He has three matching red claws on each of his feet. Rabbit retains his short trailing "f" button in ear. When he left the factory, he wore a large silk ribbon and bell around his neck. This pattern was produced in 18, 23, and 29 cm from 1938-1943 overall. As rabbits are measured WITHOUT ears, today's bun under discussion is the 23 cm version.

According to his original owner, who now lives in Canada, "My Steiff silk stuffed bunny dates from late 1930s and was purchased in Brussels, Belgium."

This rabbit's appearance and construction align well to his provenance, as well as to the manufacturing realities of the late 1930s and early 1940s at Steiff. It goes without saying that these were challenging times all around in Germany. So creating efficiencies in every area of design and manufacturing was imperative for survival. Steiff has always had a remarkable way of producing the most appealing items during down times, and this bunny pattern brings truly illuminates that. Here are four reasons why.

His fabric: 

This hare's hair is made from artificial silk plush, a material that was more readily available and affordable than mohair and felt just before and after WWII. Steiff made many of its "mainstream" items in this material during this period. It translated well, at least in the short run, to Steiff's animal patterns but lost its appeal and luster quickly. 

His embroidery: 

To save costs and labor, Steiff designed his facial embroidery to be as simple as possible - basically a large red "X" on his muzzle. Just a few years prior, typical rabbit facial embroidery was two colored, and involved "filling in" the nose space with stitches. He also only has claws on his feet, even though it would not be challenging to embroider them on his paws as well. 

His shape: 

Rabbit's shape, although unquestionably "rabbit like," has been simplified and made less graceful and curvy than the company's begging bunnies from the c. 1925-mid-1930s overall.

His coloring:

Although he appears green and tan, he did start out life black and tan. His painting details have simply changed hue over time. It is interesting to note, that from the 1920s through the early 1930s, many animals that were multi-colored were constructed in a "patched" way, meaning that each color was its own color of mohair, and the colored fabric swatches were sewn together. Of course, this was beautiful and lifelike, but also very expensive and time consuming. To create significant efficiencies in production, the company started painting instead of patching animals, and this rabbit is a perfect example of that.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this charming prewar rabbit has been pure hoppy-ness to you!

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

The More The Merrier With Steiff's Scottie Terriers!

Great Scott!  Just what is it about little black dogs that makes Steiffgal go a little crazy?  Well, maybe its because she has two real life black pugs as her adored fur babies.  But since Steiff has not yet made a black pug (hint, hint...) Steiffgal has fallen almost as hard for the company's sweet black Scottish Terriers. Here are a few recent Scottie additions to her collection you might find quite interesting as well.

Go big or go home!  Or in this case, both!  Here we have an almost life-sized Scottie. He measures 28 cm tall and 36 cm long, not counting his pert tail. That adds another 9 cm to his presentation. He is standing on all fours, head jointed, and made from long black mohair. He has tan embroidered claws. His ears are lined in black felt.  His face comes to life with large white, brown, and black almond shaped glass eyes, a long shaggy mohair beard, and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth.  His IDs include a raised script style button and a US Zone tag.  This model was produced in 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, and 35 cm from 1949 through 1957.  So this version is the second to largest size (as they are "measured" vertically from head to toe) and most likely made in around 1952, give or take a year or two.  Here in the picture on the left you can see Scottie modeling with the beautiful and perfect real-life black pug Booboo.

The biggest Steiff Scottie produced ever, as far as Steiffgal can tell, is a 43 cm version produced as a ride-on animal from 1950 through 1961.  His design appears to be the same as Steiffgal's big boy,  (pictured here on the left) just blown up in scale to almost twice the size.  It is interesting to note that Steiff never produced a Studio Scottie, at least on a commercial scale. 

This second Scottie
highlight is the wheel-deal indeed. Here we have Steiff's early postwar Scottie on eccentric wheels.  He measures 13 cm tall and 21 cm long; 24 cm including his tail. He is standing on all fours, head jointed, and made from short mohair. His beard is made from longer black mohair. His ears are lined in black felt. His face comes to life with proportional white, brown, and black almond shaped glass eyes and a black embroidered nose and mouth. Scottie is mounted to a metal chassis and glides along on four red wooden eccentric wheels. He retains his raised script style button as his ID. This model was produced in 14 and 17 cm from 1949 through 1957 overall. This pup on the go is the smaller version of this model, and probably made towards the tail end of the production period.

Scottie on wheels is a legacy design for Steiff - one produced both pre- and post World War II.  The photo here on the left is a close up beauty shot of him; his collar is not original to him but was indeed made by Steiff.  Three versions of Scottie dogs on wheels were produced prewar. The first was a Scottie on eccentric wheels which was made in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1932 to 1943 overall. The second was a Scottie on regular wheels which was made in 28 and 35 cm from 1932 to 1943 overall; those from 1932 through 1936 came with a squeaker. And the third was a version that squeaked automatically when he was pulled along; he was produced in 17 cm from 1939 through 1942. This was called the "barking dog" version.  

And the third's the charm with this last interesting Scottie.  Well, actually pair of Scotties, they've been inseparable since meeting up in the collection. Here we have two silk plush Scotties.  The smaller one measures 14 cm tall and 19 cm long; 22 cm including his tail. The larger one measures 16 cm tall and 22 cm long; 26 cm including his tail. Both are standing on all fours, head jointed, and have round brown and black glass pupil eyes. As mentioned above, both are made from artificial silk plush. This material started out soft and shiny, but over time tends to lose its sheen and get a little dull and matted down, especially the longer versions. This is the case here. Unlike wool plush, longer artificial silk plush does not have a slightly "coarse" touch to it. 

The detailing and IDs on the larger and smaller silk plush versions are a bit different, which is interesting given that both were only produced in 1949 - according to Steiff records.  The smaller one has a shaggy black mohair beard and a raised script button as his ID.  The larger one has a sort of shaggy black artificial silk plush beard, and a blank button as his ID.  Based on these differences, it is Steiffgal's best guess that the larger one was indeed manufactured and distributed in the very late 1940's.  However, because the smaller one has mohair detailing, as well as a raised script button (which technically launched in the early 1950's) it is likely that the smaller one was produced and distributed at a later date than the larger one when mohair was more readily available for toy making purposes.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of interesting post war Scottie dogs has added a pleasant paws to your day.  

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

Three Cheers For The Upcoming March, 2015 Teddy Dorado Steiff Auction Event!

And we're off! The first major Steiff auction of 2015 is just around the corner! And as always, our good friends at Teddy Dorado have done a marvelous job of gathering the most interesting Steiff treasures for this upcoming event, which will be held on March 21st, 2015 in Bonn, Germany.  The sale certainly has something for everyone.  Although it's always hard to pick highlights when there are so many fun choices, here are three Steiff temptations that truly set Steiffgal's heart all-aflutter!

Steiffgal's first Teddy Dorado auction favorite is lot #14-7004, a Teddy Baby bear from 1934–1936.  His description, roughly translated from German, reads:  "This cub is made from corn colored mohair and has brown and black glass eyes.  His nose and claws are hand embroidered in brown and he has an open, felt lined mouth. His four original paw pads are in good condition and are made from flesh colored, felt like material; his flat feet are lined in cardboard.  He is five ways jointed, firmly stuffed with excelsior, and has a squeeze voice. He retains his original blue leather collar with a bell and a ff button in his ear.  In terms of condition, his left arm is dirty and he has some play wear to him, but is otherwise is in well maintained shape.  He measures 27 cm tall and 22 cm sitting."

And just what makes this such a beautiful baby?  He is a great size, and also from a very interesting time in Steiff's manufacturing timeline.  Starting in the the mid-1930's, Steiff started experiencing shortages in basic materials including felt, which was being used for uniforms and other military purposes.  As such, items from this time through the very early 1950's often had substitute materials as part of their construction.  Such is the case here with this Teddy Baby with "flesh colored, felt-like material" in the place of wool felt pads, the traditional material for pads.  You can see a close up of this material here on the left.

The next Teddy Dorado auction item that really catches Steiffgal's eye is lot #14-7015, a brown silk plush bear from 1941-1948.  His description, roughly translated from German, reads:  "This Teddy Bear has brown and black glass eyes, and a brown, hand embroidered nose, mouth, and claws.  His four paw pads are made from coarsely woven, felt like fabric.  Teddy is five ways jointed and firmly stuffed with excelsior.  He has a press voice and a shiny ff button in his ear.  It is suspected that he was not produced with a chest tag. This item does not appear in any Steiff catalog. His fur is in nice condition.  He has a small home-repaired cut to his right hand paw pad, but is otherwise in very good to excellent condition.  He measures 30.5 cm tall and 21 cm sitting."

Steiffgal's certain that she's not the only one who finds this bear a wonderful sweet treat!  Like his Teddy Baby cousin noted above, this bear was also produced at a challenging time in Steiff's history.  However, unlike Teddy Baby who just has substitute material paw pads, this Teddy bear is entirely made from alternative fabrics including silk plush for his body and coarsely woven fabric for his pads. The amazing thing about this bear - however - is that despite his relatively poor quality fabrics, and the socio-political climate of his production era, he still looks unmistakably Steiff and clearly demonstrates the same attention to detail and manufacturing integrity that Steiff is famous for.  These rare period bears are very interesting to collectors; a slightly smaller but quite similar non-cataloged brown artificial silk plush Teddy bear with ID sold for over $2,800 at James D. Julia in 2014.

Because Steiff and celebrations go hand in hand, this final top pick from the Teddy Dorado auction takes the cake - literally!  Here we have lot #14-2006 a set of five woolen miniature birds from 1968-1974 dressed up as a wedding party.  This set, and sets like it, were very special in-house productions for Steiff employee weddings, and were designed to go on the top of a wedding cake!  The set consists of two Finches (article number 7103/04) as "bridesmaids" wearing lacy bow head wear; one Finch (7113/08) as the bride in a bridal veil with flowers; and two Sparrows (article number 7115/08) as the groom and best man.  Both are wearing black felt hats. All the birds are made from colorful Nomotta wool, are head jointed, and are detailed with black button eyes and plastic legs and beaks.  The entire set is in excellent condition with each bird retaining its tiny Steiff button and yellow label; these are worn like bracelets around their tiny legs. 

From the collector's perspective, one thing that is really cool about this auction house is that they often get really interesting things to sell from current or former Steiff employees.  These are fabulous items that might have been made as samples or in-house gifts, or company recognition items - not made for collectors. Steiffgal has the wonderful pleasure of owning two of these special treasures - a set of elephants from the Teddy Dorado 2012 Steiff Sommer Auction.  The bird wedding set is clearly an example of these "Giengen Specials!" This completely adorable grouping is most likely based on a much earlier Steiff edition called the Vogelhochzeit or Bird Wedding.  This item, which was produced from 1936-1940, consisted of four standard line woolen miniature birds mounted on a green oval shaped board.  The "bride" wore a long white veil; the "groom" wore a black felt top hat; and the two attending "bridesmaids" wore flowers and carried the train of the bride's veil in their beaks.  All had charming, tiny felt slippers.  A picture of the pre-war wedding party is pictured here to the left; the photo is from Gunther Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book. 

Steiffgal hopes this review of the March, 2015 Teddy Dorado Steiff auction has been an event in itself for you! 

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

It's No Fish Tale When It Comes To This Steiff Water Baby!

Steiffgal's grandmother had a favorite saying... that "fish and company stink after three days."  Although this may be the reality in some situations, it certainly is the opposite in the case of this extra-special and extremely rare Steiff fish, pictured here on the left.  Take a look at this most unusual Steiff water baby and see what makes him so unique from the design and historical perspectives.

Do you want to fish or cut bait with today's featured guest?  Here we have Steiff's Forelle or Trout.  He is 40 cm and made from tan silk plush and is stuffed with excelsior. His fins and tail are made from vivid turquoise colored felt which is lightly painted with stripes. His fishy face is detailed with oversized brown and black pupil eyes.  Trout's body is fantastically and elaborately hand airbrushed in shades of blue and green, with hatching on his back to resemble scales.  Trout appeared in the line for one year only - 1950 - and only in this size and coloration.  

Keeping things to scale, this little fish has many big and interesting features to discuss.  

First is his material.   Trout is made from silk plush -  a synthetic and poor wearing substitute fabric that Steiff used on several items right after the factory reopened after the war in the late 1940's.   This material was used as felt and mohair were in extremely limited supplies at the time.   Steiff items produced in silk plush in general are harder to find on the secondary market as far fewer were made, and they tended to not have the durability as products produced in more durable fabrics.

The second is his decoration and design.  Trout is truly an original pattern; he has no pre-war ancestors and fish were not a standard line species until "Flossy" was introduced in 1960.  It is curious to note that despite Trout's very simple design and construction, and relatively "cheap" materials, Steiff spared no expense to give this fish the royal airbrush treatment.  It is really hard to imagine the amount of work or skilled precision that was necessary to get this look - this trout is simply a work of art, and that's no fish tale.

The third is his place in history.  This trout was the very first United States exclusive to be produced and sold post WWII.   It can take many months, or even years, for a product to go from a concept in a designer's head to being sold on a toy store's shelves.  Thus, it is quite possible that this pattern may have had its origins pre-war, or perhaps was one of the very first new designs on the drawing table in the late 1940's.  The overall design also suggests that the company was very anxious to get back on the global stage, and tried to use the best of whatever materials and skills it had on hand to do so.  Fabrics were clearly in short supply, but Steiff more than made up for this by pouring on the handiwork, which apparently was readily available.  Although it is not clear where this exclusive was sold in the USA, both FAO Schwarz and RH Macy were larger accounts of the time.  It is most likely that Trout was available at one or both of these stores; this particular example was purchased at FAO Schwarz in New York City.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early silk plush trout has "fin"-ished in a most satisfying way for you.

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