This Fully Jointed Prewar Cat Has Quite The Tail To Tell!

Paws and check out this next Steiff surprise! Steiffgal was recently asked about a wah-hoo good Steiff prewar rarity that probably every collector in the world would love to add to their meow mix. Check out this fabulous feline and see what makes her so interesting from the design and product development perspectives. 

Here we have Steiff's early and delightful mohair cat. She is fully disk jointed - i.e., all limbs, head AND TAIL!! - and made from black mohair. She measures about 21 cm wide (nose to tush, not including her tail) and about 17 cm tall. She has tan claws, round and early green and black glass slit pupil style eyes, and a simple pink hand embroidered nose and mouth. She also retains her tiny long trailing "f" style button. You can see her ID close up in the image below. 

According to Pfeiffer's Sortiment, this rarely seen design was made in 17, 22, and 28 cm (measured vertically, top of head to toes) in grey or black mohair from 1913-1916 overall. You can see this catalog listing here on the left, the image is from Pfeiffer's prewar reference book. Although this one under discussion today does not have a squeaker, Pfeiffer notes that the item was produced with a squeaker, and those may have appeared in the larger sizes where the body cavity was large enough to hold this apparatus in place. 

There are two key things that make this cat purr-fect in every way. 

First, the color is lovely and rare, and its timing is intriguing. The black versions were actually made only in 1913, which is one year after the company produced a series of black mohair bears in tribute to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. So it is possible that the mohair used on some of these black cats was identical to, or from the same rolls of mohair used to create the company's now legacy Titanic Mourning Bears.

The second is its jointing. Steiff produced a number of uber-jointed items starting around 1910 or so. These included rabbits with long jointed ears, begging squirrels with jointed bushy tails, and standing dogs and cats with jointed tails, among others. Less than a decade prior, Richard Steiff was just beginning to work on ways to create basic jointing on the company's doll and animal production, and Steiff's offerings were very basic animals in simple, stationary forms. 

So it is really amazing how quickly the concept of jointing impacted the company's product design and development trajectory - basically zero to sixty in just a handful of years. However, in the big picture, these extensively jointed items did not last long in the line. This is probably because they were very labor intensive and expensive to produce - and the extra jointing might not have paid out in either ROI or additional sales. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this rare and early black cat has tickled your whiskers!

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

Can Steiff's Jocko Chimps of Yesteryear Speak French?

Given how adorable and appealing Steiff's dolls, bears, and animals are, it is no surprise that antique advertising featuring these photogenic superstars can be as collectible as the items themselves. Early Steiff catalogs, mailers, and advertisements give unique insights into the design and marketing priorities of the company over time. They can also provide interesting metrics like prices, weights, and minimum orders, and even company or distributors' names, addresses, and contact information.

Check out this amazing piece of ephemera featuring Steiff's legacy Jocko chimpanzees. There is much to learn from this simple 3" x 5" card. This all original example was produced around 1912 for Steiff's business partner in Paris. The front of this double sided, cardboard card shows a full color image of six Jockos playing in a miniature bedroom. The space is furnished with three wooden chairs and a bed. There is also a framed and matted picture on the wall. Three Jockos don turn of last century style dresses detailed with pleated fronts and decorative embroidery. Two others wear blue playsuits with white trim. And one is just simply in his birthday suit. The Jocko on the far right seems upset, and her friend just to her left appears worried about that. Steiff always had a great way of capturing these emotional subtleties in their early images. You can also see Steiff branding on the top left side of the image. The vignette is simply irresistible.

The back of this time capsule is equally as interesting, but for different reasons. It has a simply rendered map of turn of last century Paris, with a red square indicating the location of the Steiff distributorship at 23 Rue des Petites-Hotels. The words on the card summarize as: "Fabric Toy Factory, Margarete Steiff, located at 23 Rue des Petits Hotels in Paris with the head office in Giengen on the Brenz River in Germany. Offering toys and animals, dolls, kites, and pincushions made from felt, plush, velvet, etc. Winner of the grand prize at the World's fairs in Saint Louis in 1904 and Brussels in 1910."

The actual intended purpose of this card is not clear. It doesn't have a space for an address or stamp, so it could not be mailed like a postcard as we know them today. And it is a little large for a standard business card. It might have been put in an envelope as a mailer, or it could have been handed out at a trade show or exhibition as a mini brochure. The map on the back suggests that the location may have been hard to find, and/or that the location encouraged visitors.

A simple google search finds that today, 23 Rue des Petites-Hotels in Paris is occupied in part by the Al Dente Agency. According to their website, Al Dente describes itself as: “We are an integrated creative agency based in Paris and Rome, believing in the cultural aura of luxury brands.” Perhaps its principals could feel the Steiff love - and aura - when they considered this location for their business in the City of Lights? Above you can see what the street looks like today from the on-the-ground perspective; the image is from Wikipedia.org.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this Jocko card has given you a little insight into the company's turn of last century monkey business.

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

A Vintage Steiff Find of Possibly Titanic Proportions

Hey, what's black and white and read all over? Hopefully this post on this remarkable Steiff rabbit! Steiffgal found this bouncing beauty in Orlando, Florida in the salesroom of the 2017 United Federation of Doll Clubs annual convention. Here's what makes him so outstanding from the design and historical perspectives.

This honey-bunny is called Steiff's Dutch rabbit. He stands 28 cm tall (not including his ears) and is made from black and white mohair. He has early Steiff rabbit proportions, including a chunky torso and limbs. His pattern is relatively basic and more playful than realistic. He is fully jointed, meaning his head, arms, legs, and ears can be rotated 360 degrees. His face comes to life with pink and red glass pupil eyes and a very simple pink hand embroidered nose and mouth. This pattern was produced in white, brown and white, and black and white overall from 1907 through 1916. The black and white version was produced overall from 1912 to 1916, with the 28 cm version appearing only in 1912.

There are three key details about this rabbit that make him the ultimate Dutch treat.

The first is his eyes. They are hand blown, red and pink glass pupil style eyes. You can see tiny air bubbles in the glass if you look at them closely under a loop. Steiff used these eyes on a number of rabbits from the c. 1907 through 1943 time frame. Glass eyes started appearing on a wide scale on Steiff items around 1908, so these really are an early and elegant example of this detailing. It is also interesting to note that the example of this black and white rabbit pictured in the Steiff Sortiment book has black eyes backed in red felt. But it is not unusual for Steiff to produce the same item with slightly different features, and that is probably the case here. But more on this in a bit.

The second is his jointing. This bunny really gets around - pun intended. He is fully jointed, which is not terribly unusual. However, the fact that each of his ears can be rotated in a full circle is quite rare. This is different than having the ears poseable because they are lined in metal wires. As early as 1904, Steiff started to experiment with a number of designs that really took advantage of emerging joint movement technologies. In some cases, these animals were six or even seven ways jointed. Franz Steiff was very interested in creating and patenting a system that would help to replicate the natural movement of an animal's ear. After several years of trial and error, he finally designed such a specialized joint and received a US patent for it on September 8, 1908. Over time, Steiff used this technology on items including cats, squirrels, and this rabbit pattern.

Finally, it is key to mention this rabbit's material and coloring. He is made in part from black mohair. Steiff made only a handful of items from or with black mohair at the early turn of last century; these included a crow, a goat, a few dogs, and black mohair patches on their early guinea pig and rabbit patterns. The company also introduced a black mohair Teddy bear in the early 1900's but it was not commercially successful. Early black mohair items really are few and far between, and seldom if ever seen on the secondary market. 

The black and white version of this rabbit debuted in 1912. This is the same year that the Titanic disaster struck, and Steiff responded by producing black mohair "Mourning Bears" with red felt backed eyes. An example of Steiff's Mourning Bear is pictured above on the left; the photo is from James D. Julia. These black bears from 1912 are considered the "holy grail" for many Steiff collectors. Although the Holland rabbit under discussion here has "albino" style glass eyes, the one pictured in the Sortiment has the same red-backed eye detailing as the company's Mourning Bears of the identical period. Given the timing of all of this, it is possible that the company's black and white mohair Holland rabbits from 1912 were made from the same lots of black mohair as the Mourning Bears, and that perhaps the red felt backed eyes that appear on some examples are a nod to this tragedy as well. It certainly is a mystery of Titanic proportions!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's black and white Holland rabbit has been a hop, skip, and a jump for you.

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

Care To Play Carpool Karaoke With This Mysterious Monkey Passenger?

This delightful inquiry puts Steiffgal right into 5th gear! Put the pedal to metal and check out this note from a new friend from the UK. Peter writes...

"I am hoping you can identify the toy primate in the back of this miniature car, please?  The photo was taken in December of 1912, in London.  For reference in size, the girl, in the driver's seat, is 4 years old, while her brother, the passenger, is 2 and seems the same size as the primate.  I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thank you."

Let's go into overdrive and check out this back seat driver. Based on the quality of the photo, it is impossible to tell with certainty about the details or the manufacturer of this marvelous monkey.  But the photo does hold a handful of  clues that could link the passenger to Steiff. 

Here's a road map to start this investigation. From what Steiffgal can tell, there are two circumstantial details of the photo and one known fact of the period that support the Steiff monkey hypothesis.  First, the image was taken in England in 1912, and we know that Steiff was actively supplying the British market with its high end toys at that time.  Second, Steiff did produce very large, dark brown monkeys during the first quarter of the 20th century.  And, thirdly, the Steiff nephews were very interested in automobiles (and all things mechanical.) The Steiff family was the first in their small town to own an automobile, purchasing it around 1912. Shortly after, the company started to produce all sorts of car related novelties, including radiator caps, headlight covers, and travel mascots. These things were advertised internationally, so the world beyond Giengen was probably starting to associate Steiff items with cars.  A picture of Steiff's monkey radiator cap from 1912/13 is pictured here on the left; the photo is from the Cieslik's Button in Ear, the History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends. 

So what's on this monkey's driver's license? Now, if, and that's a BIG IF, the monkey was made by Steiff, which model could he be? According to Peter, the little boy sitting in the car, who is about the same size as the monkey, is 2 years old. The average height of a 2 year old boy is about 36 inches, or about 90 cm. The monkey is most likely fully jointed (as it is sitting), has a prominent flat facial mask, and long bent arms. Given all that, it is Steiffgal's best detective work that the monkey may be Steiff's early, but not earliest, Affe, or Monkey. This five ways jointed model was produced in brown mohair from 1904 through 1928, in sizes including 28, 35, 43, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 120 cm. His ears, face, and hands were made from felt. His simple but charming face was detailed with black shoebutton eyes and a stitched nose and mouth. He also had a tail. When he left the factory, he would have had a small Steiff trailing "f" button and a white paper ear tag with the numbers "5390" on it as his identification. This translates to 5=jointed, 3=mohair, and 90=90 cm. A photo of a cousin of Affe 5390 is pictured here on the left; the photo is from Christie's. 

Steiffgal hopes you enjoyed this turn of last century joyride!

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