This Charming Steiff Doll Is Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice!

It's smooth sailing when it comes to this week's Steiff treasure! Steiffgal was asked by a friend to handle a wonderful vintage doll. When this sweetie arrived at Steiffgal's home, she was even more adorable and interesting than advertised. Come take a look at this early 20th century felt doll and see what secrets she holds!

This charming little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice. She is 28 cm, fully jointed, and made from flesh colored felt. Her precious and youthful face comes to life with a traditional Steiff center seam, blue and black pupil eyes, a 3D nose, set-in mouth, and proportional ears. Her mohair wig, which has faded to a silvery color, was most likely brown, given the color of its cotton backing. She wears a simple white cotton dress, a white cotton sailor's shirt trimmed in dark navy or black, great striped knitted socks, and red felt tie shoes with leather soles. Steiff produced this happy, childlike style of doll from around 1908 through the mid-1920's in standard sizes ranging from 22 to 75 cm.  

It's no clothes call when it comes to this beautiful girl's outfit. Steiffgal is not able to exactly match her dress and top to any listed in the standard Steiff reference books. However, given their materials and design, it is her best guess that they are original to her. One clue is the hook and eye construction on her dress. This closure system is very typical to Steiff doll clothing from the first quarter of the 20th century. It is also Steiffgal's suspicion that at one point she had some sort of underwear or underpants, as her dress length is a bit "revealing," at least for the period in which she was made. Steiff also usually produced their girl dolls with hats, and Steiffgal also thinks that this doll's hat, like her undergarments, must have been lost to time.

This doll is definitely a sole sister. Her red felt shoes appear original, except for a replaced tie. This shoe style was very popular on Steiff dolls from her time frame, but this is the first time Steiffgal has seen a pair in red. However, another Steiff doll wearing identical red shoes is pictured in Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Steiff Sortiment book. Her socks are also original and really eyecatching; Steiffgal has a doll in her personal collection wearing very similar hosiery.

Now let's talk about this doll's birth year. As noted, this style of doll was produced in the general line for nearly two decades.  But she has a few clues that hone down this time frame a bit.  

First, note that her hands are very simple, almost fist-like. This style of hand was updated to a more distinctive hand with pronounced finger digits starting around 1910 or so. You can see a close up of this doll's early hands here on the photo on the left. 

Second, this dolls is made entirely from felt. This is a subtle, but important detail. Starting around 1915, Steiff started changing the fabrics on these dolls as a response to material shortages associated with WWI. Felt was an important fabric and was being used for uniforms and blankets at the time. Steiff's dolls, which were traditionally made from all felt, started to appear with felt faces, but their bodies and/or limbs could be made from linen or even inexpensive muslin fabrics. The body parts made from the substitute materials were mostly hidden under clothes. You can see a little boy doll here on the left with this World War I construction... his head and arms/hands are felt; his legs are linen, and his torso is muslin.

Third, this little girl doll has glass pupil in eyes. Steiff's earliest dolls had black shoe button eyes. Starting around 1909 or 1910, most were detailed with more lifelike, and more endearing, glass eyes.

All of these factors converge her year of origin to roughly 1910. The combination of fist hands and glass eyes is interesting, and indicates that she was made at a transitional time in the design and development of this beloved pattern.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this great sailor girl doll has been oceans of fun for you.

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