Fawning Over This Lovely, Long Legged Steiff Prewar Rarity!

Isn't she lovely? Although all Steiff creatures are made with TLC and an eye towards appeal and realism, some also have that "X" factor - there's just something simply elegant about them. Such is the case with this lovely prewar field and forest friend. Check out this fantastic fawn and see what makes her so delightful from the design and product evolution perspectives.

There's no doubt you'll be fawning over this lovely, long legged rarity! Here we have Steiff's 17 cm fawn. She is standing and unjointed. Her body is made from tan mohair, while her legs from the thighs down are made from tan velvet. This has darkened a bit over time, which often is the case with older velvet fabric. Her face is detailed with expressive black button eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. She has a touch of red to indicate her lips as well. Her ears are pert and triangular shaped. Her legs are especially graceful and angular. and have a touch of black airbrushing to indicate her feet. Fawn was made in 17 and 22 cm from 1934 through 1943 overall. She has a charming and distinctively old fashioned look to her. Although her Steiff button has been lost to time, she would have left the factory with either a long or short trailing "f" style Knopf, depending on her specific year of manufacture.

This velvet legged fawn design was introduced at a very turbulent time in history. Due to evolving geopolitical and financial realities, it goes without saying that things were not so good in Germany from the 1930s through the end of World War II. This impacted Steiff in countless ways and the company had to be extremely strategic in the ways it conducted its business just to stay afloat.  

One thing that collectors can track pretty closely is the company's use of different fabrics during that time. In the mid-1930s, Steiff introduced this mohair female fawn with velvet legs, as well as a 35 cm mohair male roebuck with velvet legs. He only appeared in the line from 1936-1938. Both are pictured here on the left, hanging out with the wonderful felt doll Snik the gnome. The image is from the company's 1938 product catalog. Using a German marks to US dollar converter, and then an inflation calculator, it is interesting to note that the roebuck would cost the equivalent of about $40.61, the 17 cm fawn would cost the equivalent of about $22.97, and the 22 cm fawn would cost the equivalent of about $28.12 in 2020.  

It is Steiffgal's best guess that the pair's debut and design were carefully planned and took into consideration unreliable supply chain issues as well as economics. Given the scarcity and price of mohair during this time, Steiffgal suspects that velvet was used on the legs instead of mohair in both designs in part as a cost and material saving effort. Fortunately, from the aesthetic perspective, velvet does help give the deer's legs a very shapely and elegant presentation. 

Given how "deerly" beloved its prewar fawn pattern was, Steiff began producing it again once the factory reopened for toy making business in the late 1940s. The basic design was tweaked just a bit and was made in 17 and 22 cm, first in artificial silk plush in 1948-1949 and then in wool plush from 1949-1953. In 1954, Steiff completely updated its fawn pattern, producing it mohair in 14, 17, and 22 cm through 1978 overall. Like their earlier relatives, these charming, more modern looking deer also had black eyes, but were now chunkier and overall less shapely, and were decorated with a little white stitch across their nose. You can see the 14 cm version of the updated post war designed fawn here on the left. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this prewar mohair and velvet deer has made a material difference in your day today!

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

This Late 1920's-Era Deer Is A "Reh" Of Sunshine Indeed!

Oh deer! What do we have here? Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of handling a lovely vintage Steiff fawn with the most charming expression and presentation. Check out this fantastic field and forest friend and see what makes her so interesting from the historical and product design evolution perspectives.

This "reh" (German for deer!) of sunshine is Steiff's "Deer." She measures about 28 cm both standing and wide. Deer is unjointed and made from burnt-orange tipped mohair. The insides of her ears and her fanny are made from white mohair. Her hooves are indicated by black airbrushing. Reh's face comes to life with oversized black and brown pupil eyes, a distinctively shaped, hand embroidered nose highlighted with a white stitch, and a tiny red accent to indicate her mouth. She retains her long trailing "F" button and traces of her red ear tag as her Steiff IDs.

So just how old is this darling deer? It is interesting to note that this exact model is not noted in either the Steiff Sortiment reference book or Steiff's catalogs. But, because it is impolite to ask anyone directly about their age, Steiffgal's detective work suggests that she was made in the 1929-1934 time frame. An almost identical deer, albeit on red wooden wheels, is noted in Steiff's records. This model was produced in 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm from 1929 through 1936. Because the model under discussion today has bits of her red ear tag, which was the eartag color through about 1934, this deer is probably no older than 1934. You can see the wheeled version here on the left; the image is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Steiff Sortiment.

This deer has two key design details that place her at a very interesting place in the deer product development timeline.

Materials. You can't help but notice this deer's wonderful and colorful fabric - a burnt orange tipped mohair. They "heyday" for tipped mohair at Steiff occurred during the mid to late 1920's through the early 1930's. Other well known famous patterns from that era that used this distinctive, playful, and happy fabric included Petsy the Baby Bear (1928 through 1930); Teddy Clown (1926 through 1930); and Fluffy the Cat (1926 through 1943.) Very few items were with tipped mohair were introduced in the line after the 1930's.

Form. This wide-eyed and youthful deer's appearance aligns perfectly with the mid- to late 1920's Steiff aesthetic. Items produced during this time frame were for the most part utterly charming, with a distinctively toddler-esque, feminine, and happy appearance. In the mid-1930's, Steiff updated some of its fawn and roebuck pattens. These new designs were made from tan, airbrushed, mohair; had more shapely legs and bodies; and more realistic and lifelife necks and faces. In addition, their legs were made from velvet instead of mohair. There are several possible reasons for this fabric change. One might be that during the mid- to late 1930's, mohair was becoming more expensive and less available due to political and economic realities. Steiff's mid-1930's-1943 fawn with velvet legs is pictured here on the left; the image is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Steiff Sortiment.

Steiffgal hopes that this discussion on this unusual and appealing Steiff deer has you fawning over Steiff's great late 1920's era items.

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