This Fantastic Midcentury Steiff Donkey Is All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go!

It's safe to say that the dress code for many of us has changed recently. For office folks now working from home, pajamas have become the new standard in "business casual," while those conducting business over Skype or Zoom have been "caught" adorned in a coat, tie, shirt... and sweatpants. A bright spot in today's sea of bad news for Steiffgal was a recent Steiff acquisition that's been "dressed for success" for nearly 70 years. Take a look at this delightfully detailed donkey and see why he's so interesting from the design and product development perspectives.

This farm favorite can't help but be your beast of burden. Here we have Steiff's classic Esel or Donkey. He is 12 cm, standing, unjointed, and made from velvet. He has a very short black mane. His dimensional, velvet tail is tipped with long black mohair. He has black airbrush highlights down his back, on the tips of his ears, and marking his hooves. Esel's face is sweet and babylike; it is detailed with shiny black button eyes and delicate airbrushing to define his nose and mouth area. Esel retains his original accessories, including a red leather brindle with tiny green tassels and a red and black checkered felt blanket secured to him by a ribbon. His IDs include a raised script button, very early postwar ear tag, and a US Zone tag. Esel was manufactured in 12, 14, 22, and 28 cm; the smallest size was made in velvet from 1950 through 1969 while the larger sizes were made in mohair from 1950 though 1961.

When it comes to precisely dating this fine fellow, the devil is in the details. This example has two elements that are different from other 12 cm models of his design Steiffgal has handled in the past. First, of course, are his handsome additional accessories: the green wool tassels on his bridle and his styling' blanket. Steiffgal has only seen this model with an un-tasseled red brindle and no blanket. The second is his excelsior stuffed velvet tail tipped in mohair. Steiffgal has only seen this model with a plain cord tail. In Pfeiffer's 1947-2003 Sortiment, this design has unusual cataloging noting "12 cm velvet, 1950/51 with blanket." There is no mention of the tassels, but it is Steiffgal's strongest suspicion that her example - based on this nugget of information and his IDs - is one of these 1950/51 examples.

Given that this donkey design was introduced in 1950, it is possible that the earliest 12 cm versions were made with the more expensive, labor intensive details noted above. Perhaps as early as 1952, the pattern was simplified to a cord tail and minimal accessories - saving time, money, and labor. Many of the smallest, early postwar animal editions, including the company's zebras and camels, were made from velvet and had cord tails, so this direction is somewhat consistent with trends of the era.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this sharp dressed donkey has been a clothes call for you.

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