Unearthing A Few Hidden Gems From The July, 2017 Steiff Sommer Auction

Wouldn't it be nice to stumble upon an overflowing treasure chest of unusual vintage Steiff treasures? And even better, wouldn't it be divine if they were available to add to your collection? Such is the case with Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion's upcoming Steiff Special Auction to be held on July 1st, 2017 in Giengen, Germany as part of Steiff's annual summer celebration. It's worth checking out the catalog, even if just to dream big. You can find it online here. A few outstanding "hidden gem" lots amongst the offerings really caught Steiffgal's eye. Here are three that truly make her heart skip a beat - or two!

This first pick will have you singing the blues - in the best way possible. This is lot #1704, a blue tipped circus elephant with a starting bid of 650 euro. It is cataloged as:

"Circus elephant, mohair plush, grey/blue flamed, jointed, with neck mechanism and snap joints, velvet paws with toes, with felt down below of the snout and also at the point of the trunk, blue glass eyes, 32 cm, there is no snap mechanism in the snout, the elephant was X-rayed at Steiff, many parts of the mechanism are identical to the subsequent serial model, this is a test version, it is known that a similar elephant was in possession of the family Steiff (Klara Steiff, great second cousin Magarete Steiff) and a few years before it returned to the Steiff-archive, after that was a replica produced with red flamed mohair, in Giengen it was common practice that this test models were presented to relatives of employees or on the occasion of special events, version without tusks, small places with pelt loss, this version isn't listed in the Pfeiffer catalog."

And just what makes this petite pachyderm so unforgettable? It is always thrilling to learn of one of a kind Steiff treasures, and it is clear to see where this particular model fits in with the company's line of "snap" models. These high end novelties had spring joints and were designed to have movement and snap back and forth into different playful positions. Snap jointing could appear on an item's hands, feet, legs, and mouth. Original Steiff snap style items are all extremely rare to begin with, so to find a sample or prototype of one is really extraordinary. Standard line models produced included a Snap Dicky, a Snap Circus Bear, this general style of Snap Elephant, and a little known doll with snap jointing in her legs, enabling her to stand or sit easily. All of these variations were produced in the 1930's.

The blue mohair color of this sample is also very interesting. Steiffgal can only think of a handful of standard line prewar Steiff mohair items were produced in blue - including a few novelty rabbits and dogs. It is possible that this item was not produced in blue was because blue mohair was expensive, challenging to work with, or just not available on a commercial scale. 

Rolling right along, now let's have a go at lot #1583. This is a Steiff Record orang-utang, No. 320, 1929 - 1933, with a starting bid of 750 euro. It is cataloged as:

"Record orang-utang, No. 320, 1929 - 1933, mohair, felt face, glass eyes, 18 cm, with button, felt is except of minimally places in face and a small place at one hand in good condition, good mohair, the color on the wheels is worn, rare, voice is faulty."

This monkey on the go is the wheel-deal indeed. A few details about this item are certain to send collectors on a joy ride. The first, of course, is his form.  Orangutangs are extremely rare in the early Steiff line. The most familiar pre-war version is the company's playful and very appealing Mimocculo. This great pattern was produced in 11 sizes ranging from 8 to 50 cm from 1930 through 1936 overall. The middle and larger sizes featured a most unusual "pull the ear and the eyeballs move" feature. In 2010, a 13.5 cm example sold for close to $10,000 at an auction at Christies in London.  

The second is the fact that this first class example rides upon a four wheeled "Irish Mail Cart." This means that the carriage appears to be propelled by the rider pumping a handlebar back and forth with their arms. These "record" style animals on carts were introduced in 1912 and were an immediate hit. Bears, rabbits, monkeys, felt novelty dolls, and even Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse appeared on these rolling carts. It is easy to understand why early items on working carriages seem to always drive auction bidders into fifth gear! 

And finally, let's pay full attention to lot #1551, a felt Steiff Hungarian soldier doll. His opening bid is 360 euro, and he is cataloged as:

"Caricature figure, Hungarian, produced between 1912 - 1917, felt, jointed, national costume, item description "Ung 50 Völkertypen", shoe button eyes, traditional costume and also head with holes in the felt, original leather shoes with tassels, nailed shoes, c. 50 cm, without hat, left arm is mended and also a small red felt insert, otherwise good condition, rare."

This fine example has uniform appeal, especially among the small army of Steiff military doll enthusiasts. Steiff’s uniformed dolls were a significant percentage of the company’s line and business in the early part of the 20th century. All of these dolls had most or all of their clothing integral to their bodies and were five ways jointed; some 50 cm and larger also had jointed knees. In a span of about 20 years, Steiff produced examples representing German, Scottish, Moroccan, Turkish, Dutch, Russian, American, Belgian, French, Italian, Hungarian, and Austrian armed forces, among others. All were known for their well tailored and authentic clothing, extraordinary to-scale accessories, and, of course, their perfect posture. Check out this soldier's fantastic jacket buttons and embroidery as well as the tiny tassels on his well constructed boots! Steiff made over 100 distinctly designed military dolls over time; most of these patterns were made in two or three sizes each. In tribute to some countries, like Germany, England, and the United States, Steiff produced dolls at numerous ranks and in various uniform types. 

Steiffgal hopes this auction preview tour has been a highlight of your day!  And good luck if you do bid on any of the sale's fantastic treasures!

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

Time Travelling Steiff Auction Highlights - Part 2!

Last week, we took a peek back in time and checked out a few auction highlights from a long ago sale. The event was held on Saturday, April 25, 1998 in Germany and managed by auctioneer Horst Poestgens. Steiffgal recently purchased the catalog from this sale and was just floored at some of the amazing treasures it featured. Here are three more absolute standouts from this wonderful Steiff event.

You can't help but think, "oh, baby" with this first auction highlight under review today. This lot, #49, is cataloged in part as... "Prototype of a Steiff snap-joint teddy baby with neck mechanism, 1936. Pre-war button in ear, corn colored mohair, velvet paws and soles, brown-black painted back glass eyes, turnable arms (discs), nose embroidered vertically with light brown tread, open felt mouth, lower jaw notchlessly movable via a built-in hinge, legs movable by snap joint mechanism, excelsior stuffed, head turnable from tail by means of neck mechanism, known from Steiff (like the circus bears or snap joint Dicky bears from the 1930's), standing 30 cm/12", sitting 24 cm/9-1/2", very nice pot bellied bear shape.  Very attractive friendly expression.  This teddy is the only known specimen in the finish worldwide (sample)!! He dates from the time and trial series the snap joint Dicky of 1936." 

Let's snap to it and see what make this little love such a remarkable bear. In the 1930's, Steiff designed and produced a number of items capable of mechanical movements. This started with a tail-moves-head feature. Several of the most popular dogs, rabbits, and cats of the time were made with this detailing. Steiff then took this "movement momentum" one step further by experimenting with just a handful of "snap" style items, which had internal metal joints that allowed these top-tier toys further flexibility in their body positioning. As far as readily available references and sources reveal, Steiff officially produced four such "snap" models: a 30 cm blonde Snap Dicky (pictured here on the left, photo from Christie's), a 30 cm brown Circus bear, a 25 or 28 cm grey or white Circus Elephant, and four variations of a very rare 28 cm "Dream Baby No. 103" doll.  

The Horst Poestgens Snap Teddy Baby in some respects looks a little bit like a Snap Dicky. It is interesting to note that like Snap Dicky, this Snap Teddy Baby also has velvet paw pads. Teddy Baby models from this period in this size were usually made with felt pads.  However, unlike Snap Dicky, this Snap Teddy Baby's pads do not have stenciled footprints, are round and toddler-like, and lack snap fingers and toes.  There is precedence for previously undocumented snap style items to appear on the secondary market; in 2010, Christie's sold a petite 18 cm Snap Dicky bear (pictured here on the left, photo from Christie's).  So, it is entirely possible, given the exploratory and evolutionary nature of its development, the limited number of snap items produced, and the fact that previously unknown snap-style examples occasionally surface in the secondary market, that this Snap Teddy Baby is indeed an utterly charming, insanely rare, one of a kind, uncataloged prototype.

Although Snap Teddy Baby is indeed a hard act to follow, this next auction highlight also gives a terrific performance.  This lot, #57, is cataloged as... "Somersault chimpanzee, Steiff, circa 1910, button in ear and remains of white tag, cinnamon colored mohair, light brown felt face, ears, hands, and feet, the thumbs on both hands expertly repaired (hardly visible), right hand likewise on back of hand, implanted painted back glass eyes, somersault clockwork functions, absolute mint condition, very rare, sitting size 23 cm/9 inches."  

Doesn't this sweetie just make your head spin?  Steiff's tumblers are all time collector's favorites, and seldom appear on the secondary market in delightful, working condition.   This somersaulting chimp example is actually only the second one Steiffgal has ever seen for sale.  These tumbling treasures are activated by an internal clockwork mechanism and literally do somersaults when their arms are wound up. Steiff produced several types of "purzel" animals, including bears, monkeys, and elephants, and a few doll models, including Eskimos and clowns.  Steiff's somersaulting chimp was produced in 23, 26, and 36 cm overall from 1909 through 1919.  

All of Steiff's purzel tumblers are based on popular standard line items of the time with slight tweaks to their design and assembly.  These items tend to have their arms attached slightly lower on their shoulders than their non-tumbling brothers.  And, the arms can sometimes look slightly less "flush" with the body than with the static versions. Tumblers are also significantly heavier than their non-tumbling counterparts, due to their internal metal mechanisms. You can see the physical differences here with the picture on the left of a regular Steiff bear (L) and the tumbling version (R); both bears are 28 cm and were produced in the 1906-09 time frame.

Steiffgal's just quackers over this final auction highlight from this Horst Poestgens auction.  This lot, #82, is cataloged as... "Doll duck pair, Steiff, 1920's, button in ear and white paper tag, article no. 28, linen body with loosely sewn on wings, yellow mohair head, wing tips and back of felt, painted brown claws, pretty head coloring, turning head, orange felt beaks, white wool pom pom on head, black shoe button eyes, original felt/cotton clothes, slightly used condition, interesting early collector's item."

Steiffgal has a very special place in her heart for Steiff's 1930 - 1950's era dressed animal dolls, and these are no exception.  According to Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book, these duck dolls were produced in 14, 22, and 28 cm from 1931 through 1935 overall.  Each size was detailed in one of six styles of clothing, which included a sports shirt and blue trousers (probably the boy duck in this case), pajamas, red patterned trousers, a swimsuit, a salmon red dress (probably the girl duck in this case), or a blue playsuit.  Another more pristine example of the company's duck-doll is pictured here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1894-1942 Sortiment. It is interesting to note that the duck in the red shorts does not have a white pom pom on his head, while the pair on offer do.  Another point to consider about the duck couple is their identification.  The cataloging specifically mentioned a white paper tag. However, technically, the white paper tag was only used through 1925/26, and these dolls were made in the early 1930's.  As such, they "should" have red ear tags. In this case, it is entirely possible that Steiff had a bunch of extra "28" imprinted white ear tags in inventory, and simply used the white tags in the place of the red tags for efficiency.   

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of three amazing Steiff lots inspires you to find some wonderful Steiff treasures at auction in 2015!

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

Snap To It And Check Out This Truly Remarkable Steiff Dicky Bear!

Steiffgal hates to be bossy... but she totally encourages you to SNAP TO IT and take a look at an exceptional Steiff Teddy on offer at the upcoming James D. Julia Antique Advertising, Toy, and Doll auction event on June 13, 2014.  This item, produced only as a prototype, is as interesting as it is rare.  Let's take a look at this utterly dandy Dicky Bear and see what makes him so fascinating from the design and historical perspectives.

It's hard not to get bent out of shape over this Steiff "Snap Dicky" Teddy bear. Dicky is 30 cm, made from golden blond mohair and stands on two flat feet.  He is head and arm jointed. His face is detailed with an inset muzzle, brown and black pupil eyes, a brown hand stitched nose, and three stitches to his lower lip. Like many Dicky bears, he has peach colored velvet pads with stenciled paw prints.  But here's where it gets interesting... very, very interesting!  Snap Dicky has spring joints on his hands, feet, legs, and mouth, meaning that they were designed to have movement and snap back and forth into different playful positions.  And, just when you thought things could not get any better with this rarity, they do!  Snap Dicky further comes to life with a working tail turns head mechanism.  A little research reveals that this bear is one of six known examples, three of which are in the Steiff archive.  Snap Dicky retains his long trailing “F” style button and traces of his red ear tag as his Steiff ID.  Steiff Dicky does not appear in the standard Steiff reference books;  and it is best estimated that he was produced in the circa 1933 to 1936 time frame.

Dicky's unusual jointing was an experiment in the Steiff line that lasted about as long as a finger-snap.  In the early 1930's, Steiff introduced its tail moves head mechanism, which gave their toys movement, interest, and premium status in the line.  Steiff selected some of their most popular items of the time for this feature, including dogs, rabbits, and cats.  The way this worked was when the tail was shifted gently to the right or the left, the head would shake in tandem. To build on this "movement momentum," Steiff experimented with a handful of "snap" style items, which had internal metal joints which allowed these top tier toys further flexibility in their body positioning.  

From what Steiffgal can tell, four such "snap" models were produced. The first, of course, is this wonderful Snap Dicky.  There is little published historical information on him, consistent with his prototype status.  The second, and perhaps best known, was a 30 cm brown mohair Circus Bear with disk jointed arms, leg snap joints, and a tail moves head mechanism.  He was in the line from 1935 through 1939 and approximately 897 models were manufactured.  The third was a grey or white mohair Circus Elephant with disk jointed arms, leg and mouth snap joints, and a tail moves head mechanism.  Like Snap Dicky, he had velvet paws with stenciled pads.  He was produced in 25 and 28 cm from 1931 through 1940 and approximately 1,040 models were manufactured. Circus Elephant is pictured above along with an xray of his amazing (for the time) snap jointing system.  This photo is from Cieslik's excellent book, Button in Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends.    

The fourth snap item was called "Dream Baby No. 103" and is so rare that Steiffgal had not even heard of it until doing research for this post.  According to Cieslik...

"The head was made by the Rheinische Gummi Co. (turtle mark) and filled with excelsior.  The body was in good quality felt, and the doll had a "Mama" voice box. The doll had the new jointing in the legs, so that it could assume both sitting and standing positions.  Four versions of the doll were made - all 11 inches tall, with white skirts, colored sweaters and caps:  "Greta" in light green; "Blonda" in light blue; "Rose" in pink; and "Angeli" in orange.  (1934 - 1937 - total production = 4,553."  "Rose" is pictured here on the left; the photo is also from Cieslik.

Even though these snap items were long on appeal, they lasted a short time in the Steiff catalog.  And why would that be?  It is Steiffgal's best guess that alot had to do with timing, finances, and supply and demand factors.  It is possible that towards the later part of the 1930's, the materials needed to manufacture these toys were becoming scarce or even rationed based on the geo-political realities of the time.  Additionally, these treasures were quite complicated to manufacture and required a great deal of time and resources to do so.  As a result, they were undoubtedly quite expensive to purchase.  As such, given the economic situation across the region, demand may not have been terribly high and Steiff may have determined that it did not make financial sense to continue production of these top-tier items. 

Despite their brief - if at all - appearances in the line, Steiff has created relatively recent replicas of their Snap Dicky, Circus Bear, and Circus Elephant rarities. A blond Snap Dicky was produced in 1996 in an edition size of 5,000, a brown Circus bear was produced in 1994 in an edition size of 4,000, and a novel orange tipped Circus Elephant was produced in 2009 in an edition size of 1,000. Each would be a delightful addition to any Steiff collection!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's wonderful and rare metal jointed items from the 1930's - including this remarkable prototype Dicky - has added a little snap, crackle, and pop to your day!

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