Hold Everything And Check Out This Unusual Steiff Novelty!

Now for something completely different! Steiff is well known for producing functional novelties for home, school, and work use in addition to the company's plush animal, doll, and bear production. This tradition goes back to the late 1800s, when Margarete Steiff produced and marketed a series of oversized, embroidered felt "pockets" designed as newspaper holders, bed wall bags, duster holder bags, and brush holders, among others. You can see some of these fantastic items here on the left. Today's blog feature, despite its unconventional form and psychedelic hues, has its roots in these early and legacy products.

Hold everything and check out this unusual Steiff "thing-a-ma-bob." This is the first and only example of this oddity Steiffgal knows of or has handled. It measures 25 cm long and is made of yellow and red knitted fur. These colors reflect Steiff's corporate branding hues of the period. It is unjointed and unstuffed. It comes to life with oversized brown and black pupil eyes, a red fabric nose, red felt ears, and a red mouth. It has a 15 cm red zipper on his back which has a silver pull ring. According to Pfeiffer, this item is identified simply as an "accessory case" and appeared in the line from 1979-1981 in this size only. The case retains its button, eartag, chest tag, and hang tag as its Steiff IDs.

So of course there are two mysteries associated with this item. The first is, what animal is it supposed to be.... and the second is... what exactly is it designed to hold?  Neither has a clear cut answer. 

Let's take a closer look at both questions here. As for its identity, it has the physical qualities of several species. It is long and narrow like a snake or eel. Its round ears and muzzle shape sort of have mouse qualities. And its rear end fin is fish-like. So it would be safe to say that it is a "happy hybrid." And for its functionality, it is Steiffgal's best guess that it might have been proportioned to hold pencils and pens for a school child as a pencil case. However, he could just as easily hold a nail file, makeup, and a comb for an adult as a cosmetics bag. Unfortunately, only he knows for sure - and he's not talking!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this unusual Steiff novelty case has held your attention from start to finish. 

Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.