Hat's Off To This Tiny And Absolutely Adorable Steiff Dwarf Doll!

Do clothes make the man? No, not always, but they can suggest some very interesting things about him! Check out this happy handful - a well attired Steiff dwarf doll - that recently joined Steiffgal's hug. His outfit, materials, and impish good looks make him quite the cover boy!

This petite treat stands 22 cm tall and is fully jointed. His entire body, including his face, is made from flesh colored linen. His oversized hands and feet are remarkably detailed with realistic fingers and toes. His ever-happy face comes to life with a long, light brown mohair beard and eyebrows, bright green and black glass slit pupil eyes, a charming upturned nose, and a open, red smiling mouth. His cheeks are very rosy and he even has a little razor stubble to him! He wears brown velvet shorts, a white cotton shirt, a bright yellow mohair cap, and a bright blue felt vest. His accessories include a leather belt and a Steiff-branded satchel; this is pictured below. When he left the factory in Giengen, Germany over a century ago, he wore oversized wooden and leather clogs. Dwarf retains his tiny, long trailing "f" button in ear as his Steiff ID.

So just who is this dapper dwarf? Steiffgal has two theories.  First, perhaps he is a hybrid of the company's early 20th century Snak and Snik dwarf designs. Snak was made in 22, 30, 43, and 50 cm from 1911-1915. He is known for his mohair cap and pointy nose. Snik was made in 22, 30, 43, and 50 cm from 1911-1920. He is known for his floppy felt hat and upturned nose. This little guy has a mohair cap and upturned nose - suggesting that he shares key traits from both patterns.

It is also entirely possible, given how every Snak Steiffgal has ever seen has a bright yellow mohair cap, that he is 100% Snak. Sometimes, the smallest versions of a Steiff item have little design tweaks from the larger versions. This usually involves simplification of seaming, body shape, or jointing relative to scale. In this case, this diminutive dwarf does not have eye pockets like the larger versions do, and his nose is definitely not crooked! Perhaps Snak's distinctive, long crooked nose just didn't translate well to the 22 cm version. Only this dwarf knows for certain, and he's not talking!

What is certain is his "birth date" and what that means in terms of his presentation. Given his materials, this dwarf was most certainly made in the World War I era (c. 1914-1918.) During this period, traditional, high quality woolen materials used for toy making like mohair and felt were in very short supply. Most of these fabrics were rationed for war purposes like uniforms and blankets; what was available commercially was very expensive and challenging to obtain.  

During peacetime, this dwarf's entire body and head would have been made from felt; here they are made from inexpensive linen. And his pants, which typically appear in felt, are made from velvet. These substitutions saved a significant amount of costly fabrics, and didn't really change his appearance or personality. It is interesting to note that his "signature" and highly visible elements - his hat, beard, and vest - are still made from woolen fabrics. However, the amount of materials needed for these "key" elements was quite small, and these details could have been pieced together from scraps for efficiency. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this tiny linen dwarf has added to the fabric of your day!

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

This Unusual Steiff Cotton Plush Jocko Is More Fun Than A Barrel Full Of Monkeys!

No monkeyshines! This week's Steiff special guest is truly a top banana. It's no secret that Steiffgal is crazy for Steiff's Jockos, especially examples from the first half of the 20th century. Check out this really cool, and really unusual chimp-champ and see what makes him so interesting from the design and historical perspectives.

This marvelous monkey is sitting, measures 11 inches or 28 cm tall, and is fully jointed. His face, ears, hands, and feet are made from peach colored felt. His face is detailed with an open, felt lined mouth, brown and black glass pupil eyes set into expressive, dimensional eye pockets, a once-white mohair chin, and airbrushed highlights around his eyes, nose, and mouth. His body is made from a light brown - almost khaki colored - cotton plush material. He retains his short trailing "f" Steiff button, broadly dating him from the c. 1936 - 1950 time frame. Steiffgal suspects, given his materials, presentation, and ID, that this Jocko was probably made around 1948 or 1949.

It's easy to have a plush crush on Steiff rarities made from unusual materials. Cotton plush has both a cotton backing and a cotton pile. The best way to describe it is that it feels like a cotton bathroom towel that has been through a number of wash and dry cycles; a little bumpy in texture but with an overall and somewhat smooth feel and dull finish. It is not like mohair, which can be distinctive and prickly; or silk plush, which can shiny and smooth feeling; or wool plush, which is continuous in texture and more "dense." This material was sometimes used instead of the company's more traditional fabrics immediately after the factory reopened for toy making business in the late 1940's as mohair and felt were in very short supply or extremely expensive at the time.

 

And just what makes this mid-century example more fun than a barrel full of monkeys? Khaki colored cotton plush Jocko is not pictured or mentioned in any of the standard Steiff reference books or catalogs that Steiffgal knows of. He definitely started out life this hue, as he is the same even color throughout - even in his "private" places. Steiff did make a 25 cm, fully jointed dark brown artificial silk plush Jocko as part of its standard, commercial line in 1949. It is entirely possible that this 28 cm example was produced in very limited numbers and from materials on hand. This classic Jocko the Chimpanzee Steiff pattern is so universally beloved, appealing, and well designed that it translates well to fabrics other than mohair. And, it is not terribly unusual to find other undocumented prewar legacy Steiff patterns - like running rabbits, Teddy Baby bears, and Fox Terrier dogs - in "alternative" fabrics from the early postwar (c. 1948-1952) time frame as well. 

Steiffgal hopes you enjoyed monkeying around with this unusual and extremely handsome Jocko!

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

A One In A Million Steiff Doll Treasure

The power of technology has made the world alot smaller. Imagine sitting in the comfort of your study or living room, cold drink in hand, dogs at your feet... and participating LIVE in real time in an action event happening on the other side of the world. That's just what Steiffgal did this past weekend - sans jetlag or a four figure airplane ticket! 

On June 29, 2019, Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH auction house held their annual Steiff summer sales event associated with the Steiff company's annual Steiff Sommer event in Giengen, Germany. 146 fine and interesting Steiff lots were on offer; all but one sold. Although there were a handful of "bargains," many items delivered extraordinary results - sometimes 5 or even 10 times over estimate!

One of the sale's unusual treasures really caught Steiffgal's eye, and heart. It was lot #33, an odd but extremely appealing late pre-war era doll. It was cataloged as...

"Prototype Steiff felt doll "Purzel/Wichtel", button with short F, yellow ear cloth tag label with handwritten item number "35", breast sign with handwritten names "Purzel", 35 cm, white-black cross-eyed glass eyes, fivefold jointed, originals felt clothes, in 1939 there were only a few this prototypes with different clothes and different neck marks, all with handwritten names "Purzel" and "Wichtel", the neck mark "Purzel" belongs to a a similar test doll from the same year, according to the archive prototype and the entry at the district court the doll has the name "Wichtel"; probably were the neck marks Purzel and Wichtel interchanged at the completion of the dolls, this doll is from Giengen by the descendants of a former Steiff-employee, the blue felt jacket is minimal faded, otherwise in very good original condition, Wichtel /Purzel is extremely rare, with expertise by the company Margarete Steiff GmbH, Giengen."

Estimated at €800 - €1,600, it hammered for €6,500 with 46 bids; with the 22% buyer's premium it traded hands at €7,930 or just over $9,000.

And just what makes this little felt Sprite (Wichtel translates to "Imp" from German to English) so hugely interesting? He is an otherwise unknown example of the company's mid 1930s - early 1950s pressed felt face doll production. These dolls were made without Steiff's traditional center seam construction. With these dolls, their detailed and textured faces held their molded form via a plastic interior support mask.

Many collectors are aware of Steiff's little boy and girl pressed felt face dolls from this time frame. These were made in 35 and 43 cm; all had felt bodies, jointed heads and legs, and dangling arms. Their faces were detailed with delicate, hand painted facial features, rosy cheeks, glass or painted pupil eyes, and mohair wigs. Their removable clothing, including lace-trimmed underwear, was beautifully tailored with a look of cheery childhood innocence. And, true to Steiff tradition, the girls all had fine shoes and hats. Steiff also introduced a few pressed felt faced dolls in regional or cultural costumes at the same time. You can see a small collection of these precious beauties above. 

Steiff also used this seamless, pressed felt form on a few lesser known items of the late 1930s and early 1940s.  The three that Steiffgal knows of are...

1.  A 35 cm clown doll, detailed with a white, caricatured face and expression, period clown outfit,  and circus style felt hat (in the line from 1936-40; also made as a puppet from 1936-43 and as a roly poly from 1937-43); 

2.  A 28 cm "Lucky Dog" good luck doll with a mushroom cap and long mohair beard (in the line from 1937-1941), and;

3.  A 30 cm brown mohair chimpanzee (1937-40). The chimp is pictured here on the left, the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment. 

It appears that Purzel/Wichtel has a few similar features to other Steiff pressed felt items of the era. These include his size (same as the standard line children and clown dolls), sewn on ears (like the chimps and the clowns), and black and white glass cartoon eyes (like the Lucky Dog good luck doll.) However, Purzel/Wichtel is five ways jointed, while the other items, except for the chimp, are not. This implies that he might have been designed as a higher end or more expensive model. 

It is not clear why Purzel/Wichtel, or other dolls like him in his series, were never produced on a commercial scale. It is safe to assume that he was quite costly and labor intensive to manufacture, given his full jointing, elaborate facial detailing, and top-tier materials. That, and given the German geopolitical and socioeconomic realities of the era, hint that that there would be little demand, and little profit, associated with a "luxury" item of this sort. Needless to say, Purzel/Wichtel is not on his way to join Steiffgal's hug, and that hurts her heart just a little. But as all optimistic collectors say, "the next great find is just around the corner."

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this sample Purzel/Wichtel doll has been a one of a kind experience for you.

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

On the Up and Up With This Tiny Steiff Pup!

Friends for life! Collectors will recognize this slogan as one of Steiff's tag lines in terms of its toy production. But this "promise" also extends to the company's business relationships with other beloved brands and characters over time. Check out his note from a new friend on the west coast who asks about a tiny Poodle that appeared mid-century with dolls from the Nancy Ann Storybook Company.  She writes, in part...

"Several of my doll collecting friends have been helping me research the question of Steiff's Poodle being the dog that Nancy Ann Storybook Company used. 

...I have acquired all the reference books available for Nancy Ann and the company catalog photos that they contain, and even though the salesman's sheet doesn't say that the Poodle in the container is Steiff, my fellow collectors all agree that it is a Steiff Poodle that we see in the containers. You can see the Steiff tag around the belly of the dog.  

...Who knows why Nancy Ann didn't say in their catalog that it was a Steiff Poodle? Vogue Doll company didn't say in their Ginny catalog that Ginny's dog was a Steiff either. The Poodle was available in Muffie catalogs from 1956-1960. it was available in 3 colors from (what I understand): white, gray, and black."

What a best-of-show inquiry! So let's first paws and take a look at the Poodle in question, which is INDEED made by Steiff. This model was made as part of the company's very popular post-war woolen miniature collection, and could be one of the smallest dogs Steiff ever made! These are 6 cm tall, standing, leg and arm jointed, and made from wool and felt. Their faces, arms, and legs are like pom-poms, while their ears and body are felt. They come to life with a little black cord tail and black bead eyes. All models left the factory in Germany wearing a tiny red cord collar. This Poodle was produced from 1955-1978 in grey, black, and white. You can see all three here on the left. They are so tiny that they wear their yellow "eartag" like a bracelet around their middles; this is secured with a tiny Steiff button. These IDs were often lost to time, as noted on the dogs in this picture. Because of their size, they never had a chest tag. 

This precious design remains a collector's favorite today, given how nice they look posed with small to medium scaled mid century dolls.

As far as Steiffgal's understanding and research reveals, Steiff did not specifically make a dog for dolls in this line. However, it is entirely possible that the Nancy Ann Storybook Company "adopted" this dog pattern into its line and made it part of its merchandising and product line - given how delightful the two go together! The Nancy Ann Storybook Company most likely purchased a bunch of these woolen miniature Poodles then boxed them and distributed them through their regular sales channels from their own business headquarters. Steiff usually includes some Steiff branding on their packaging that is factory original. Steiffgal can't tell if there is Steiff branding on the Nancy Ann Storybook Company packing on the photos above, but it is not obvious. It also appears that some of the Nancy Ann packaging for the accessories is quite similar. That also suggests that the packaging was done by Nancy Ann in house and not Steiff. Finally, it is not clear why the Nancy Ann Storybook Company did not promote these as made by Steiff... perhaps for some sort of licensing or business reason? 

  

The Poodle design "adopted" by the Nancy Ann Storybook Company was not a "company exclusive" and was available through worldwide sales channels. You can see the 1961 Steiff catalog page showing these in white, black, and grey, here on the left. (You can click on the photo to make it bigger.) So what would make a product an "exclusive?" It has been Steiffgal's experience that company exclusives often are standard line items with a little something different to them. For example, in the case of these Poodles - if the collars were a different color or style (say blue or green, etc.), or they came in a different color, like brown - that could suggest an exclusive.  But Steiffgal has not personally seen any examples like that, at least not yet! Have you?

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's woolen miniature Poodles has been enormously interesting for you!

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