How egg-citing is this?! That was egg-actly Steiffgal's response when she was presented with this most remarkable Steiff rarity. Check out this not so "Spring Chicken" doll and see what makes her so egg-straordinary from the design and historical perspectives.
Bird's the word with this fantastic Steiff doll which dates from the early part of the 20th century. She wears what can only be described as a fitted "mohair chicken suit." This most unusual costume cannot be removed from her body and is detailed with sleeves finished like wingtips and a hood featuring a red felt comb and a top and bottom yellow felt beak. Her legs are bare, and it is unclear if she is wearing any undergarments. Steiffgal has never seen anything like this before, have you?
Although Steiffgal has only seen this doll through pictures, and not firsthand, it is her thinking that the chicken suit is most likely original to Steiff. This suspicion is based on three somewhat random and historical facts and coincidences. These include:
Time frame and concept. There is historical precedent for Steiff to make childlike dolls in mohair suits and costumes, especially in the early 1900's. For example, the company produced a series of fully jointed felt Eskimo dolls from 1908 through 1919. These were made to piggy-back on the commercial excitement surrounding Admiral Peary's race to the geographic north pole. An example of an early Steiff Eskimo doll is pictured here on the left; you can see the similarities in appearance, materials, and presentation between this model and the one under discussion today.
Materials: The mohair used on the costume is perfect in terms of its scale and texture to resemble feathers. It is also quite playful, and gives the piece a most delightful appearance. It is interesting to note that the same yellow mohair was also used for the same "lighthearted" purpose on another beloved Steiff character doll of the time, Puck the Gnome, who is pictured here on the left. This petite treat was made in 20, 30, and 40 cm from 1914 through 1943. Although his clothing changed and evolved over his three-decade long appearance in the line, his cheerful yellow mohair cap remained a constant in his design.
Culture: For some reason that Steiffgal cannot exactly figure out, dressing up like barnyard fowl was a popular trend in the 19-teens and early 20's. Both adults and children seemed to enjoy doing so, with costumes ranging from simple head wear to head to toe feathers! In 1919, Ladies Home Journal featured an article on party costumes designed after chickens, owls, and peacocks! This remarkable story is pictured here on the left for your enjoyment. Net-net, dressing a Steiff doll as a chicken - although a little out of the ordinary today - was not out of the question almost 100 years ago, and Steiff indeed has a strong legacy of reflecting what's happening in the popular culture in its products and designs.
Another chicken and egg question is, "what's the back story to this adorable doll?" As far as Steiffgal can tell, she does not specifically appear in any Steiff or doll reference books, and there is no formal history on her. As such, we can only speculate how she came to be. Here are a few possible scenarios. Perhaps she was created as a sample or trial, and never put into production. She could have been originally made as part of a one of a kind special order or window display. She also might have been made as a "whimsy" or "end of day" item - these are one of a kind pieces that Steiff employees created on their own on work breaks or before or after formal work hours just for fun. Unfortunately, only she knows for sure!
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this fantastic Steiff dressed doll has been more entertaining than a chick flick for you.
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One of Steiffgal's favorite illustrations in this new book is from 1929 and is a leaflet featuring the company's newly launched "Teddy Baby" pattern. This brochure shows three playful closed mouth style cubs. Versions in mohair and alpaca are offered in six sizes ranging from 15 to 45 cm. The alpaca versions are roughly 20% higher in price than those made from mohair. Given the conversion rate of about 4.2 German marks = 1 US dollar in 1929, the prices for these Teds at the time ranged from $0.67 to $5.47 each. To put that in context, the "average” American in 1929 made about $0.70/hour or almost $1,400/year. In today's dollars, $0.67 to $5.47 from 1929 would be roughly equivalent to $9.27 to $75.66. 
In addition to featuring photos and illustrations of the product line, the book also has "behind the scenes" images of really interesting business materials. These give readers and collectors insights into the company's priorities and scope of operations at the time. For example, one of the documents pictured in the book is from 1924 and lists the names and addresses of the company's worldwide sales and distribution partners. These include organizations in Germany, New York City, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and Turkey. Also on the list but crossed off in a black pen line are Brazil and Egypt. Remember, this was almost a century ago, and business development tools like email, the internet, and reliable and international telephone services just were not available. So these accounts - many thousands of miles away from Giengen - were discovered and nurtured the "good old fashioned way" of extensive travel, face to face meetings, and relationship building. Members of the Steiff family and their most trusted colleagues did much of this heavy lifting themselves.
In addition to his breathtaking appearance and condition, this doll also deserves a salute for his absolutely incredible, and all original, field equipment. It is really unbelievable that all of these tiny objects have survived together, and intact, for a century. These include two perfectly scaled wooden ammunition boxes on the front of his leather belt; a wooden rifle with a leather shoulder strap; a grey felt water canteen; a buttoned canvas rucksack; a metal sword suspended from a decorated leather scabbard; a rolled up, grey felt blanket wrapped with leather ties; and a brown short pile plush backpack on leather straps. This fully functional backpack closes with metal fittings. The canteen, rucksack, and sword and scabbard all hang from the back of his leather belt on leather straps.
Steiff made many military themed dolls in the early part of the 20th century. In a span of about two decades, starting in the early 1900's, Steiff produced examples representing German, Scottish, Moroccan, Turkish, Dutch, Russian, American, Belgian, French, Italian, and Austrian armed forces, among others. Well over 100 distinct designs were produced over this time frame; most of these patterns were produced in multiple sizes. In tribute to some heavy hitting militaries, like Germany, England, and the USA, Steiff produced dolls at numerous ranks and in various uniform types. The doll's uniforms, for the most part, closely matched those of their real-life counterparts, down to colors, trims, and styles. 
It is interesting to note how distinctly "friendly" and youthful this doll appears. This is absolutely on purpose. As mentioned previously, this doll design debuted in 1914. At this point in history, World War I had begun. Because of this geopolitical reality, Steiff’s doll designers
were instructed to update their soldier doll patterns - which to this point were somewhat caricatured - and make them good looking, charming, and credible. The company's previous, more "cartoonish" soldier designs were seen as disrespectful to the real life men fighting in the trenches for their country.