This Amazing Steiff Pre-Button Era Skittle Set Is Right On Point!

It's "game on" with this extraordinary auction highlight from the upcoming Premier Toy and Doll Sales Event at Morphy Auctions on September 23rd and 24th, 2016. Although there are many fantastic button-in-ear selections in this sale - including several Steiff automatons - this particular highlight is truly in a league of its own. Check out this amazing set of turn-of-last-century skittles set... Steiffgal is certain they will "strike" a chord with you as well.

Here we have lot #308, a Steiff pre-button era nine pin Pointer skittle set. It is cataloged as...

"This set, designed for the European market, consists of eight begging, unjointed Pointer dogs on wooden skittles and an unjointed Pointer king pin, dressed in a red felt top coat and matching red felt crown decorated with trim and beading. The dogs are made of tan felt and are hand detailed with brown painted patches. Their faces come to life with black eyes, a simple, hand embroidered nose and mouth, and floppy ears. Some of the black eyes may be replaced. All but one dog retains their long, thin tail; these appendages tended to snap off with use. Each pin would have left the factory in Giengen, Germany with a collar decorated with either a small medallion or a bell; all but traces of these accessories have been lost to time. All nine dogs in the set are mounted on wooden plinths with the king pin on a slightly higher platform. The set includes two original skittle balls covered in colorful felt which have significant tears and losses to them. Steiff produced this Pointer skittle set in felt from 1892-1908. This set and assortment is as pictured on page 577 of Gunther Pfeiffer's Steiff Sortiment 1892-1943 reference book. Because none of the pins have Steiff ID and do not appear ever to have had any, they were most likely made in the c. 1892-1904 pre-button time frame. Condition: As noted. One pin with repairs and patches to the head. Wooden plinths with minor losses from playwear. Otherwise in very good condition given the age and the gaming nature of this rare and unusual set."  This lot is estimated at $6,000-12,000.

Although most turn of last century Steiff items were made for fun and interaction, none better exemplify that then the company's skittle sets.  These bowling games were truly designed and constructed for competitive play. Today, they are quite rare and for many reasons - including their distinct shape - are trophies for most vintage Steiff collectors. This pointer example just one of a few complete sets that have come up for auction in the past few years. In 2014, James D. Julia sold a nine piece set of felt rabbit skittles with ID for $7,110. And in June, 2016, Morphy's sold an early nine piece all original Steiff skittle assortment for $11,590; this set is pictured here above on the left. 

The origin of the game of skittles is unclear, but it has roots in similar games played in ancient Egypt, Greece, Italian, and southern Turkey.  Skittles was particularly popular in Great Britain, where  the game was played over several centuries in public houses or clubs.  There were variations in rules and scoring over time and location, but in most cases the game involved bowling a ball about 6.5 meters at nine pins set in a diamond pattern.  Whoever knocked down all the pins in the fewest tosses was the winner. 

Historians are able to pin down that skittles appeared in Steiff's very first catalog of 1892.  The sets produced for the European market had nine total skittles, while those for America had ten total (as in tenpin bowling).  Each set consisted of a series of pins and one kingpin.  The company produced skittles both as standard looking felt bowling pins, as well as in the form of felt, early plush, or velvet animals perched on wooden plinths.  For the sets with animals, Steiff made the sets with hens, monkeys, elephants, pigs, rabbits, poodles, pointers, cats, chicks, dachshunds, elephants, pointers, cats, and bears, among others. The animals appearing on the pins or as kingpins were usually 10 to 15 cm tall, standing or begging, and were otherwise standard line catalog items.  In all practical cases the kingpin wore a felt jacket and crown, and was mounted on a slightly taller plinth, or was otherwise differentiated from the rest of the regular pins. Each skittle set came with two wooden balls that were covered in multicolored felt. Here on the left, you see a c. 1903 "hens and rooster" Steiff skittle set; it sold for $27,702 in 2010 at an auction at Christie's in London.

Steiff began branding its items from 1904 onward with a button-in-ear.  Thus, as in the case of this pointer skittle set, it is possible to find individual pins or even an entire set without the company's famous trademark, given they were produced starting in the very late 1800's!  However, after 1904, all items, including each skittle in a skittle set - would have left the factory in Giengen with Steiff identification. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early skittle sets has simply bowled you over.  

Having A Ball With This Terrific Steiff Roly Poly Bear

Most Steiff collectors would take a tumble for an unexpected Steiff discovery!  And that's exactly what Steiffgal did when an inquiry from a colleague about this great and very vintage Steiff treasure landed in her email in-box.  Steady yourself and take a look at this marvelous merrymaker!

Oh baby, here we have a delightful "child-proof" item intended for the youngest Steiff enthusiasts.  This is Steiff's "Roly Poly" Bear.  Many of us grew up with "Weebles," those funny egg shaped character toys that "wobble but they don't fall down."  This Roly Poly cub is an early version of this toy idea.  

Roly Poly Bear is made from mohair with a very distinct shape - extremely round (almost ball-like) on the bottom, with a standard jointed Teddy bear head.  He has jointed arms but no legs at all.  His face is detailed with black shoebutton eyes and a brown hand embroidered nose and mouth.  He retains his long trailing "f" button as his Steiff ID. Given his stitching is brown, it is safe to assume that this bear started out life with white mohair - which has aged and mellowed to darker vanilla color over time.  Overall, this pattern was produced in 16, 19, 23, and 29 cm from 1909 through 1916.  During that entire time, it was produced in blond mohair.  However, in 1912 it was also produced in white mohair in the smaller sizes.  So this is one rare bear indeed!

Steiff's soft Roly Polys are great Steiff novelty items.  Models produced over time include rabbits, cats, and dolls. But these are not the first type of "rounded bottom" products that the company produced.  It is possible that Roly Polys are based in part on the company's much older wooden bottom "tumblers," which were smaller, standard line items (usually in the sitting or begging position) that were mounted on a solid wooden hemisphere.  Like the Roly Polys, they swayed and tumbled about, but did not fall completely over - unlike their wooden cousins the "skittles" - which were designed like bowling pins to fall down!  The big difference between the Roly Polys and the tumblers was that Roly Polys had a rounded bottom that was integral to their body and design, while tumblers could be basically any shape - as the featured animal or doll was mounted to a rounded bottom.  Wooden bottomed tumblers appeared in the line as early as 1894, and were produced on and off through the early 1940's. The photo on the left shows a very early wooden bottomed felt clown tumbler; this shot was taken at Margarete Steiff's birth house in Giengen, Germany where this item is also on display.

It is interesting to note that Steiff's Roly Polys made two distinct appearances in the Steiff line.  The first was basically from around 1909 through the late 19-teens... the era of the little white Roly Poly under discussion here.  These ball-like creatures came 'round again from 1937 through 1943 overall, in the form of three designs:  a 20 cm mohair Roly Poly Teddy baby, a 20 mohair Roly Poly Rabbit, and a 25 cm felt Roly Poly clown doll.  Most memorably, an all but pristine example of the Roly Poly Teddy baby realized almost $17,000 at auction at Christie's in London in October, 2010!  This terrific Ted is pictured here on the left.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Roly Polys and tumblers been a well rounded experience for you.

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