The "Maserati" Of Steiff Mobile Monkeys

Steiff Life readers, we are on a roll... both with Steiff collectibles on wheels as well as wonderful Steiff monkeys! Let's put the pedal to the metal here and get into the fast lane with this question from Gary, who writes from California:

"Hello,

I received the attached monkey a number of years ago as a gift and I was told that it was a Steiff item from the 1930's. I have searched a number of sites and found your site. It appears that you should have been I came to first to ask about the toy. I want to insure it, so I needed to know if it is real or a representation of a Steiff. Or, was it made by another company?

His details...the monkey is made from felt. He is about 8" tall and long, and his carriage is about 6" tall and long. When you pull him along, he goes "up and down". His head is jointed and he has a tail. He retains his Steiff "button in ear."

Thank you in advance for you comments and thoughts on my behalf."

This little driver here is what Richard Petty is to NASCAR...the KING of the road! Your Affe, or Monkey, was produced from 1912 through 1929 in two sizes, 17 and 22 cm. (Steiffgal guesses that you have the 22 cm version, which probably "shrunk" a bit over time, which happens sometimes with felt and excelsior stuffing.) He is made from brown felt, has a tan face and ears, and is head jointed. He has (or had) delicate airbrush detailing around his eyes and mouth. He wears a clown's neck ruff and pom-pom hat. He retains his Steiff button, placed on the exterior facing side of the ear, as was common in vintage Steiff monkeys. Monkey rides on a cart with wooden Steiff logo'ed "eccentric wheels", meaning that he bobs up and down when you pull him along.

Gary's felt monkey design is an early classic for Steiff. A similar but more primitive felt monkey made its debut in the catalog in 1894, two years after the first Steiff catalog debuted in 1892. This earlier design was updated and detailed with a playful neck ruff and hat in 1912 and appeared in one form or another through 1927. The hat and ruff accessorized felt monkey also appeared as a tumbler or roly-poly (sitting on a wooden half-ball which wobbles about but does not topple), on a wiwag (as one of two characters that rides on a carriage that moves along like a see-saw when pulled; the contemporary replica of this piece is pictured above), on a skittle (sitting atop a small "bowling pin"), and as a lapel pin (just the head).

As for the value of this majestically mobile monkey... just to repeat, Steiffgal is not a formal appraiser and strongly believes that something is "worth" what someone else will pay for it. Poor economic times tend to favor buyers over sellers; it's a really bad time financially to be a seller! However, this item is quite desirable and will never fall out of favor with collectors; you will always be able to find a new home for him. That all being said, Steiffgal has seen similar 1920's era felt items, and comparable items on wheels recently sell at auction in the $400 - 1,000 range (which seem really low... so hold on to him if you can!)

Gary, Steiffgal hopes that this "look under the hood" of your monkey on wheels gives you a good feel for his legacy, design, and history.

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

Smile, And The World Smiles With You

Steiffgal was all a-grin when she received this note about this always-happy looking Steiff Teddy. Take a look at this email from David, who writes from Waunakee, WI...

"Hi,

I received a Steiff Bear from my Grandmother's collection when she passed away a couple of months ago. I have been trying to find out information about it but have had no luck in doing so on the net. Maybe you can help? ....(the number on the eartag is #013287.) The bear is approximately 40 cm tall, has mohair covering, solid black eyes and soft stuffing that has a squeak toy inside its stomach that makes noise when you squeeze it.

Thank you!"

First of all, sincere condolences on the passing of your Grandmother. Steiffgal's paternal Grandmother introduced her to Steiff, and for that and many other reasons Grandmothers are very important to Steiffgal.

Now let's talk Teddy. What you have is what Steiff calls Orsi Teddybaer or Orsi Teddy bear. This Teddy was produced from 1993 through 2001 in three sizes: 30, 40, and 50 cm. The eartag with EAN number 013287 refers to the 40 cm size, which you indeed note above. This brown teddy is actually made from woven fur (not mohair), is five ways jointed, and has a squeaker. His muzzle is made from a complementary light tan colored material and his darling, baby-face features a black stitched nose and shiny pert black eyes. Steiff also made this identical model in the same sizes in blonde woven fur, but only from 1993 through 1996.


There are two things about this bear that are particularly interesting: his name (Orsi), and his open mouth. Steiff has produced about eight bears with the name Orsi from 1952 through 1999. (Here on the left is a picture of the first Steiff Teddy Orsi, who was produced from 1952 through 1962; can you see the "family resemblance"?) Steiffgal suspects that "Orsi" may be a diminutive name derived from the word "oso", which means "bear" in Spanish. In addition, all Steiff Orsi bears have smiling open mouths; rounded, chubby baby faces and bodies; and appear to be designed for fun and play, more so than for collecting.

It is Steiffgal's guess that overall, David's Orsi would be exactly what Margarete Steiff was referring to when she declared, "Only the best is good enough for our children"... way back in 1892!

As for the value of this darling Teddy... again, Steiffgal is not a formal appraiser and strongly believes that something is "worth" what someone else will pay for it. Poor economic times tend to favor buyers over sellers. Additionally, your Orsi is plush, which generally does not have the value of mohair, and is still relatively new enough that it probably is not on the radar of vintage collectors, who tend to pay a little more for hard-to-find older items. That all being said, Steiffgal has seen similar 1990's era Orsi bears recently sell at auction in the $25 - 75 range.

David, Steiffgal doesn't want to be tongue in cheek here, but she sincerely hope that this information is helpful and brings a smile - just like Orsi's - to your face!

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

Valuing The Gift of Legacy

It was like Christmas in July when Steiffgal opened this gift of a question from a reader concerning some now familiar "cold-loving canines." Janet from California writes...

"Hi!

I just read your blog entry about my Chinook pair. I have attached photos. My sister needs to sell them they were left to her by her 94-year-old German mother in law who fled to the US in 1940... where might she turn to find an honest price for them?...

Thanks so much for ANY info!"

Well, when it rains it pours, or in this case, when it snows it's a blizzard! What a stunning pair of unusual vintage Steiff dogs. Steiff named these canines Chinook Byrds Arctic Expedition Dogs. Readers may recognize this model from a recent My Steiff Life blog posting; click here for the entire history and legacy of this remarkable and rare collectible.

Janet asks a really good question about how to determine a fair value for her Steiff heirlooms. First of all the disclosure: Steiffgal is not in any way an appraiser, just an avid collector and someone who follows auctions closely, so she cannot say with any authority how much any given Steiff item is "worth." This is also the WORST time to be selling collectibles due to the current economic situation, so if you can hold onto your items for awhile it would be good in terms of possible future sales value. That being said... here's Steiffgal's best advice for determining "ballpark" value in a nutshell:

If you have a Steiff item that was manufactured before WWll:

If the article is in pretty good shape, and you cannot find anything like it online or on eBay, you may want to contact a REPUTABLE major auction house about the item. These include Sotheby's, Christie's, and Skinner, among others. Make sure they have a person on staff who specializes in older toys and playthings; this is critical for an accurate appraisal. DO NOT use a smaller local firm that does not understand the legacy and value of Steiff, even if this seems more convenient at the time. The larger houses may have doll or teddy auctions that will attract the type of buyer who would recognize the value of these items if you are looking to sell.

If you have a Steiff item that was manufactured after WWll:

In general, these items are in greater supply and much easier to value using online sources. Exceptions include very early postwar Teddies, studio (life-sized) animals, and really "oddball" items that were produced only for a few years through the mid 1960's. If you are confident that you have one of these exceptions, see above advice for pre-war items.

There are a few online sources that can help you find approximate value for "newer" vintage Steiff items. These include Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion; a German auction house, and Vectis, an English auction house; both have frequent Steiff auctions and list sale prices after the event. It is safe to say that something is "worth" what someone else will pay for it, so a hammer price is a good starting place to assess current value.

However, Steiffgal always goes to eBay.com first. There she does an "advanced search" and looks under "completed listings". There you can see what similar items have SOLD for in the recent past. (It is interesting to see what things are listed for pre-sale; but this doesn’t really tell you anything about the market value of them). After reviewing completed listings on the US eBay site, she then goes to the German eBay site for information on international completed listings.

You can do the same, here's how:

1. Go to www.ebay.de
2. Click "Erwiterte Suche" on the top toolbar; you will be taken to a search page
3. Type the name of the Steiff item in the field right under the words "Suchbegriffe oder Artikelnummer eingeben" on the search page
4. Click the box next to the words "Beendete Angebote"
5. Press the blue box with the word "Finden" on it
6. You will be taken to a sign in page
7. Enter your eBay user name in the field labeled "Mitgliedsname" and password in the field labeled "Passwort" on the sign in page
8. Press the blue box with the word "Einloggen" on it

You will now be looking at what sold on the German eBay site. Prices in green indicate that the item was sold; use the green figures as your pricing benchmarks. The prices listed on the German eBay site are in Euros; as a rule of thumb multiply the number of Euros by 1.4 to get the equivalent price in US dollars.

There are also a number of print reference books concerning Steiff. The most comprehensive include The Steiff Sortiment books; Steiffgal tends to use these for identification more so than valuing. Teddy bear books by Jurgen and Marianne Cieslik, Linda Mullens, Sue Pearson, Ken Yenke, and Leyla Maniera are all highly credible and great sources of information. At last check, Amazon had a healthy selection of titles from all these experts.

Janet, Steiffgal hopes this information is helpful to you as you determine the value behind the two "cold noses and warm hearts" of your precious Steiff collectibles.

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

Born in the USA (Zone)

Steiffgal's not monkeying around when it comes to Steiff primates! Monkeys have been an important species in the Steiff line for at least a century. And given the number of questions Steiffgal gets about them, it appears that they are as beloved as ever today!

Check out this note from John who writes from New Hampshire:

"Hi Steiff Gal, I recently came across this piece going through a relative's things - it is 10" tall (sitting position) and appears to be in very good condition.

What can you tell me about this and any estimate on what it might be worth? Let me know if you need further information."

This cheeky chimp is the well known and popular Jocko. This "lifelike" monkey debuted in 1909; previous to that Steiff monkeys were more cartoonish or humanized, depending on the model. Jocko officially became "Jocko" in 1929; up to then he was simply known as "Schimpanse" or chimpanzee. Over the past 100 years brown Jocko has been produced in 15 sizes, ranging from 10 to 90 cm, at various times from 1909 - 1943, and then again from 1949 - 1990. A white Jocko (with piercing green glass pupil eyes) debuted in 1925. White Jocko was produced in 6 sizes ranging from 10 to 25 cm through 1943, then reappeared post war from 1949 - 1966 in 10, 11, and 15 cm.

Collectors just can't seem to get enough of this adorable ape. Over time, Jocko has appeared as a hand puppet, marionette, tumbling toy, a music box, a small handbag, and even dressed as a football player as an exclusive for FAO Schwarz in the early 1970's.

John, the white tag stitched into the seam of the right leg of your Jocko gives solid clues to the date of his manufacture. This tag, known to collectors as the "US Zone Tag", was attached to all Steiff items from 1947 through 1953. This tag is made from thin white cotton or linen material and states: Made in US - Zone Germany. Given all this, it is safe to conclude that your Jocko is an early post World War ll model and was produced between 1949 and 1953, making him between 56 and 60 years old. Perhaps your relative was in the military or took a trip to Europe in the very late 1940's or early 1950's and picked him up then?

The "US Zone Tag" has an interesting story behind it. At the end of WWll, the Allied powers divided Germany west of the Oder-Neisse line into four areas: American, British, French, and Soviet occupational zones. The Americans were responsible for the southern part of Germany, which is where Steiff is located. The forces were tasked at "demilitarizing" Germany, which included shutting down many factories that did, or had the potential to produce items that could be used for combat or aggressive purposes.

When Steiff's very limited postwar production slowly started up again in 1945 - 1946, items could only be sold to the American troops. These restrictions were gradually eased and by 1947 Steiff could sell domestically; by 1949 the company's products were once again available internationally. The "US Zone Tag" insured to the outside world that items produced in Germany were done so in a "civilian" factory and met business and distribution standards set up by the American military government overseeing the occupational zone.

As for the value of this early postwar Jocko... again, Steiffgal is not an appraiser and strongly believes that something is "worth" what someone else will pay for it. Poor economic times tend to favor buyers over sellers. Additionally, for better or for worse, Jockos appear relatively often on the secondary market. That all being said, Steiffgal has seen similar vintage Jockos recently sell at auction in the $75 - 125 range.

John, Steiffgal hopes this information and "history lesson" tags this collectible as an important part of your relative's legacy!

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