Tag, You're It With This Rare Steiff Badger And Her Equally Fabulous Bonus ID

Steiffgal doesn't want to badger you about this, but have you checked out this fantastic Steiff rarity? This well designed field and forest friend only appeared in the Steiff catalog for two brief years. So blink and you would have missed her! Come Dig a little deeper and learn more about this wonderful member of the weasel family... and her most unusual "bonus" ID. 

This happy handful is Steiff's Diggy badger. She is 10 cm tall, standing on all fours, unjointed, and made from tipped cream mohair on the top, white mohair on her head area, and black mohair on her bottom section. Her sides and face are beautifully airbrushed with tan and black highlights, giving her a most realistic look. Her tiny ears are made from mohair. She has black felt foot pads, round brown and black pupil eyes, and a simple black nose and mouth. Diggy was produced in 10 and 17 cm from 1963 through 1964 only, making her very rare on the secondary market.

Little Diggy and big Diggy are almost identical, except for one interesting detail. Big Diggy has four white felt triangular shaped claws on each of her limbs, while little Diggy has none. These finger and toe nails remind Steiffgal of those on another Steiff rarity of the same time, Zooby the bear.

In addition to her standard Steiff IDs, this particular example also has an additional tag stapled to her ear. It is a green linen tag with the word Steiff in cursive letters across the top, and the words Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry in tiny letters encircling a crest with the number "55" on it. What's that all about?

Steiffgal did a little digging (pun intended) and it turns out that the State of Pennsylvania, here in the United States, has something called the Stuffed Toy Law. According to the official PA government website, this law establishes a standard of safety for stuffed toys distributed throughout the Commonwealth. 

This is how this law works, according to this website: "The Bedding and Upholstery Section receives samples of toys and checks them for flammability, contents and safety of design. Manufacturers of stuffed toys intended for distribution in Pennsylvania by sale or as gifts must be registered with the Department. Stuffed toys must have a tag attached identifying the Pennsylvania registration number of the manufacturer. This tag indicates to the consumer that the toy has been reviewed by the Department and the manufacturer has registered with the Department."

So now let's figure out what we can deduce, and not, concerning this state law. It is interesting to note that  this law was put into place in 1961, just a few years before Diggy debuted in the Steiff catalog. So that timing and her tag align. And it is safe to assume that this particular Diggy started her life in America in PA. But three aspects of her tag remain somewhat of a mystery. 

• First, it is possible that the number "55" on the tag is Steiff's "official" registration number in the PA system, or it could mean something else. 
• Second it is not clear who registered Steiff to distribute its products in PA in the early 1960s. It could have been the company itself, or one of its distributors at the time like Reeves International, or it could have been an independent store or business selling Steiff at the time in PA. 
• And finally, it is difficult to tell whether this tag was put on Steiff's items intended for sale or distribution in PA in Giengen, before they were exported, or in PA, once they arrived in the states.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this rare Diggy badger and her great (and mysterious) ear tag has added a pleasant distraction to your day!

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.