Rock and Roll With Steiff: Auction Highlights 4/20-4/26/09

Thankfully, it's the first really nice spring weekend in these parts. After our unusually bitter and snowy winter, these warm temperatures make everyone feel like dancing! Or in my case, "rock and rolling"... with Steiff, of course! To celebrate this new-found "spring in my step", this week's auction highlights column focuses on finds that "rock" or "roll".

When I saw this first item, Musical Charly, up for auction, I really wanted to bust a move. This brown and white standing King Charles spaniel is 25 cm, has a jointed head with glass pupil eyes, and is made from long curly mohair. But besides her "best in show" looks, what makes her so special is her music box feature which is activated by gently pressing and releasing her torso. It is really unusual to find a Charly, even more so with a still-functional music box. This model was in production from 1928 -1931 and was also available in 17 and 22 cm. According to the description and photos associated with the auction, she is in very good condition and retains her ff Steiff button and some of her red ear tag. She received 14 bids and sold for $565.84.

According to the Cieslik's wonderful "Button In Ear" book, Steiff's "Music - Animals" of 1928 were introduced for "cuddling and snuggling - up - to before falling asleep". About 20 musical items, including a clown, Fluffy the cat, several dogs (including this Charly), a Teddy bear, and a lamb were produced in this series. Some were squeeze activated, others produced music by rotating their tails. All models had a label attached to their bellies with instructions on how to activate the music box. Overall sales of these items were minimal and they were all discontinued in 1930 - 1931; Steiff did not bring back musical items to the line until the 1950's.

This second highlight is a great encore to Musical Charly. She is none other than Musical Molly, one of the "Music -Animals" noted above. What serendipity to have two of these treasures appear at auction at the same week! Musical Molly is 25 cm, made from brown and white long mohair, is head jointed, and has glass pupil eyes. Her ears are lined in light pink velvet. Like her sister Charly, Molly also has a squeeze - release music box; hers is located in her rump while Charly's is in her torso.

Musical Molly was in production from 1928 -1931 and was only available in 22 cm. Only 328 pieces were produced - now that's what I'd call a limited edition! According to the description and photos associated with the auction, she is in good condition but does not have any Steiff IDs. Remarkably, she received only one bid and sold for $149.99.

Now onto the "roll" portion of this "rock and roll" column. This final Steiff auction highlight is Terry, the Airedale Terrier on wheels. Terry is 28 cm, unjointed, made from light brown and black airbrushed mohair, and sports a red leather collar. He is on blue wooden wheels. Terry was produced from 1950 through 1961 in four sizes: 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm. According to the description and photos associated with the auction, he is in very good condition and has his yellow ear tag and Steiff button. Terry received 22 bids and sold for $332.61.


Airedale Terriers are legacy products in the Steiff catalog. The first Airedale appeared in 1927, ironically as a dog on wheels! Today's Steiff catalog features Fellow, an Airedale Terrier who made his debut in 1935. Now that's a long time to be on the best seller list - even in dog years!

I hope this week's highlights make you want to put on your dancing shoes and rock on with Steiff!

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Special Edition... Stump The (Steiff) Chump!

Everyone loves a good challenge and boy did I meet my match with this Steiff surprise. A friend sent along a gift with the sole intention of presenting me with a Steiff item I'd never seen before. Did they succeed and "stump the chump?" Take a look here to find out...



The airline Lufthansa supports many environmental causes. This project with Steiff is designed to draw attention to the dangers of rain forest deforestation by highlighting an animal directly affected by this situation – the tarsier. This delightful soft plush Steiff tarsier is 16 cm , has suede-like ears, detailed hands and feet, jumbo pupil eyes, and holds a green felt bamboo shoot. About 15% of the purchase price of the Steiff tarsier is donated by Lufthansa to the “Rainforestation Farming” project run by the German not for profit NatureLife-International.

So just what is this most adorable and endangered primate? The tarsier is a small (15-20 cm) mammal with an impressive tail (an additional 20-25 cm), and a face only a mother could love. This little buddy has many unusual features. Check out those peepers…his eyeballs are 16 mm in diameter and each one is as large as his entire brain! In addition, he can rotate his heads 180 degrees in each direction…so just about everything is in his sight line! Most of his fingers and toes have nails for climbing, but the second and third digits of his hind feet are clawed; these are used for grooming.

Tarsiers primarily live in the rain forests of Indonesia and in the Philippines. They are nocturnal and live on a diet of insects, which they catch by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on small birds, snakes, lizards, and bats. Tarsiers give birth to one offspring at a time. Babies are born furred, and with open eyes, and are able to climb within a day of birth.

Betcha I wasn't the only one stumped... and charmed... were you?

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

Shuffling Off to Buffalo

It’s really unusual, and quite lucky, to find an old buffalo nickel. It’s the same with Steiff buffalos, too! Take a look here to add a little something special to your Steiff day….



This handsome fellow is an elegantly designed 17 cm unjointed mohair bison. His pattern, produced as a United States exclusive in 1960, also came in 12 and 30 cm. As far as I can tell, he was the first Steiff buffalo to appear in the company’s catalog. A few years later, in 1962 and 1963, this identical design was produced in the same three sizes for worldwide distribution. (Bison with “90” as the last digits of their ear tag article numbers are from 1960; while those from 1962 and 1963 sport “00” as their last digits.)

One of the things that makes this piece so interesting is his mohair and construction. Mostly made from long, shaggy tipped mohair, he is selectively shorn around his legs and backside; this “tail end” is then airbrushed to give him his characteristic body shape and varying textures. He is also detailed with glass pupil eyes and pert felt horns. Many hours went into this piece to give him the realistic touches that truly bring him to life.

Although the Steiff catalog boasts of practically every land, sea, and air creature you can imagine, one of the least represented are buffalos. It took close to 70 years from the publication of the first catalog in 1892 for buffalos to make it into the product line. Only eight models of the species are documented in the Steiff Sortiment reference books.

Although technically not an “endangered species”, buffalo - both of the live and Steiff ilk- are rare creatures to be cared for, admired, and of course, celebrated!

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

Getting a Leg Up: Auction Highlights 4/13-4/19/09

Shake a leg and take a look at this week's auction highlights. These three beauties are my star picks of the week and share something special in common... they all have very noteworthy lower limbs!

Long limbed lovely #1:
This unusual item is Lulac Donkey, who was only produced in 1954 as a United States exclusive. This fantastic farm friend is 35 cm, made of grey mohair, has an open felt-lined mouth, and really long, dangling limbs and tail. According to the description and photos associated with the auction, he is in very good to excellent condition and retains some of his yellow ear tag and his Steiff button. He received 11 bids and sold for $371.99

Steiff debuted the "lulac" body style in 1951 in the form of a rabbit. This donkey followed shortly after, and is one of the earliest manifestations of this design. In addition to this donkey, Steiff produced several additional lulac animals as United States exclusives in the late 1950's including an elephant, tiger, poodle, and lion; these were most likely available through high end toy stores like FAO Schwarz. Steiff fans almost universally look up to these rare "tall drinks of water" as "must haves" for their collection.

Long legged lovely #2:
It's hard not to fawn over this precious baby. This darling deer appeared in the Steiff catalog from 1954 through 1955 only. She is 14 cm, unjointed, made from airbrushed mohair, and has a really endearing, relaxed body position. This same model was also available in a 17 cm size. According to the description and photos associated with the auction, she is in very good to excellent condition and has her chest tag; it is unclear if she has her ear tag or button. She received 6 bids and sold for the bargain hammer price of $54.74.

It is interesting to note that this fawn has a single white horizontal stitch across her nose as a highlight. Collectors might recognize this detail which is an important design feature of Steiff's famous "Jackie" Teddy bear design, which debuted just a year earlier in 1953.

(Not so long) legged lovely #3:
Doggonit, this one's got legs, and she knows how to use them! Making her SteiffLife, and possibly worldwide debut, is this very distinctive poodle. This "best of show" candidate is 28 cm tall, five ways jointed, made from thick black mohair, and has a really unusual open pink felt mouth with a red felt tongue. Her legs are bent in a squatting or begging position. She has all of her ID's: a chest tag, raised script Steiff button, and her ear tag with article number 4328. According to the description and photos associated with the auction, she is in excellent condition and has her chest tag, raised script button, and ear tag with article number 4328. She received 23 bids and sold for a whopping $433.00.

Why? As far as I can tell, she is not currently documented in any of the Steiff Sortiment reference books. I have looked high and low for any information on her but have come up empty pawed. Steiff items that appear "out of the blue" without history or documentation are extremely desirable to collectors. She may be one of those really rare pieces that somehow was not cataloged; perhaps she is a sample of an item that was never produced; or maybe she was a one of a kind item made as a gift and never meant for wide scale production and distribution. We'll never know for sure, but what we do know is that whoever got her is certainly one lucky dog!

I've run out of leg room for the column; so long until next week. Oh, and to all the runners in tomorrow's Boston Marathon, welcome to New England... and by all means, break a leg!

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