Begging For More Information On This Remarkable Steiff Bonzo With All IDs!

Here's one "bucket list" Steiff item most enthusiasts would get on their hands and knees to add to their collection! Check out this truly remarkable velvet begging Bonzo dog from 1927 - with all IDs! Steiffgal's pal Daniel Agnew, of Special Auction Services in the UK, will be auctioning it off as part of his June 9, 2016 sales event. The full catalog for this exciting event will be online in the next week or so.  In the meantime, let's check out this top dog and see what makes him so desirable from the design and historical perspectives.

This comical canine, lot 848 in the upcoming sale, is cataloged as...

"An extremely rare Steiff Begging Bonzo 1927, of cream velvet, clear glass eyes with dark pink and light pink backs, red felt tongue, black velvet right rear, swivel head, jointed limbs, painted and airbrushed facial features and paw pads, inoperative squeaker, original red leather collar with white card tag with metal rim ‘Begging Bonzo Steiff Original’ one side and ‘Germany Copyright G.E. Studdy’ to the reverse, FF button with complete red tag numbered 5417 - 9in. (23cm.) high (very slightly discoloured and stomach seam resewn) - According to Steiff 115 examples of Bonzo was made in eight sizes, all were unsold as G. E. Studdy did not like their samples and the license went with to the Chad Valley version. Seven examples in different sizes are retained in the Steiff archive, but it is not known what happened to the others. Steiff went onto produce a similar looking character dog which they called Cheerio £10,000-£15,000"

This Bonzo is truly in a class by itself... almost! It is only the second one ever that Steiffgal personally has seen go up for sale, and the first ever in this size. In 2010, Christie's in London sold a 27 cm version with all IDs for £16,250 or $25,724! This Christie's example had his red Steiff tag numbered "5422," meaning 5=jointed, 4=velvet, and 22=22 cm sitting. This big boy appears here on the left; the photo is from Christie's.

Although Bonzo never "officially" made the Steiff line, he did make a little known appearance in another rare novelty pattern of the time. Bonzo was produced as a "Bonzoette," which was a very long limbed, dressed version of his design. These items were called "car and play" dolls or "Charleston Animals," based on the Charleston dance craze of the 1920’s, with its fast moving arm and leg movements. Other "play and car dolls" included Bulliette, the bulldog, Fluffiette, the cat, and Rabbiette, the rabbit. Each doll had the head of the character, mohair or velvet paws and feet, and dangling velvet limbs. Most were available in several bright, happy "jelly bean" colors and in 20, 30, and 43 cm, with the larger sizes having a squeaker. Bonzo was made in 30 and 43 cm in blue or orange in 1928 only and is arguably the rarest of all of these "play and car" dolls. These long legged Steiff novelties appeared overall in the line from 1927 through 1932. A picture of Bonzoette appears on the left, it is taken from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment Book. 

As noted in the cataloging above, Bonzo is in part responsible for the design and introduction of another late 1920's Steiff rarity, Cheerio the Puppy. This pattern is known for his todder-esque appearance, huge eyes, open mouth, and happy-go-lucky personality. Several versions were produced. A begging version was manufactured in 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1928 though 1931. Begging Cheerio was also made as a press and release music pup in 22 and 28 cm from 1928 through 1930. Cheerio was also manufactured standing on all fours in 10, 14, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1928 through 1932. Standing Cheerio also appeared as a press and release music box in 17 and 22 cm from 1928 through 1930. And, like Bonzo, Cheerio was also produced as a "car and play doll." "Cheerioette" appeared in the line 30 and 43 cm from 1928 through 1931.  A begging Cheerio, from Steiffgal's collection, is pictured here on the left. 

Be sure to check out Daniel's amazing Steiff Bonzo, and other Steiff and Teddy treasures, at the upcoming SAS toy auction event on June 9th, 2016.  For more information on this sale, please click here!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's fantastic and really rare Bonzo dog has gotten your tail a'wagging!

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

It's All Cheers For This Fantastic And Extremely Rare Early Steiff Puppy

Cheers! A toast to great Steiff finds... where ever they are discovered! And nothing could be truer in the case of this exceptionally rare Steiff dog that Steiffgal found in the sales room of the 2013 United Federation of Doll Club's annual convention in Washington, DC! Let's take a look at this "Dom Perignon" calibre canine and see what makes him so spectacular from the design and historical perspectives.


Please raise a glass to Cheerio, "the laughing puppy." Like Molly the Puppy, Cheerio does not have a designated breed, he is simply a young dog.  This totally adorable example is 17 cm, begging, and made from mohair.  He is chunky, proportioned like a toddler, and head jointed only.   Cheerio has three black hand embroidered claws on each of his hands and feet.  Of course, it is impossible to miss his beaming open-mouthed smile which is made from pink velvet.  It is most probable that Cheerio's pink felt tongue is a replacement.  This Cheerio is wearing a vintage silk bandana imprinted with an American flag; this is so as he was "adopted" into Steiffgal's collection in our nation's capital city.

It is interesting to note that Cheerio is one of the earliest open mouthed dog Steiff produced.  The first appears to be an open mouthed poodle on wheels which was in the line from 1912 through 1919.  This open mouth feature is relatively uncommon in early Steiff dogs.  However, it is also noted on some Bully Dogs, German Shepherds, and Arctic Expedition Dogs from the early 1930's as well as Flock and Tino from the mid 1930's through the early 1940's. 

In addition to his smile, Cheerio's round, oversized head has a number of interesting design details that are typical to his time of production. His ears are relatively small and "folded over" and he has enormous brown and black glass pupil eyes, similar to those features on Molly the Puppy. Other Cheerio models have very large blue and black cartoon eyes - the same ones used on Petsy the Baby Bear. Cheerio's eyes are in eye pockets, analogous to those seen on Jocko the Chimp and Treff the Bloodhound. And, his prominent tongue, more friendly than taunting, is also seen on Steiff's other caricatured and cartoon strip inspired dogs including Pip, Mops, and Putzi.

Despite his winning looks and personality, Cheerio only brought good will to the Steiff line for a handful of years.  Steiffgal's Cheerio is the begging version; he was produced in 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1928 though 1931.   Begging Cheerio was also made as a press and release music pup in 22 and 28 cm from 1928 through 1930.  Cheerio was also manufactured standing on all fours in 10, 14, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1928 through 1932.  Standing Cheerio also appeared as a press and release music box in 17 and 22 cm from 1928 through 1930. He is pictured here on the left and sold for close to $5,000 at Christie's in 2010.  Perhaps the rarest Cheerio is "Cheerioette", the long limbed velvet bodied "Charleston animal" that was produced in 30 and 43 cm from 1928 through 1931.  

Cheerio has a fascinating history that is well documented in the Steiff archives.  Cheerio is actually Steiff's version of Bonzo, who was a very popular cartoon character created in 1911 by George Studdy.  Steiff was very interested in creating their own version of Bonzo, and had a very strong and successful record of working with other companies and artists in bringing their characters to life.   Good examples of this include projects with Disney (Mickey and Minnie Mouse), Billy DeBeck (Barney Google), and Pat Sullivan (Felix the Cat).  In the case of Bonzo, Studdy himself was solely in charge of granting licences and approvals to use his characters.  In about 1927, Steiff created a version of Bonzo, but Studdy did not like it at all.  This Bonzo is pictured here on the left; it sold in 2010 for almost $26,000 at Christie's.  According to company records, Studdy described the samples as "vulgar" and rejected them offhand, and gave the licence to the English company Chad Valley instead.  Paul Steiff, who was in charge of the project, apparently wrote, "We can't and don't wish to make an exact replica of Bonzo" on the rejection note.  The company then went on to create Cheerio in the likeness of Bonzo, and registered the design in 1929.  

Steiffgal hopes that this discussion around Steiff's wonderful Cheerio has brought a big smile to your face today!

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