It's all smiles when it comes to this tiny treasure. This is Cockie; she is 10 cm tall, sitting, made from mohair, and is head jointed. She is solidly stuffed with excelsior. Her ears, temples, and tail are made from black mohair and the rest of her body and her legs are made from white mohair. Her babylike face comes to life with an open, smiling, velvet lined mouth, dimensional muzzle, a black hand embroidered nose, and pert brown and black glass pupil eyes. She retains her original pink ribbon. She was produced in 10 and 14 cm in 1955 only.
So just what makes this girl best of show? Believe it or not, she is a very unusual postwar tail moves head model. So, when you twist her tail, her head moves in tandem. Her yellow eartag, which is numbered 3310H and perfectly describes her, "translates" to 3=sitting, 3=mohair, 10=10 cm tall, and H=head turning. This is the very first time Steiffgal had ever seen or handled one of these little known Cockie novelties!
Steiff introduced a number of Cocker Spaniels in the early 1950s. They were produced in brown and white, black and white, and golden mohair. Some had open mouths and others had closed mouths. They were all named Cockie, which can get a little confusing sometimes! Unlike most of the other Cockies, the black and white mohair, open mouthed pattern - the one under discussion here - was also produced in a number of different "novelties." These included this tail moves head pattern, a music box, as a life-sized, or studio edition, as well as an upscale pajama bag - most likely as a special edition for FAO Schwarz.
As far as Steiffgal can tell, Steiff created a whole line of prewar tail moves head items in the early 1930s, but only two models postwar. These included a Teddy bear and this Cockie Cocker Spaniel. The reason Cockie is solidly stuffed with excelsior is that her torso holds most of the technology that makes this movement possible.
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this rare and kinetic dog has headlined your day!
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