Sit and Stay With This Marvelous Prewar White Steiff Sealyham

Do you like things sealed with a kiss? Usually, there's never any downside to that, especially when it comes to all things button-in-ear. So grab a chair and take a look at this tiny sitting sweetie. You're certain to appreciate the leg up on what makes him (and his kissing cousin) so interesting from the pre-war product design perspectives.  

Your seat-mate for today's discussion is this charming sitting Sealyham. He is head jointed and made from white mohair that has mellowed to a vanilla color over time. He measures 10 cm high and 11 cm long, not including his sweet tail. His face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes. a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and traces of pink airbrushing around his eyes and lips, He wears his original red collar and brass bell and retains his short trailing "f" button as his ID. Sitting Sealyham was produced in 8, 10, 14, 17, 22 and 25 cm from 1930 through 1939. The sitting version of this breed is somewhat rarer than the standing version as it was produced for fewer years. Given this petite pooch has short trailing "f" button, its a safe bet to conclude that he was made post 1935 or so.

Steiff's prewar Scotty and Sealyham dogs have much in common between their two patterns, including their looks, proportions, materials, and sizes produced. Clearly, Sealyhams were made in white, while Scottys were made in grey or black. Besides color, one small design difference between the two that Steiffgal has noticed are their eyes. From the ones she has seen, some prewar Scotty dogs have almond shaped glass eyes, while others have round glass pupil eyes... while all prewar Sealyhams seem to have round glass pupil eyes. 

So picture this! Check out the page from Steiff's 1938/39 catalog featuring Scotty and Sealyham dogs pictured here on the left. You can click on it to make it bigger. It is interesting to see that Scottys are noted on wheels (eccentric at 17 and 22 cm, and riding at 28 and 25 cm) on the breed page, while a Sealyham model on detachable riding wheels appears later on in the catalog, on a page promoting novelties. If you look at the bottom of the page, you see the words, "dasselbe Modell auch in weiss als Sealyham" under an image of a black Scotty. This translates to the "same model in white as Sealyham," further suggesting that the black Scotty and the white Sealyham are basically "cut from the same cloth." 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this tiny white pup has been on the up and up.

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

The More The Merrier With Steiff's Scottie Terriers!

Great Scott!  Just what is it about little black dogs that makes Steiffgal go a little crazy?  Well, maybe its because she has two real life black pugs as her adored fur babies.  But since Steiff has not yet made a black pug (hint, hint...) Steiffgal has fallen almost as hard for the company's sweet black Scottish Terriers. Here are a few recent Scottie additions to her collection you might find quite interesting as well.

Go big or go home!  Or in this case, both!  Here we have an almost life-sized Scottie. He measures 28 cm tall and 36 cm long, not counting his pert tail. That adds another 9 cm to his presentation. He is standing on all fours, head jointed, and made from long black mohair. He has tan embroidered claws. His ears are lined in black felt.  His face comes to life with large white, brown, and black almond shaped glass eyes, a long shaggy mohair beard, and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth.  His IDs include a raised script style button and a US Zone tag.  This model was produced in 10, 14, 17, 22, 25, 28, and 35 cm from 1949 through 1957.  So this version is the second to largest size (as they are "measured" vertically from head to toe) and most likely made in around 1952, give or take a year or two.  Here in the picture on the left you can see Scottie modeling with the beautiful and perfect real-life black pug Booboo.

The biggest Steiff Scottie produced ever, as far as Steiffgal can tell, is a 43 cm version produced as a ride-on animal from 1950 through 1961.  His design appears to be the same as Steiffgal's big boy,  (pictured here on the left) just blown up in scale to almost twice the size.  It is interesting to note that Steiff never produced a Studio Scottie, at least on a commercial scale. 

This second Scottie
highlight is the wheel-deal indeed. Here we have Steiff's early postwar Scottie on eccentric wheels.  He measures 13 cm tall and 21 cm long; 24 cm including his tail. He is standing on all fours, head jointed, and made from short mohair. His beard is made from longer black mohair. His ears are lined in black felt. His face comes to life with proportional white, brown, and black almond shaped glass eyes and a black embroidered nose and mouth. Scottie is mounted to a metal chassis and glides along on four red wooden eccentric wheels. He retains his raised script style button as his ID. This model was produced in 14 and 17 cm from 1949 through 1957 overall. This pup on the go is the smaller version of this model, and probably made towards the tail end of the production period.

Scottie on wheels is a legacy design for Steiff - one produced both pre- and post World War II.  The photo here on the left is a close up beauty shot of him; his collar is not original to him but was indeed made by Steiff.  Three versions of Scottie dogs on wheels were produced prewar. The first was a Scottie on eccentric wheels which was made in 14, 17, and 22 cm from 1932 to 1943 overall. The second was a Scottie on regular wheels which was made in 28 and 35 cm from 1932 to 1943 overall; those from 1932 through 1936 came with a squeaker. And the third was a version that squeaked automatically when he was pulled along; he was produced in 17 cm from 1939 through 1942. This was called the "barking dog" version.  

And the third's the charm with this last interesting Scottie.  Well, actually pair of Scotties, they've been inseparable since meeting up in the collection. Here we have two silk plush Scotties.  The smaller one measures 14 cm tall and 19 cm long; 22 cm including his tail. The larger one measures 16 cm tall and 22 cm long; 26 cm including his tail. Both are standing on all fours, head jointed, and have round brown and black glass pupil eyes. As mentioned above, both are made from artificial silk plush. This material started out soft and shiny, but over time tends to lose its sheen and get a little dull and matted down, especially the longer versions. This is the case here. Unlike wool plush, longer artificial silk plush does not have a slightly "coarse" touch to it. 

The detailing and IDs on the larger and smaller silk plush versions are a bit different, which is interesting given that both were only produced in 1949 - according to Steiff records.  The smaller one has a shaggy black mohair beard and a raised script button as his ID.  The larger one has a sort of shaggy black artificial silk plush beard, and a blank button as his ID.  Based on these differences, it is Steiffgal's best guess that the larger one was indeed manufactured and distributed in the very late 1940's.  However, because the smaller one has mohair detailing, as well as a raised script button (which technically launched in the early 1950's) it is likely that the smaller one was produced and distributed at a later date than the larger one when mohair was more readily available for toy making purposes.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of interesting post war Scottie dogs has added a pleasant paws to your day.  

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