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This Teddy Baby doll is truly the best of all worlds.
He has the head of the beloved Steiff Teddy baby design, the body of a
doll, and a charming, well fitting outfit made from
period fabrics. He stands about 22 cm tall, is head jointed, and has
dangling arms. His head, hands, and the tops of his flat feet are made
from light yellow woolen plush. His body and limbs are made from a
flesh colored fabric with a somewhat velvety finish. His face is
detailed with brown and black glass pupil eyes, a brown hand embroidered
nose, and a smiling, tan felt lined mouth. He wears green
trousers and a red and white calico shirt - which are original to him -
and a tiny old fashioned brass basketball charm around his neck, which
is not. Overall, this model was made in 14, 22, and 28 cm from 1931
through 1943.It is interesting to note that over his production period, Steiff's Teddy Baby doll was dressed in about 11 various outfits. This particular example is in outfit #8, which is documented simply as, "green trousers, red blouse." Outfit #8 was manufactured from 1935 through 1942.
Although Steiff
produced dressed animals, especially monkeys, bears, and rabbits, since
the turn of last century, it was not until the late 1920's that the
company produced a true animal doll such as the Teddy Baby under
discussion here. In 1929, Steiff introduced a Pupp-Bully,
Charly, and Treff. All were 28 cm and only remained in the line through
1930. Between 1931 and 1932, Steiff debuted a number of animal dolls,
including a cat (pictured here on the left), duck, pug dog, and a boy
and girl rabbit couple. And like the Teddy Baby doll, all were made in 14,
22, and 28 cm and appeared in a number of different outfits over time.
In the mid to late 1930’s, Steiff would go on to produced a delightful
series of additional pupp-animals including an elephant doll, Waldi the Dachshund
as a hunter, Scotty the Terrier as a Scotsman, and Arco the German
Shepherd as a farmer. However, due to supply restrictions and
geopolitical realities, production on all of these doll models ceased by
1943. 
Once the factory
reopened for toy production at the end of WWII, Steiff briefly resumed
their manufacturing of their “pupp-animals.” In 1949, a pair of
fully dressed, 25 cm wool-plush Teddy Baby dolls appeared in the line;
these were quickly followed with the introduction of a pair of 25 cm
blond and brown mohair dressed Teddy Baby dolls in the early and mid
1950’s. Steiff continued the production of their pre-war pair of boy-girl
rabbit dolls but renamed the set Hansili in 1954. They also extended
this doll animal line to include two additional models of rabbit pairs, a
Dachshund doll boy and girl set (pictured here on the left), and a fox
doll boy and girl set. Overall, all of these sets were discontinued by
the early 1960s, probably due to their highly detailed, labor-intensive
and costly production requirements.
- It is entirely possible that he was produced in the late 1930's or early 1940's, put in storage during the war, pulled out after the war, labeled, and sold in the late 1940's to early 1950's.
- It is also entirely possible that he was indeed made as part of the early post war production. As noted above, the literature documents that Steiff did produce a 25 cm wool plush Teddy Baby doll from 1949 through 1950. Perhaps Steiff also made a few of them in 22 cm at the time as well.
Steiffgal hopes that this discussion on this precious Steiff Teddy Baby Doll has been as enjoyable as child's play for you!
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