This Charming Steiff Prewar Find Is Certain To Put A Tiger In Your Tank

Take a seat and check out this darling and little known Steiff tiger! Tigers are a popular, legacy item in the Steiff catalog, with the first big beasts of their type debuting in the company's line in 1915. They translate well from real life to plush, and their handsome looks and wild origins bring out the animal instincts in most collectors! Steiffgal stumbled across this unusual prewar example on an online auction. The fates smiled upon her, and now he's part of her permanent hug.

This striped sweetie is quite the looker. His official name is "Tiger Cub." He is 22 cm tall (measures vertically from head to toe), sitting, and head jointed. He is made primarily from tawny colored wool plush. His long sideburns are made from longer white mohair. Tiger is stenciled and airbrushed in typical tiger style; he is highlighted in orange with prominent black stripes on his limbs, back, tail, and head. In true cat fashion, his little tail curls up around his backside. He has black hand embroidered claws on each of his paws. His distinctly youthful face is detailed with teal green and black glass eyes, a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and a spot of pink paint on his lips. His ID is a short trailing "F" Steiff button. Overall, this big cat appeared in the line in 17 and 22 cm from 1939-1943.

It's always fun to discover new Steiff surprises, and this tiger cub definitely qualifies as that for Steiffgal. This is the first of his kind she's ever handled, or really knew about. According to Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment, this model is cataloged as, "woolen mohair, tawny-colored, tiger striped, sitting, soft, young, funny." It is unusual for Steiff or Pfeffer to use endearing adjectives in their descriptions - usually they are quite literal and objective. So the word "funny" really pops here, and in a way it is accurate. This guy does have a playful and mischievous look to him.

Tiger cub's shape and presentation also may ring a bell with collectors interested in Steiff's sitting big cat production over time. His sitting, head jointed form is also noted on the company's pre- and postwar Young Lion design. This mane event was made in 17 and 22 cm in wool plush from 1938-1943, in artificial silk plush in 17 cm from 1948-1949, in 10 and 17 cm in wool plush from 1949-1954, and finally in mohair in 10 and 17 cm from 1955-1961. You can see the 17 cm, early postwar artificial silk plush version of young lion here on the left. Clearly the sitting young lion design was more popular than the sitting young tiger design, which only appeared in 10 cm from 1951-1961.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this prewar, wool plush cub has put a tiger in your tank!

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

Put A Tiger In Your Tank With These Great And Unusual Steiff Postwar Tiger Designs!

Steiffgal has always had a thing for Steiff tigers. After all, who can resist their friendly/fierce personalities, delightful coloring, and the remarkable detailing that bring these big cats to life? Steiff has featured these grrr-eat wild animals in their line almost continuously since 1915, with the first cubs being made of mohair and fully jointed. Given their history and appeal, Steiffgal thought it would be fun to "catch a tiger by the tail" and check out three of the company's rarer post war examples.

Let's kick things off by sinking our teeth into this large and impressive Steiff Bengal tiger. This handsome cat is sitting, unjointed, 43 cm tall, and made from beautifully hand-airbrushed tan mohair. He has green and black pupil eyes, a pink and black shield-shaped embroidered nose, clear monofilament whiskers, and black embroidered claws. His chin, ears, and sideburns are made from long, white mohair. His most distinctive feature is his well formed and open mouth - which is lined in peach colored felt - and detailed with four large embedded wooden teeth. He is either grinning broadly or yawning; perhaps this depends on the time of the day! 

This beautiful Bengal beast was made in 14, 22, and 43 cm from 1959 through 1961 only. The medium and large ones are quite rare on the secondary market. Only the medium and large examples have wooden teeth; the smallest baby size one is toothless - perhaps Steiff thought he was still teething when he was being designed! All three sizes have impressive, long tails.

Our next tiger highlight truly has spirit - school spirit, that is! Here we have Steiff's seldom seen, 25 cm tall Steiff tiger made as a mascot for Princeton University. Smarty-pants is sitting, head jointed, and made from tan mohair that has been brought to life with realistic orange and black airbrushing. He has green and black pupil eyes "cartoon" style eyes, an early pattern pink nose outlined in black, clear monofilament whiskers, and black embroidered claws. His sideburns are made from  long, white mohair. Like his Bengal buddy, this pattern also features a prominent, well designed open mouth - which is lined in peach colored felt - and detailed with four proportionally sized, embedded wooden teeth. He has a working squeaker in his belly. When he was new, he left the factory in Giengen wearing a black and orange felt "Princeton" blanket. 

This Princeton University Prince was made in this size only in 1952 as a special edition for the United States. Other larger Steiff mascots produced in the early 1950's included a 28 cm lion for Columbia University, a 21 cm lioness for Columbia University, a 28 cm bulldog for Yale University, and a 28 cm goat for the Navy, among others. Smaller 1950's era cataloged mascots included a 14 cm bulldog for Yale University, 12 and 14 cm donkeys for the Army, as well as a 12 cm donkey wearing a "DEM" felt blanket for the US Democratic party! (To keep things balanced, Steiffgal once saw a small Steiff elephant wearing a "REP" felt blanket.  This example was probably made as special item for the US Republican party but somehow did not make it into the standard Steiff reference books or cataloging.)

Well, if this discussion hasn't put you to sleep yet, this final example should do the trick. Here we have a most unusual Steiff tiger pajama bag. He measures about 40 cm long and about 20 cm tall. He is in Steiff’s “lying” position, meaning he is curled up with his legs resting gently to his side. He has piercing green and black eyes, a pink embroidered nose, and tufts of longer mohair around his jowls. Tiger is head jointed and made from short tan mohair, which has been "tiger-ized" with careful orange and black airbrushing. Right down the middle of his back is a long metal zipper that extends from practically his neck to his tail; this hides his internal silk-lined pouch designed to  hold the sleepwear of a toddler!

As far as Steiffgal can tell, this tiger pajama bag does not appear in any of Steiff's standard reference books. It is her guess that this tired tiger is probably a modification of Steiff’s standard-line lying tiger cub, which was produced from 1953 through 1978 in 17, 28, 43, and 60 cm.  Steiffgal has also heard of other uncataloged Steiff pajama bags made from standard line designs including turtles and lions.

Steiffgal hopes this review of rare Bengals, mascots, and novelties has indeed put a tiger in YOUR tank!

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

Crazy Like A Fox Over This Early Postwar Steiff Find!

Are you crazy like a fox?  Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, if your nuttiness is all about Steiff!  Steiffgal definitely fits that description - perhaps you do as well?!  Some of Steiffgal's favorite Steiff animal designs are the company's great foxes produced over the years.  So she was over-the-moon excited to adopt a delightful vintage example from an antique show she recently attended in Florida.  Check out this great example and see what makes him such a field and forest find!

Here we have Steiff's early postwar Fuchs or Fox.  His official "size" is 14 cm, but he actually measures 13 cm tall and 16 cm long.  His hefty and impressive tail adds another 10 cm.  He is standing on all fours, head joined, and made from tan mohair that has been airbrushed with vibrant, copper colored highlights all over the top of his body and head.  He has black airbrushed paws as well as black highlights on his nose, eyes, and around the periphery of his ears.  The insides of his ears and his lips have very light pink airbrushed highlights.  His face comes to life with a slightly shorter mohair muzzle, brown and black glass pupil eyes, and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth.  He truly has a realistic, yet playful look about him.  This model was made officially in 10, 14, and 17 cm from 1949 through 1957 overall.  Unlike the 14 and 17 cm versions, the 10 cm version is unjointed.

Who knew foxes cleaned up so well?  Steiff, apparently... as the company also produced this beloved design as a boy and girl pair of well dressed, head jointed fox dolls.  This dynamic duo was made in 25 cm from 1950 through 1954 and dons traditional German outfits made from fine felt, calicoes, and other top-tier materials. Their stiff, standing bodies are made from linen. Steiffgal has the boy in her collection but has been on the hunt for his girlfriend for ages!  She purchased him at the 2010 Steiff auction at Christie's in London.  A bucket list experience indeed. You can see this lonely bachelor pictured here on the left.

One thing that makes the fox pattern under discussion today so special is its legacy.  It was actually also produced pre-war in a number of variations.  These included a wool plush version available with or without wheels in 14, 17, and 22 cm made from 1933 through 1939 overall; a sitting wool plush version in 14, 17, and 22 cm made from 1932 through 1937 overall; and a mohair version in 14 and 17 cm made from 1937 through 1943.  

This pre- and postwar spanning model fits within a very interest point in the design evolution of Steiff foxes.  Steiff debuted its first fox in 1897; this model was made from felt, standing, and on metal wheels.  It was produced in 22 cm through 1905.  Next came the company's first mohair foxes in 1909.  These had a distinctive "Teddy bear" like face, black mohair trim around their ears, and an eye-catching white mohair inset chest panel. These were made fully jointed, sitting, and on wheels through 1933.  A nice example of this design is pictured here on the left. The fox design under discussion here followed immediately on the heels of the company's earliest mohair models.  It shares many transitional aesthetic features, but in essence is a simplified model (less jointing, less complicated manufacturing and detailing) than its predecessor's design.  By 1960, Steiff had simplied its mohair fox even further, with the introduction of Xorry Fox in 11, 18, and 28 cm.  Xorry appeared in the line through 1969.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's pre- and post war fox design has been a smooth transition for you.

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