In the mood for a little merry mischief? Or perhaps some double trouble? Then this playful pair of puppets is just what the doctor ordered... as you can "take two and call me me in the morning!" Check out these brothers in arms from Steiff and see what makes them so fun, and interesting, from the historical and product development perspectives.
Boys will be boys when it comes to these fictional friends named Max and Moritz. Both are in the form of glove puppets with hollow bodies and softly stuffed heads. They are 30 cm tall and made from trevira velvet, a popular and durable fabric that was popular in the Steiff line in the c. 1970s-1990s timeframe. Their clothing is integral to their bodies. Max is wearing a brown shirt, tan pants, and a red jacket. His short, spiky black hair is made from plush. His round face comes to life with black button eyes, a rounded flat nose, pink highlighted cheeks, and a painted mouth, nostrils, and eyebrows.
Moritz is wearing a blue shirt and light tan pants. His long blonde hair, with a great cowlick in the front, is made from plush. His long, lean face comes to life with black button eyes, a distinctively pointed nose, pink highlighted cheeks, and a painted mouth, nostrils, and eyebrows. Both Max and Moritz retain all of their IDs, including their named chest tags, buttons, yellow tags, and hang tags. These character puppets appeared in the line in this size only from 1979-1982.
These perky puppets are based on the beloved German folk characters Max and Moritz, the "stars" of a book called Max and Moritz (A Story of 7 Boyish Pranks). It was written by author Wilhelm Busch (German, 1832-1908). This work was first published in 1865. This darkly comedic tale is written in verse and consists of seven “chapters.” The brothers are the ultimate troublemakers and they cast their shenanigans throughout their town. The book, still a favorite since its debut 155 years ago, has become an integral part of the German culture and psyche. Author Rudolph Dirks credits Max and Moritz as the inspiration behind his early and important comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids which debuted in 1897. And even today, some German parents are known to have named their twin sons after this devilish duo!
It’s no joke to say that Steiff “maxed out” in its production of Max and Moritz characters over time. The company produced both as full bodied dolls in 30 and 35 cm versions from 1910 through 1926. You can see these handsome dudes here on the left; the photo is from the Cieslik's Button In Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends. All were made from felt, fully jointed, and closely mirrored Busch’s original renditions, including the character’s distinctive faces, hairstyles, and body types. These dolls were featured prominently in the company's playful advertising photos of their era. Max and Moritz were also produced as 25 cm “record” or pull toy dolls on wooden wheels from 1916 through 1926 overall. Fast forward, Steiff produced Max and Moritz as tiny 10 cm rubber dolls from 1962 through 1967. These puppets under discussion today are the final appearance of Max and Moritz in the Steiff line as far as Steiffgal can tell.
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Max and Moritz hand puppets has added some comic relief to your day!
Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.
How sweet it is to find a really unusual Steiff treasure? Especially one you've only viewed in photos or read about. So check out this amazing Honey Bear Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of handling. There's no sugar coating it - this rarity truly is the bee's knees!
Have you ever seen anything like this merry mashup before? If an anteater, raccoon, and a Teddy bear all had a love child together, Steiffgal suspects this is what the baby would probably look like. Honey Bear is 40 cm tall, unjointed, and probably designed to sit. His body is made from brown soft knitted plush. His belly is orange soft knitted plush, and his facial mask and nose area are light tan soft knitted plush. His paw pads are brown trevira velvet. His face, which only a mother could love, comes alive with a long pointed snout, brown and black pupil eyes, a peach colored trevira lined open mouth, and light brown airbrushing. He has a long, floppy, raccoon-ish tail. This item was made from 1976 to 1977 and is quite rare, despite its "relative" newness.
Steiff's Honey Bear is based on a type of real-life animal called a "kinkajou." These mammals live in the Central and South American rain forests and are extremely nocturnal. They range in size from about 3 to 10 pounds. They really enjoy sweet fruit (that's why they are called "Honey Bears") which they eat with the help of their extra long tongues. Like Steiff's version, living kinkajous have an incredibly long tail and a prominent snout. They use their tails to hang from tree branches and as a "fifth hand." They are sometimes kept as pets, but are a bit challenging to domesticate as they dislike sun and daylight and only really go about their business at night. (The real-life one pictured here on the left is clearly only mugging for the camera in daylight conditions in the hopes of scoring a grand treat.)
So the sticky issue here is, why would Steiff ever make a Honey Bear as part of its product line? Well, that's a trick question because the company has actually made two - in 1995 they also produced a 45 cm standing, unjointed version made from woven fur. It does seem that over the years, Steiff has manufactured practically every animal on the planet. With this Honey Bear, things may have more to do with timing than anything else. Looking back, the mid-1970's seemed to be a period of great experimentation in terms of "unconventional" animal production. Other plush "uglies" of that era included the company's 25 or 35 cm "Wizzi" ferret made from imitation fur, a 14 cm "Putty" Turkey made from knitted fur, a 30 cm "Cosy Orangutan" with a plastic face and a very long crylor body, a 28 cm trevira velvet kudu, a 20 cm trevira velvet gnu, and many others. It is interesting to note that like the Honey Bear design, none of these "oddities" lasted for more than a handful of years in the line, either!
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's Honey Bear has helped to sweeten your day.
Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.
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Boys will be boys when it comes to these fictional friends named Max and Moritz. Both are in the form of glove puppets with hollow bodies and softly stuffed heads. They are 30 cm tall and made from trevira velvet, a popular and durable fabric that was popular in the Steiff line in the c. 1970s-1990s timeframe. Their clothing is integral to their bodies. Max is wearing a brown shirt, tan pants, and a red jacket. His short, spiky black hair is made from plush. His round face comes to life with black button eyes, a rounded flat nose, pink highlighted cheeks, and a painted mouth, nostrils, and eyebrows.
