This Amazing Steiff Prewar Treasure Is No Optical Illusion!

Eye, eye, eye... look what we have here! Steiffgal just got an inquiry about an eye-popping rarity and she could not wait to share this exciting find with you. Let's not monkey around and jump right into the details of this precious prewar primate right away!

What we have here is Steiff's Mimocculo Orang Utan. This example is about 35 cm tall, fully jointed, and made from long, fuzzy red-orange mohair. His hands, feet, ears, and face are made from felt. He features an open, dimentional mouth as well as really unusual and abundant facial seaming. This is because he has a remarkable moving eye feature imbedded in his head. These seams hold his facial fabric, and in turn his eye-movement hardware, securely in place. With Mimocculo, when you pull gently on his ear, his white, brown, and black round glass eyeballs move left and right, as well as up and down. This great example retains his long trailing "f" button and traces of his red ear tag as his Steiff IDs. 

This nifty novelty was produced from 1930 through 1936 in 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm. Sizes from 17 cm had the distinctive rolling eye mechanism and deep eye pockets; the smaller ones had standard, stationary glass pupil eyes and closed mouths. Given Mimocculo's charm and collector's appeal, Steiff created a 35 cm tall rolling eye replica of this treasure in 1998. It was produced in an edition size of 3,000 pieces overall and very closely resembled the prewar version.

In the early 1930s, when Mimocculo debuted, one of Steiff's business development strategies was to produce high end items with distinctive mechanical features. Other products with amazing jointing or advances from this era included the company's snap jointed tail moves head Circus Elephants (made in 24 and 30 cm from 1931-1940 overall) a snap jointed tail turns head Circus Bear (made in 32 cm from 1935-1939), and a series of press and release music box animals based on Steiff's most popular prewar pet designs. Mimocculo, with his fabulous flirty eyeballs, fit perfectly into this exclusive club of mechanical marvels.

And just how rare are these outrageously outstanding Orang Utans?Steiffgal has only seen a handful come up for public auction over the past decade or two. Most recently, Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion offered a 10 cm version at their Special Steiff Auction held on June 29th, 2024 in Giengen, Germany. You can see this happy handful here on the left, the image is from Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion. This "mini Mimo" had a starting bid of 180 €, hammered at 3100 €, and was cataloged simply as:

"Monkey, orangutan, MIMOCCULO, made 1930-1933, 10 cm, rust-colored mohair, small glass eyes, felt feet, hands and face as well as ears in very nice condition, unusual."  

Orange you glad you checked out this discussion on Steiff's Mimocculo Orang Utan?

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

Timecapsule Treasures On Offer At Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's 2024 Steiff Special Auction

What's old is new again at this year's Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's Steiff Special Auction on June 29th, 2024. This sale tempts collectors with almost 230 amazing and well curated lots of century-spanning button-in-ear treasures. One especially noteworthy category in this sale is items from the company's earliest production period - just before and just after the turn of the 20th century. Here are three "golden oldies" definitely worth checking out!

 

Let's start this trip back in time with lot #10. This is an extremely early dressed Steiff monkey, with an opening bid of 850 €. It is cataloged as:

"Steiff monkey, crouching, around 1900, pre-button era, felt, shoe button eyes, for shirr (missing), height: 17 cm, original felt clothes, smaller faults in the felt, nice original condition."

This sitting sweetie would love to hang out with you! It is Steiffgal's best guess that this is an example of the company's turn of last century felt monkey designed as a catch and release toy. If you notice his well formed hands, they look like they were designed to be holding something. Steiffgal thinks this would have been a piece of elastic string. So, someone could bounce him around as a toy on this cord. According to Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment, this novelty was produced in 17 cm from 1897-1911 and was described as, "felt, brown, begging, elastic cord, tailcoat and slippers of felt." You can see the photo from this reference book here on the left for study and comparison. 

This next very vintage selection will have you moving and grooving. This is lot #6, a Steiff dancing bear, which carries an opening bid of 1800 €. It is cataloged as:

"Steiff dancing bear, around 1900, pre-button era, short plush, in very good condition, attending, dancing on a metal disc, casting wheels with spokes rubber coated, rubber is very worn, therefore the turn function isn't possible, squeaker, length: 68 cm (catalog proof 70 cm), shoe button eyes, one eye is a bit scratched, nose chain and stick, original pull rod, black and white picture in the Pfeiffer catalog page 37, and picture in the Steiff catalog from 1900, book Jürgen & Marianne Cieslik "Knopf im Ohr" page 27, an unusual piece from the beginnings of the Steiff-production, is a museum piece."

This amazing and little known mechanical bear, which was produced in 70 cm from 1898-1907, has a key role in the history of the development of the jointed Teddy bear as we know him today. In the late 1890's, Steiff produced a number of circus bear novelties. These were considered "action toys" as they designed to give movement to the toys. These included this dancing bear on a circular wheeled cart; bears on platforms with bristles supporting them; a bear on a cart with metal wheels; and tumblers in different configurations and sizes. The bears on the platforms with bristles would move when someone tapped the table on which they were standing - so they would sort of "shimmy" about. You can see a few of these early examples here on the left, the photo is from Cieslik's Button in Ear: The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends.

Richard Steiff wanted to create more playful, dynamic, and child-friendly versions of these static/moving bears, and he took this challenge seriously. He studied the way real bears move at the zoo. Mohair became available on a commercial level around 1902. He married those two facts, inserted his creativity, and came up with the patterns for a series of fully jointed bears, starting with string jointing, then rod jointing, then disk jointing. Steiff's disk jointing system has not changed much since its introduction over a century ago. 

At the tail end of this discussion is lot #9, a very large and early monkey. He has an opening bid of 1800 € and is cataloged as:

"Steiff monkey, 1904, length: 80 cm, mohair plush, velvet ears, face and hands, PPB, shoe button eyes, elephant head, nice full mohair, velvet is a bit worn, small open place at the head mounting in the back, the wire mounting is visible, very expressive, an early unusual piece from the beginnings of the Steiff production."

This big boy is a fine example of Steiff's early - but not earliest - monkey patterns. This basic design debuted in 1904 and appeared in the line through the 1920s in a variety of slightly modified versions over time. He was produced with and without a tail, in a number of fabrics including brown and white mohair, and with felt or velvet hands and facial features. Given his elephant button, the one under discussion here was produced in the c. 1904-1905 time frame. 

One super interesting thing about this marvelous monkey is the company he keeps. This monkey appears in a 1903/04 catalog photo used to debut the company's new editions at the annual Leipzig Spring Fair. But what's so special about that? It's the same picture that debuted PB55... the world's first jointed Teddy bear. Talk about being at the right place at the right time, eh? A snapshot of this catalog page is shown here on the left. You can spot this monkey in the very far back right of the picture - just click on the image to make it bigger. The photo is from Cieslik's Button in Ear: The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on these time capsule treasures has brought history to life for you. 

 

For more information on this June 29, 2024 sale, please check out the company's website at https://www.spielzeugauktion.de/.

 

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

Remarkable Rarities At Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's 2024 Steiff Special Auction!

The countdown is on for the most exciting Steiff auction event of the year - Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's annual Steiff Sonder Auction or Steiff Special Auction! This event is famous for offering WAH-HOO good temptations - as well as producing world record breaking results. This year, it will be held on June 29, 2024 in Giengen, Germany as part of the Steiff Company's annual Steiff Sommer Festival. For more information on the sale, click here!

This year, nearly 230 premier century-spanning button-in-ear treasures will go under the hammer. In addition to rockstar offerings most of us can only dream about - including a google eyed Petsy Bear, a rod bear, and a full set of early skittles - the sale also features a number of hidden jewels. These are items with very special or unique details that really make them extraordinary from the collector's perspective. Here are three that caught Steiffgal's eye... and what makes them so quietly remarkable. 

Let's twist and shout over this first auction hidden jem. This is lot #28, a Steiff Turbo "Purzelbär" or somersaulting bear. He has an opening bid of 250 € and is cataloged as follows:

"Turbo "Purzelbär" with clock mechanism, arm-wound mechanism and clock mechanism are intact, only produced in 1951, button and cloth tag label number 9315,4, rests of the US zone cloth tag label, 15 cm, original neck label and felt vest, very nice unused condition, rare, only c. 1000 pieces were produced."

In the early 1950s, Steiff made a handful of little known novelties featuring movements that were introduced prewar. These included tail moves head items (which debuted in the early 1930s) in the form of bears and dogs; musical items (which debuted in the late 1920s) in the form of bears, monkeys, cats, and dogs; and a tumbler (which debuted around 1909) in the form of this bear. It is not clear why the company "reintroduced" these old school style novelties postwar, especially given the emphasis on launching new patterns that reflected the contemporary, forward thinking vibe of the times. These early postwar novelties - including this somersaulting bear - only appeared in the catalog for a year or so. This suggests that they were not commercially successful, and/or were expensive and time consuming to produce. Given their very short production time and output, these tumbling bears are extremely few and far between on the secondary market - especially in nice condition like this with IDs. This would be a delightful addition to a collection of midcentury rarities, mechanical novelties, or Teddy bears. 

Steiffgal doesn't want to let the cat out of the bag here, but be sure to check out lot #181 in this signature summer sale. It is a woolen miniature cat, with an opening bid of 160 €. He appears in the catalog as:

"Cat, produced 1931-1938, with button inscription: Muster, Nomotta-wool, grey/white, lying, swivel head, green glass eyes, height: 6 cm, length: 8 cm, very nice strong colors, extremely rare, exceptional, unused condition."

This pretty kitty is in such lovely condition, with a great presentation and personality. However, what makes her off the charts great is her Steiff ID, which is a MUSTER button. This form of ID was used by Steiff pre-WWII on items considered samples, evolving designs, or prototypes. In general, the button indicated that the item was Steiff property and was not intended for sale or distribution. "Muster" translates loosely from German to English as "pattern" and in a sense, these "muster" items were just that. And, the button is located on her ribbon. This is probably because her ears are not large enough to handle the button. The combination of her condition, unusual ID, and its atypical placement, truly makes her the cat's meow among the woolen miniatures on offer in this fine sale. Purrr-fect in every way. 

And finally, tag - you're it - with this last auction rarity with a happy ending. This lot is #147, a Steiff tail turns head Rattler sitting dog. It has a starting bid of 160 € and is cataloged as:

"Rattler, with mechanism for turning head, produced 1931-1942, with button, chest label and cloth tag label, number on cloth tag label: 3310H, red inscription Raddler INT. PAT. APPID. FOR, and with separate paper label: "dreh mich hier herum, ich schau rundherum", 12 cm, colouring is fine shaded, very nice original condition."

This little fellow has two big features that make him a top dog in this exciting sale. The Rattler tail turns head pattern in itself is charming, but not terribly rare. Overall, he appeared in the Steiff line in 8, 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, and 35 cm in the 1930 through 1943 time period. So, it's not challenging to find one these days. However, this particular example, in addition to being in lovely condition, retains his most coveted "tush tag." This is a round cardboard tag on his tail that reads "turn here and I will move my head." These instructions appear in German, English, and Spanish. What's amazing about this is that these moving marvels were designed as fun toys for kids. So it's a miracle that this tag was not removed or lost to time, given its postioning and ephemeral nature! This guy also gets a shout out for his great IDs, including his legible red ear tag. Noted on its is his article number, which is 3310H. This corresponds to 3=sitting, 3=mohair, 10=10 cm tall, and H=tail moves head feature. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on these secretly special auction picks has meant a lot to you!

For more information on this June 29, 2024 sale, please check out the company's website at https://www.spielzeugauktion.de/.

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

The Tail Of Two Marvelous Steiff Midcentury Weasels

Not every toy design Steiff has made has been as precious and endearing as the company's beloved Teddy bears, family pets, and farm friends. In the late 1950's and early 1960's, Steiff launched a whole series of innovative but unconventional designs that can best be described as "creepy crawlers." Most were from the field and forest product categories, and many were produced from unexpected materials. It's pretty safe to say that these items - in real life - would be the last animals most people would want to keep and cuddle as "friends for life!" 

Two of the more unusual editions from this unofficial series have to be a pair of weasels. The first, Wiggy, was made from all white dralon. She had a white pipe cleaner style tail that was detailed with a black tip. She is shown here on the left, you can click on the image to enlarge it. The second was Waggy, who was made from white dralon that was airbrushed brown, and had a brown pipe cleaner tail. She is shown just below; please click on her picture for a more detailed view. 

These marvelous mammals both were cataloged at 12 cm; they physically measured about 3 inches tall and 6 inches long. Both were standing on all fours and unjointed, with felt ears and feet. They came to life with black button eyes, a pink hand embroidered mouth and nose, and clear monofilament whiskers. Both were produced in this size only and for one year in 1962. Today, it is extremely rare to see a Wiggy or Waggy in very good or better condition on the secondary market; their dralon material tends to get dirty and ratty looking, and often times their pipe cleaner tails simply snap off with age and wear.

It is possible that both Wiggy and Waggy are Ermines, which is a woodland animal that lives across North America and Eurasia. Ermines have different coloration over the course of the year. In the warm weather, their coat is brown, with a whitish throat, chest, and belly. In climates with a very cold winter, the fur turns white, except for the black tail tip. In locations with moderately cold weather, their the fur becomes only partly white. So this pair may represent Steiff's take on a winter Ermine (Wiggy) and a summer Ermine (Waggy.)

It's interesting to note that Wiggy and Waggy may have "royal connections" as well. White Ermine fur was traditionally used to decorate the robes of kings and queens in Europe and was seen as a status symbol for the wealthy. Fast forward to today... these 60 years old oddities often play the aristocratic role as the crown jewels in the collections of vintage Steiff enthusiasts around the world.

Steifgal hopes you've enjoyed this tail of two midcentury Steiff rarities!

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