It's Hip To Be Square With This Steiff Prewar Charly The King Charles Pajama Bag

You snooze, you lose! But everyone who is interested in this next fantastic find is a clear winner. Check out this short inquiry from Steiff superfan Michael, who writes about an unusual novelty. He simply writes...

"Hi, could you give some detail and history on this pajama case, I think?"

It's hip to be square with this marvelous 1930s era Steiff Charly the King Charles pajama bag. The bag itself is 30 x 30 cm, square shaped, and made from long, soft tan mohair. It closes with a metal zipper with a pull ring and is fully lined in textured light green fabric. All of these details appear to be original to the bag. The bag itself is decorated with the head of Steiff's signature Charley the King Charles Spaniel. Charly's head is made from mohair and measures about 15 cm long. It is head jointed to the bag and was designed to rotate. His face is detailed with oversized brown and black glass pupil eyes (one appears to be missing), a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and oversized, floppy ears, just like the real dog. And cue the happy dance - this great novelty retains its long trailing "f" button as its Steiff ID. 

 

This functional favorite was made as part of a series of children's pajama bags in the late prewar period. They were formally called "night dress bags" and were the first style of pajama bags that Steiff launched to the world. For the most part, they are really rare and seldom seen on the secondary market as they were designed to be used and loved as toys as well as functional items. As such, most wore out or were lost to time. Their basic "template" was a simple, square shaped and lined bag with the head of a well-known Steiff pet of the era. They were produced from 1930-1937 overall and came with Teddy baby, Bully, Charly, a Scotty, a Sealyham, Molly, or a Siamese cat as the animal detailing. This is the first one Steiffgal has seen with a Charly as its featured animal.

 

This rare pajama bag appears to be in really nice condition overall. It is missing an eye, which sometimes happens. Replacing the lost eye would add to its appeal and presentation, and is not that difficult to do with the right needle and thread. However, it is sometimes challenging to find an exact ocular match in terms of size and era. And for some reason, eyes that don't match often look a little strange. As such, if Michael is not able to find an exact match, he may consider replacing BOTH eyes on this item to give the face a pleasing and authentic balance. Of course, it is important to note and disclose any and all known restoration on a vintage item if you are considering selling it at some point in the future.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Charly the King Spaniel pajama bag has been the crown jewel in your day today. 

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

Farming For Answers About This Unusual Midcentury Steiff Donkey

Let's enter the fray - oops, I mean the bray - of 2024 with a peek at a super sweet and super rare Steiff novelty. This darling and unusual velvet baby is a recent addition to Steiffgal's collection. He's based on a beloved Steiff pattern, but is accessorized in a most eye-catching way. Take a look at this old-new friend and see what makes him so noteworthy from the design and product development perspectives. 

This barnyard buddy would love to be your beast of burden. This is a well attired version of Steiff's legacy Esel or Donkey. He is 12 cm, standing, unjointed, and made from velvet that has darkened overall and evenly over time. He has a short black mohair mane. His tail is made from cord. He has black airbrush highlights down his back, on the tips of his ears, and marking his hooves. Esel's face is youthful and endearing; it is detailed with shiny black button eyes and delicate airbrushing to define his nose and mouth area. Esel retains his original accessories, including a red floss and plastic brindle with tiny green felt dots and a red and white checkered sack with a green tie. The bag is stuffed and dimensional, and stitched onto his back. His IDs include a raised script button, very early postwar ear tag, and a chest tag. He does not have a US Zone tag, and there is no evidence that he ever did. 

Steiff's regular line, postwar Donkey appeared in the line in 12, 14, 22, and 28 cm. The smallest size was made in velvet from 1950 through 1969 while the larger sizes were made in mohair from 1950 though 1961. This particular example under discussion here today does not appear in the standard Steiff Sortiment reference books, as far as Steiffgal can tell. However, he does appear on page 246 of the Cieslik's Button in Ear The History of The Teddy Bear and His Friends. In this image - pictured here on the left - he is simply noted as "Donkey, 5 inches, 1951."

The immediate post war era brought much change and opportunity to Steiff as well as other important European toy manufacturers. Button-in-ear products designed and manufactured during the c. 1948-1955 time frame bridged the company's prewar quality and appeal, while at the same time introduced new design elements with playful, midcentury vibes. It was also a time of trying new things and experimentation. This Donkey design is a great example of this. 

It is safe to say that most collectors are familiar with the standard line, 12 cm version of this Donkey pattern. He was made with a cord tail and wore a red leather brindle. However, Steiffgal has handled other 12 cm examples with dimensional, excelsior stuffed felt tails with black mohair tips. And she even has one in her collection donned in his factory original red leather brindle with tiny green tassels and a red and black checkered felt blanket secured to him by a ribbon. You can see this other variation pictured here on the left.

Excelsior stuffed tails and extra accessories require more time and labor. As a result, Steiffgal suspects that the company's standard line, post 1951 velvet 12 cm Donkey design is a simplified version of the original concept behind this pattern. He may have started out on the drawing board with a fancier tail, detailed brindle, and blankets or sacks, and the earliest examples of may include them. But these "nonessential" elements were quickly jettisoned, with no huge impact on the pattern's integrity or appeal. It is interesting to note that many of the smallest, early postwar animal editions, including the company's zebras and camels, were made from velvet and had cord tails, so this direction is somewhat consistent with trends of the era.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this well dressed Donkey has been a clothes call for you.

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

Getting A Handle on Steiff's Handbags

Steiffgal must take this reader's inquiry quite purse-sonally, but in the best way possible.  Take a look at this note from Juliet, who asks about a recent addition to her collection - a little bulldog that doubles as a handbag. Could it have been made by Steiff?  She writes in part...

"Dear Steiffgal,

This looks like a Steiff Bulldog face.  
I can't find any info on this item.  
Did Steiff ever make child's handbags? 

Best regards, 
Juliet"

Steiffgal's got this one in the bag.  Yes, Steiff has a long history of making handbags.  In most cases, they were not designed specifically for children, but their diminutive size does suggest that they were designed to hold few or very small things!  As far as Steiffgal can tell, the first Steiff purses, or "handtasche" were produced starting in 1927.  These earliest bags were actually based on Steiff's most popular designs of the time, and included beloved characters including Jocko the Chimp (pictured here on the left, sold for $890 at the 2010 Steiff Auction at Christie's in London), Petsy the blue eyed baby bear, Bully the bulldog, and Molly the puppy.  Items were sitting or standing, but in either case, were modified to have a hollow back pocket to hold purse-related items.  This pocket was lined in silk or velvet, and closed with a zipper.  In some cases the zipper had a pull, in others it had a circular round handle.  As time went on, Steiff added additional characters to its purse line, including Strupp the foxterrier, Treff the bloodhound, and even Pip, the cartoon dog, as late as 1941.  Steiff's early mohair character purses ranged in sizes from 17 to 29 cm overall. 

Steiff's purse line re-emerged in the late 1970's with a series of flat woven fur items.   These included a Teddy bear face in 12 and 26 cm, a little rabbit face bag in 26 cm (pictured here on the left), and a special edition Lake Placid Olympics raccoon souvenir purse in 18 cm.  Then, in the late 1980's, Steiff launched a new series of woven fur animal purses.  This introduction included a Teddy bear, panda bear, rabbit, and dog - all 17 cm heads - and a mouse, fish, owl, and hedgehog - all in full 18 cm body.  Since 1996, Steiff has also produced small plush animal faced handbags in the forms a Teddy bear, elephant, cow, cat, frog, and pig.  Steiff has not done much recently with handbags; the company's most recent purse creation was done in 2005 and was a replica of the 1927 through 1940 mohair Charly handbag.

Now, getting back to Juliet about her bulldog bag.  Although this is a charming and interesting treasure, Steiffgal does not believe he was made by Steiff.  A photo of Steiff's standing Bully purse, which was produced in 22, 23, 28, and 29 cm in black and white or sandy tan mohair from 1927 through 1934, is pictured here on the left for comparison.  The illustration is from Gunter Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book.  Steiffgal does think, however, that Juliet's bulldog bag was most likely produced around the same time as Steiff's model, and may even be based in part on his design.  

Steiffgal hopes you now have a handle on the history of Steiff's wonderful handbag production.

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