Tune In For More Information About This Fabulous Steiff Novelty!

Today's blog post is going to be music to your ears - really! In the prewar era, Steiff produced a number of really marvelous novelties based on their most popular characters of the time. Check out this remarkable find from a new friend across the pond who asks about an antique dog that can carry a tune probably better than most of us. Zoe shares:

"I'm really interested to find out if my lovely dog is a genuine Steiff, I have done a little research but can't seem to find a dog the same as him which contains musical bellows, when his tummy is squeezed he makes a lovely twinkling noise! He has the Steiff button in his ear with the underling f which I've found out that he was made between 1908 and 1920, he also has his original pink ribbon! I have enclosed some pics I'd love to know if he is real? He also has most of his fur but has faded as under his ears is darker. Best wishes, Zoe" 

Let's put the spotlight on this wonderfully talented Steiff dog. What we have here is Steiff's Musical Molly. She is standing, 28 cm tall, and made from long white mohair. When she left the factory over a century ago, her mohair was brown-tipped on her ears, around her eyes, and on her rear back. Sometimes this fades over time. She comes to life with oversized black and brown glass pupil eyes, a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and folded over ears. She has black embroidered claws on each of her paws. When you squeeze her midsection, she plays a merry tune. Her notes are produced by a "press and release" style music box. 

Zoe's blue ribbon buddy was produced in this size only from 1928-1931. Molly was also produced as a sitting "press and release" musical animal in 25 cm during the same time frame. This production timeline corresponds perfectly to the IDs on this musical dog under review today. Standing musical Molly sports a long trailing "f" button and remains of her red ear tag, both which appeared in tandem on items in the late 1920s-early 1930s. 

Musical animals have been featured sporadically in the Steiff line since the mid-1920s. Given that the company's items were mostly designed as "friends for life" for children, it would make sense that some higher end models would also feature the ability to lull a child to sleep with imbedded musical features. 

High quality, European made music boxes became available on a large, commercial scale in the mid 1920's. Seeing this as a product development opportunity, Steiff created a series of "Music-Animals" in 1928. This chorus included Molly dogs, a Teddy bear, Petsy the baby bear, Bully the bulldog, Cheerio the laughing puppy, Fellow the puppy, Charly the King Charles Spaniel, Treff the bloodhound, Fluffy the cat, a clown, and a standing lamb. Most had a "press and release" style music box; standing Charly's music box was activated by pulling on his tail. These items appeared overall in sizes ranging from 17 through 43 cm. However, despite their charming appearance and musical features, these collectibles were quite expensive and few were made. Unfortunately at the time, sales were minimal - probably because of cost - and they were last featured in the catalog in 1930/1931.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Zoe's Musical Molly dog has added a chorus of delight to your day.

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