Have You Ever Seen 14 Carrot Mohair On A Steiff Rabbit?

Anyone out there have a rabbit-habit? Steiffgal does for sure, especially when it comes to Steiff's unusual vintage bunnies. And this fantastic example under discussion here is not only breathtaking to look at, but also is a bit mysterious in terms of his construction and dating. Take a look and this bouncing bundle of joy and see what you think.  Jill shares...

"Here are a few pictures of the orange rabbit I was telling you about. He is 11" in height without his ears, which are floppy. His head and front paws are jointed. He has a non-working squeaker. 

I thought maybe he was from the 1920-30s, BUT he has a raised script button, not an FF button. Could he be prewar stock that was buttoned and sold until after the war? I was not able to find him in any Steiff reference book.

Thank you for any help or insights you can provide."

Orange you glad you checked out the blog this week to see this wonderful treat?  There are three key things to note about this happy hopper.  

The first, of course, is his 14 carrot mohair.  It is bright orange with a little white tipping to it. Tipping and/or bright colors were very popular fabric choices for charming things designed and produced in the mid- to late 1920's through the 1930's at Steiff. For example, think of the company's wonderful "jellybean" colored begging and sitting rabbits and the bright orange Bully the Bulldog patterns produced during this time - and of course Petsy the Baby Bear, famous for his brown tipped fur.   

Now let's move and grove with his second feature, his jointing. According to Jill, this example is head and arm jointed.  He has a very similar presentation to the company's tail moves head rabbits, which appeared in the line from c. 1931 through 1938 overall.  This is especially true when you look at his neck area, which is somewhat elongated.  You can see an example of one of Steiff's tail moves head rabbits here on the left for comparison. This photo is from Morphy Auctions. However, Jill's rabbit is absolutely not tail moves head jointed.  

And finally, let's button up this analysis with a look at his ID. Apparently Jill's rabbit came with a raised script button.  This ID would indicate that he was produced in the c. 1952-1969 time frame. However, his color, pattern, and presentation strongly suggest that he was made prewar.

So do you feel you've just been lead down a rabbit hole? Well, Jill's orange rabbit is confusing in part, but here's Steiffgal's best take on him.  He may be an undocumented, one-off sample or prototype made in the mid-1930's and based on a little known rabbit that appeared in the Steiff line in 21 and 30 cm in 1935 through 1936 only. (Jill's rabbit is 28 cm, so it is entirely possible that he started out life at 30 cm, or shrunk a little over time, like all good things seem to do.)  This cataloged rabbit, which is pictured here on the left, was begging, at least head jointed, and produced in long, soft grey/brown mohair tipped in white.  This model is specially called out for its distinctive fabric, as noted in his cataloging. This photo is from Pfeiffer's Sortiment 1892-1943; you can click on it to make it larger. 

It's unclear exactly why Jill's rabbit was not produced on a commercial scale, but it most likely had something to do with the general business realities of the 1930's in Germany.  It is possible that his orange mohair was either too expensive or simply not available in commercial quantities necessary for manufacturing, and/or that Steiff decided that he would not sell in enough volume to justify his costs.  And what about his ID? As Jill suspects - and Steiffgal concurs - he may have been made pre-war, put into storage, and buttoned and sold in the very early 1950's, explaining his raised script style button. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Jill's fabulous rabbit has been a cheerful-earful for you.