This Rare Steiff Cartoon Doll Is No Laughing Matter!

Steiff certainly has international appeal - and so do many of the company's rarer prewar novelties! Check out this note from a lucky collector who hit it really big with a fantastic doll purchase. Stefan shares:

"I hope this email finds you well and you're doing well. Recently I purchased a figure, which I'm 99% sure it's Steiff. It's a comical character, known as Silent Sam in America, but in Europe known as Adamson. I was just wondering, do you know what year it was manufactured? Thank you so much.  Kind regards, Stefan"

This delightful cartoon doll is no laughing matter! Here we have Steiff's Adamson doll. This fine fellow is 29 cm tall, fully jointed, and made from felt. His face comes to life with dramatic seaming, blue and black glass pupil eyes backed in large white felt circles, a dimensional nose, and a bald head highlighted with a few remaining black hairs. He smokes a brown and white cigar, which is integral to his mouth. He wears a red and white shirt with cuffs; a white vest detailed with buttons, a collar, and a blue tie; blue pants, and white shoes. These dolls were made from 1925-1929 in this size only. According to the Cieslik's Button in Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends reference book, 997 examples of this doll were sold. The Ciesliks also note, "In 1925 Steiff adopted Adamson into their program after several trial attempts. For Adamson was not easy to portray; he had a cigar in his mouth which he rarely removed." 

So just who is this cute character? Adamson, also known as Silent Sam, was the star of a cartoon strip drawn by Oscar Jacobsson (Swedish, 1889–1945). It debuted on October 17, 1920 in the Swedish humor publication Söndags-Nisse. What was so interesting - and universal - about Adamson is that he almost never spoke or used words. Instead, he went about his business and communicated with gestures and movements. As such, Jacobsson's character would go on to be appreciated and enjoyed internationally across all of Europe, the USA, and Asian countries including Japan and China. Silent Sam was a big hit in America starting in 1922. Over time, a series of artists brought the strip to life until it was last published in 1964. 

To honor Jacobsson and his contribution to the art of illustration, the Swedish Academy of Comics founded the Adamson Award in 1965. It is given to one Swedish and one international comic creator every year.  You can see a sample of the Adamson cartoon above on the left. 

Adamson dolls are certainly few and far between, and Stefan is super lucky to have one in his collection. As far as Steiffgal can tell, only three examples of Steiff's Adamson dolls have come up for public auction from 2017 onward. All were sold by Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH of Ladenburg, Germany. They ranged in hammer price from 2600 to 4500 euro. The doll pictured here on the left hammered for 4200 euro in 2021; the image is from Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH.

Steiffgal hopes this blog post about this cigar smoking doll has really lit up your day. 

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

Pipe Up If You Know The Maker Of This Turn Of Last Century Cloth Doll!

Close, but no cigar. Or pipe in this case! Is this distinguished gentleman doll made by Steiff? Apparently someone thought so, a very long time ago. Come take a look at this handsome, turn of last century cloth doll and see what makes him so interesting - and cryptic - from the design and historical perspectives.

Well hello, handsome! This doll stands about 37 cm tall, is excelsior stuffed, and is fully jointed. His head is disk jointed with cardboard and metal joints, his arms are loosely rod jointed, and his legs are string jointed. His head, hands, and feet/shoes are made from felt. His torso and limbs are made from linen. He is dressed to the nines in a felt buttoned jacket; a brown, tan, and purple fabric vest with purple gemstone buttons; tan, brown, and grey calico pants; a brown silk bowtie; and black felt shoes. His face comes to life with a prominent horizontal facial seam; a fringe of brown hair and facial hair; dimensional black button eyes underlaid with felt circles; a simple seamed mouth; pink highlighting; and of course, his great wood and composition pipe.

Upon closer look, it turns out this fine fellow comes with a little information written upon one of his legs. It reads, "Der Dutchman by Margaret Steiff #630 circa 1900." Although this doll is clearly misidentified as Steiff, it is understandable that someone may have assumed he was, given his prominent facial seam, general appearance, and turn of last century origins. He also has some Steiff "Karikaturpuppen" (i.e., early, cartoon-like) elements to him, including an oversized head with exaggerated features and simple hands and feet. However, Steiff's earliest dolls debuted in 1903, were string jointed, were made of felt and/or velvet, and had clothing integral to their bodies. Steiff usually used linen or other less expensive fabric like muslin on their dolls during times of economic and supply chain hardships, like just before, during, and after World War I. And their Dutch dolls almost always wore removable clogs rendered from felt or wood. 

Now let's light a fire under one of this doll's most intriguing features - his pipe. It is removable and fits perfectly into a little hole in his face. This construction is also not typical to Steiff. And Steiffgal suspects that if Steiff made a doll pipe, it would have been hand carved entirely from wood. The only "smoking" doll Steiffgal can think of is the company's incredibly rare "Adamson" Swedish cartoon character doll produced between 1925 and 1929. In this case, the doll's felt cigar was sewn directly onto his face. You can see Adamson here on the left, the photo is from Liveauctioneers.com.

So just who is this silly smoker? Steiffgal has combed the literature and cannot identify him. She's also asked others who are equally stumped. So his origins remain a mystery for now. What Steiffgal does know about him is that he previously belonged to her dear friend who recently gained her wings. This doll now sits on Steiffgal's desk, right near her computer, and "supervises" her daily... or in this case, reminds her of a beloved soul who passed way too soon, and unexpectedly.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this early cloth doll has suited you well. 

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