Well hello handsome! Here we have Steiff's Erich. He is 35 cm tall and fully jointed. He comes to life with brown hair which has faded to silver over time, lovely blue and black glass pupil eyes, delicate painting to define his eyebrows, nostrils, cheeks, and mouth, and Steiff's distinctive and early vertical center seam facial construction. He also has two small horizontal seams by each of his eyes; these are original to his pattern and help add roundness and softness to his head and face shapes.
Erich is dressed for fun and play in his early 20th century style outfit. He dons a white cotton shirt, a cotton "one-sie" consisting of blue shorts and a black vest, a blue cotton jacket, a linen apron with a pocket, and blue and white striped socks and black felt shoes; most, if not all of these accessories are original to him. He retains his tiny long trailing "f" button and traces of his white ear tag as his IDs. This charming pattern was made in 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm from 1912-1927 overall.
So what about his actual composition? With his full permission and consent, Erich is happy to share his noteworthy make-up and is proud of his role in historical research! His head and arms are made from Steiff's traditional high quality felt. His legs are made from smooth, flesh colored linen; their color matches his felt pretty well. And his torso is made from a very coarse, blue and tan colored muslin material. More typically, a pre WWII doll from Steiff has a felt head, torso, and limbs.
Erich's assembly makes sense if you think about it from the visibility, financial, and historical perspectives... and helps to inform his dating as well. - Visibility: The areas that are most seen - his face and arms - are made from the nicest materials. His legs, which are almost all covered by his shoes, socks, and shorts, are made from a less expensive fabric that somewhat "blends into" the rest of his body. And his torso - which usually never sees the light of day - is made from the cheapest and least elegant material. Overall, when dressed, has the appearance of being a quality, finely designed and produced Steiff doll.
- Financial: Given his materials, it is likely that Steiff was trying to manufacture him as inexpensively as possible. This suggests that money was tight throughout the German economy - both on the business and consumer sides.
- Historical: Just before, during, and after WWI, traditional, high quality toy making fabrics like mohair and felt were in short supply, rationed, or simply not available in Germany. Companies used what supplies they had on hand, or what they could source, to keep the business up and running.
Given his presentation, detailing, and body composition, it is Steiffgal's guess that Erich is a "wartime baby" and was born in the c. 1914-1919 time frame. Steiff has always done their best to deliver "only the best for our children" regardless of hardships and supply chain issues. Erich is a great case in point illustrating that business priority.
Isn't it amazing he still has his boyish good looks, given he's over a century old?
Steiffgal hopes you found this discussion on Erich of material interest.
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