This Cool Cat Novelty Is Really Hot Stuff!

Brrr... the temperature has shifted from 80 degrees to 40 degrees overnight so it’s definitely time to share something Steiff-y to warm the heart and soul! Check out this amazing cat doll that does double duty... making her totally hot stuff indeed. Have you ever seen this hybrid treasure before?

This Steiff functional novelty is called "Cook Cat Coffee Cozy." She is 43 cm tall and is arm and head jointed. Her body and arms are made from red felt to resemble a shirt, her skirt is made from green felt, and her head and hands are made from white mohair. She wears her original white cotton apron. She come to life with pert triangular felt ears, early style green and black slit pupil glass eyes, and a hand embroidered pink nose and mouth. Her hollow body is lined in double thick felt to keep a pot of coffee, tea, or cocoa warm. She was made in this size only from 1906-1910.

Cook Cat Coffee Cozy was also produced with a bear's head or a rabbit's head. These heads were identical to the current rabbit and bear designs of the early 20th century. These cousins also measured 43 cm tall. The bear appeared in the line from 1906-1908 and the rabbit appeared in the line from 1906-1909. Like the cat version, these featured a mohair head and hands and were dressed in a red felt shirt, a green felt skirt, and a white apron. This happy group is a good example of Steiff's long tradition of "form and variation" - modifying a popular design slightly to produce a number of "new" products for their catalogs. You can see a picture of the "Cook Rabbit Coffee Cosy" here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book.

Cook Cat Coffee Cozy - and her bear and rabbit friends - are based on Steiff's earliest character coffee warmer which debuted in 1904. This was a cozy in the form of Mama Katzenjammer from the popular comic strip the Katzenjammer Kids. She was called "Cook Coffee Cozy." Cook Coffee Cozy also wore a red and green felt dress and white apron, but had a felt head and fingered hands that resembled her character. Cook Coffee Cozy was made in four sizes ranging from 43-100 cm from 1904 through 1943 overall. Her longevity in the line indicates how popular she was over nearly four decades. You can see a picture of the "Cook Coffee Cosy" here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book. 

This fantastic feline fits right into Steiff's early 20th century product development timeline and history. The Giengen company is well known for producing functional novelties for home, school, and work use in addition to the company's plush animal, doll, and bear production. This tradition goes back to the late 1800s, when Margarete Steiff produced and marketed a series of oversized, embroidered felt "pockets" designed as newspaper holders, bed wall bags, duster holder bags, and brush holders, among others. Other early and mostly prewar novelties include egg cosies, pen wipes, and pincushions. These rarities are treasured among collectors today.

Steiffgal hopes you found this discussion on Cook Cat Coffee Cozy the pause that refreshes.

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Getting Egg-Static Over This Steiff Antique Rabbit Novelty!

There's no question you'll warm up right away to today's blog special guest. Not only is he good looking, he's also great at what he does. Intrigued? Here's more about this charming - and functional - Steiff rarity.

It's easy to get egg-static over this adorable rabbit egg cozy. This happy hopper is 11 cm long, unjointed, and made from tan velvet. He is airbrushed with tan and black highlights. He does not have limbs, but the way he is painted it appears that has dimensional back thighs and legs. He comes to life with curled ears, black shoebutton eyes, and a black painted nose. Rabbit's head is very lightly stuffed with kapok. His inside is hollow - like a tent - to keep one boiled egg warm. Steiff also made egg cozies which could hold up to six eggs! 

Rabbit retains his long trailing "f" button and fully legible white ear tag as his IDs. This pattern was made in this size only in velvet from 1908-1927 and in felt from 1921-1927. It is one of the very few egg cozies produced by Steiff in velvet fabric; the vast majority of these warmers were produced in felt - which is probably a better insulator. This particular rabbit egg cozy was most likely produced in the 19-teens. 

Now let's take a closer look at rabbit's 14 carrot ear tag. The numbers on it are: 77/3436. At first, these numbers were a little confusing, as they do not exactly align with how Steiff usually uses digits on ear tags. In this case, it is Steiffgal's best thinking that the numbers represent the following information: The 77 = the classification number for "egg warmers"; 3 = sitting position; 4 = velvet material; and 36 = the classification number for rabbits. Other early egg cozy items have similar four digit numbers after the "77" egg warmer classification. It appears that their final two digits also refer to the classification number of their species, like ducks, roosters, or hens.

Also of interest are the French words "importe' d'allemagne" on rabbit's white ear tag. This is pretty unusual and only the second or third time Steiffgal has seen this documented on a Steiff ear tag. It is possible, given the socio-economic and political realities of the WWI era, that European companies were required to specifically note in which countries their products were made. And/or perhaps such labeling was necessary for import, export, or duty purposes and regulations. Isn't it amazing how much information - and mystery - can fit on a tiny slip of paper less than one inch long!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this rare velvet egg cosy has left you jumping for joy.

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