This bitty baby is, of course, an example of Steiff's prewar Bully the Bulldog design. He is sitting, made from black and tan velvet, and unjointed. His adorable face comes to life with an inset muzzle, dimensional jowls, black and brown glass pupil eyes, a hand stitched black nose, and a touch of black and pink airbrushed highlighting. Even though he is only 7 cm tall, he still has a delightful and realistic form, including defined haunches, a pert tail, and a muscular build. He retains his original bell, as well as his metal rimmed chest tag, long trailing "f" button, and traces of his red ear tag as his Steiff IDs.
Sitting black and white velvet Bully dogs were produced in 4 sizes ranging from 7 to 17 cm from 1927 through 1939 overall. They also appeared in blue and white velvet and orange and white velvet in that timeframe as well. Given his ID configuration, it is Steiffgal's best guess that this example was manufactured at the very beginning of this production timeline.
Hold your horses! This happy handful retains his important early 20th century accessory - his original and traditional horsehair collar. It is made from long, thin strips of tan fabric which are doubled over width-wise; the horsehair fibers are sewn in between the faces of the material. The collar is held together with a little knot under Bully's chin. The horsehair collar was a typical accessory of the 1920s and indicated a "regal" nature of the item wearing it.
And what a difference a little more than an inch makes! The smallest black and white velvet Bully dogs were produced in 7 and 10 cm. There are several subtle design modifications between the two, most likely because of manufacturing realities and ease. Smaller items can be tricky to cut out, sew, and turn the fabrics right side out, given their scale. As such, it is not uncommon to see the smallest versions of some of Steiff's beloved legacy designs with light simplifications from their larger brothers and sisters. In this particular case, they include:
Hold your horses! This happy handful retains his important early 20th century accessory - his original and traditional horsehair collar. It is made from long, thin strips of tan fabric which are doubled over width-wise; the horsehair fibers are sewn in between the faces of the material. The collar is held together with a little knot under Bully's chin. The horsehair collar was a typical accessory of the 1920s and indicated a "regal" nature of the item wearing it.
- Jointing. The 7 cm Bully is unjointed while the 10 cm Bully is head jointed.
- Materials. The 7 cm Bully has a felt muzzle while the 10 cm Bully is entirely made from velvet.
- Coloration. The 7 cm Bully has an all tan velvet body, while the 10 cm Bully has a tan velvet body with a black velvet inset rear end and tail.
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