Take these curls for a whirl! Steiff has a century plus long legacy of creating some of the most adorable poodles for collectors and enthusiasts around the world. Who can resist their darling 'dos and princess-like personalities! Although the beloved and well-known Snobby poodle made her debut in 1953, Steiff also created a handful of lesser-known poodle models in the 1950's and early 1960's. Let's take a look at some of these blue ribbon beauties and see what makes them so interesting from the collector's perspective.
Here's a most unusual poodle for you to noodle! Here we have Steiff's Tosi. She is standing, unjointed, and made from wool plush. She came in black or white. Her face is detailed with a black glass button nose and soulful, almond shaped white, brown, and black eyes. She wears a red leather collar. Her coat is in what is referred to as a "Karakul" trim, meaning that it is fluffy but uniformly the same length all over her body. Tosi was produced in 4, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1950 through 1953. Because of her time of manufacturer, Tosi would have left the factory with a red-imprinted chest tag and a US Zone tag in her leg seam.
Tosi's little sister is this early poodle Snobby. She is standing and made from wool plush. She came in black or white. Like Tosi, face is detailed with a black glass button nose, but Snobby has round brown and black glass pupil eyes. Her mouth and claws are defined by brown embroidery. Her coat is in what Steiff refers to as the "French"trim, meaning that it is fluffy basically from the waist area up; her lower torso and backside are more closely cropped. She also has longer tufts of fur around her knees, elbows, and the tip of her tail. The original Snobby was produced in 17 or 22 cm in 1952 only. Like Tosi, because of her time of manufacturer, she would have left the factory with a red-imprinted chest tag and a US Zone tag in her leg seam.
This next long legged lovely is a Steiff supermodel for sure! Here we have Snobbylac Pudel or Snobbylac Poodle. This tall drink of water is a whopping 80 cm tall, with alot of that height coming from her remarkably long legs! She is made from short grey wool plush and five ways jointed. Her feet, hands, ears, and forehead are particularly "puffy!" She has brown and black pupil eyes and her floppy ears are lined in grey felt. Readers will probably recognize her as one of Steiff's legacy "lulac"style animals - playful and jolly patterns with exaggeratedly long limbs and torsos. She has brown and black glass pupil eyes and a black leather nose. She was produced in 1958 only as a United States exclusive.
Our last rare curly girl would make a charming lap dog for sure. Here we have another poodle named Snobby. She is 28 cm, five ways jointed, and made from the same wool plush as Snobbylac. She has brown and black pupil eyes and a black leather nose. Her mouth and claws are defined by black airbrushing. Her coat, like the original Snobby mentioned above, is in the "French" cut - but in this case, perhaps an "extreme" French cut, as her fluffy areas are REALLY fluffy! She wears two magenta colored ribbons, one around her neck and one on the top of her mile-high hairdo! Snobby was produced from 1962 through 1968 in 28 and 35 cm as an exclusive item for the high end toy retailer FAO Schwarz in theUnited States; you can see the wooden red bell-shaped FAO Schwarz hangtag hanging from her on the picture here to the left.
Steiffgal hopes this review of rare, early postwar poodles has added a fancy twist to your day.