This next Steiff inquiry comes in on little cat's feet. A new friend has reached out about a special family heirloom with provenance. Just what is this very early turn of last century treasure? And what makes it so fantastic from the collector's perspectives? Tom shares in part,
"I've attached photos of my Rolly Polly cat. I've had this since I was a child (50+ years ago)... It originally came from a relative who inherited it from their partner who came from a wealthy family from New England."
This guy is simply the cat's meow. But, given his form, he is "technically" a tumbler and not a roly-poly. Steiff's early 20th century roly-polys are all fabric and shaped sort of like an inverted balloon. Most are head and arm jointed, without legs. Examples include mohair cats (made in 16 and 23 cm from 1909 through 1919 overall); mohair Teddy bears (made in 16, 19, 23, and 29 cm from 1909 through 1916 overall); mohair rabbits (made in 23 cm from 1909 through 1918); and a series of mohair and felt dolls from the same basic time frame.
On the other hand, tumblers are full bodied and mounted to a very heavy, weighted wooden half circle base. As such, they wobble about like a weeble but always return to an upright position. Their bases are simply stained and are a natural wood color. Most tumblers measure 12 to 17 cm tall and are standing, sitting, or begging. Steiff did make a few oversized circus bear style tumblers in 35 and 43 cm through 1918 overall.
Tumblers debuted as early as 1894 and appeared in the general line with frequency through the late 19-teens. In the late 1930s, Steiff produced a series of three begging style tumblers on green or red painted wooden bases from 1936 through 1943 overall. Models included a velvet and mohair squirrel, a mohair Waldi Dachshund, and a mohair kitten holding a pom pom ball.
So back to Tom's cat. The photos suggest that he is made entirely from felt. Steiffgal suspects he is the company's Tumbling Cat, which appeared in the line in 17 cm (not including his base) from 1894 through 1919. The cat is solidly stuffed with excelsior and features black shoe button eyes and simple facial embroidery. It is hard to tell if he ever had a button, based on the photo of his face. It is entirely possible that he was manufactured pre-1904. Other early Steiff cat tumblers include a spotted velvet version made in 12 cm from 1904 through 1917 and a velvet striped version made in 17 cm from 1901 through 1919.
What makes this tumbler even more remarkable is its condition. He is made from felt, which tends to get grubby over time and attract insects. He was also designed as a toy, but it is clear he received little hands on play. Also of note is his tail. These are actually super thin, not terribly sturdy, and are attached to the animal's rear with just a few stitches. Often, these go missing or break off given their construction and natural aging. However, in this case, Tom's tumbler appears clean and damage free against all odds! Super score all around!
Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early tumblers has got you rocking and rolling!
Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.
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.
Have a question about one of your Steiff treasures? Let's talk! Click here to learn more.
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