Here's something incredibly fantastic to look forward to! Mark your calendars for Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH's Steiff Special Auction on January 21st, 2023. The catalog has just been published online in German and English. It features nearly 200 breathtaking Steiff, Schuco, and Bing rarities from the collection of the late Susan Kilgore Wiley. Mrs. Wiley had an amazing eye for gorgeous prewar toys. Half of her antique plush collection will be sold as part of this January, 2023 event, and the second half will be offered through Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion at their July 1, 2023 Steiff Special Auction in Giengen, Germany.
This January sale offers so many WAH-HOO GOOD options, it's almost impossible to pick highlights. That being the case, let's look at the "cream of the crop" per category over the next few weeks. We'll kick off this auction review here today with a peek at extremely rare items with great ID.
Size defies with this first January auction highlight. It is lot #6074, a supersized, midcentury Lulac rabbit. His starting bid is 180 €. He is cataloged in part as:
"Lulac, exceptional size, 80 cm, with button, breast sign and yellow cloth tag label, number is partially illegible, breast sign with stronger kinks, cross-eyed with big glass eyes, jointed arms and legs, small faults in the mouth felt insert, exceptional."
It's not going out on a limb to say how exceptional this rabbit truly is. His pattern is in Steiff's beloved "lulac" scale. These legacy items have mile-long limbs and torsos. Lulac animals made their debut in 1952. The first to appear was a 43 cm rabbit. Like the example under discussion here, he was made from caramel mohair and his hands and feet were detailed with especially shaggy mohair. This original lulac rabbit pattern was also produced in 60 cm; the 43 cm version was in the line from 1952-1974, while the larger size made a more limited appearance from 1964-1966. Mrs. Wiley's supersized example has awesome adjustable black and blue glass google eyes retains his button, ear tag, and named chest tag as his Steiff IDs. He is the first of his type Steiffgal has ever seen.
As far as Steiffgal can tell, there is no mention in any of the standard reference books of an 80 cm version of this lulac rabbit. It is possible that he was made in very small quantities as a window display animal. Other early 1950s lulac items included a 35 cm donkey, a 40 cm elephant, a 90 cm tiger, an 80 cm poodle, and an 80 cm lion. All of these models were mohair, fully jointed, and were produced exclusively for the United States market and only for a year or so. Given the proportions of some of those early post war lulac exclusives, it is also possible that this extra large lulac rabbit was made as part of that series, but never went into full production for some reason.
This second auction highlight also doesn't have a hare out of place. Here we have lot #6004, a prewar bunny named Ossi. His starting bid is 60 €. He is cataloged in part as:
"Ossi, wool plush, sitting, with button, block letters, long trailing f, swivel head, white/brown spotted, 16 cm seat height, big glass eyes, with breast sign, red inscription, small mohair loss below the right eye."
It's time to play the name game with this hoppy handful. Ossi was produced in five sizes ranging from 4 to 15 cm from 1938-1943 overall. His design elements, including his wartime era fabric, proportional eyes, and his simple hand embroidered nose and mouth, are typical to the late 1930s production era at Steiff. But what's most interesting about Ossi is that he was the first "named" rabbit produced by Steiff. All others before him were simply called "hase" or "rabbit." What are the odds that this example of Steiff's first named rabbit would retain his his "Ossi" chest tag? Steiffgal had never seen an Ossi before this one - with or without IDs!
Steiff started to give adorable or endearing names to its standard line items starting in the 1920s. It was at that time that Molly the Puppy, Fluffy the Cat, Charly the King Charles Spaniel, Jocko the Chimp, and many other legacy named patterns were introduced. But it was not until 1938 - about a decade and a half later - that Steiff gave a playful name to a rabbit in its line. It is possible that "Ossi" is a play on the German word "Ostern" which translates to "Easter." It's also just a very sweet name for a bunny in any language.
And three's a charm when it comes to our third auction highlight in this can't bear to miss sale. Here we have lot #6045, a precious prewar panda bear. He has an opening bid of 280 €. He is cataloged in part as:
"Panda, with button, long trailing f, writing "Panda-Bär", red with afterwards up-painted heart, mohair-plush, 2-colored, tricot paws, 26 cm, minimally mohair loss around the snout, otherwise very good condition, rare."
Pandas are a great example of Steiff using news headlines and cultural trends for product development ideas. These black and white beauties began appearing "in the flesh" in several major zoos across the globe in the late 1930s. They immediately rocketed to international superstar status. Piggybacking on the success of their real-life cousins, pandas made their debut in the Steiff line in 1938; by 1939, they were being produced in 15 and 30 cm on a commercial scale through 1942 overall. This fantastic example, with his long trailing "f" button and breathtaking named, red imprinted chest tag, is most likely from the earliest part of that time time.
Steiff's debut pandas were five ways jointed and made from black and white mohair. Their faces were detailed with brown and black pupil eyes, a black hand embroidered nose, and an small scaled, open, peach colored felt lined mouth. The black circles around their eyes and the black stripe across their backs were created by hand airbrushing. Because of wartime material shortages, some models - like the one under discussion here today - were produced with linen or other alternative fabrics in the place of felt on their hand and foot paw pads.
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on these rare, named Steiff auction lots has bid up your interest in this upcoming sales event!
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