Welcoming 2018 With These Once In A Blue Moon Steiff Rarities

You've probably heard the expression, "once in a blue moon." This phrase is meant to indicate that something happens extremely infrequently, and specifically refers to periods when two full moons occur in the same month. Well, 2018 greets us with two full moons in January, hopefully signaling auspicious things on the horizon for everyone on the cusp of the new year.

To celebrate this special occurrence, and to welcome 2018 in the warmest way possible, please say hello to five "once in a blue moon" Steiff finds. These characters are quite unusual (at least to Steiff enthusiasts here in the United States) and demonstrate Steiff's enormous talents in bringing fictional characters to life. Perhaps they will send you over the moon as well! 

You can't help but dig this first "blue moon" find. Here we have Max Mole. He is 15 cm, standing, unjointed, and made from brown woven fur. His feet are flat, cardboard lined, and enable him to stand. They are made from brown faux leather, much like the soles on the feet on Steiff's standing Zooby the circus bear. He has four felt claws on each hand. His prominent snout has been slightly sheared, then painted a salmon pink. His nose is made from felt, and he has simple black button eyes. He dons a yellow plastic "hard hat" emblazoned with a DB logo; it is visually secured to his head via a black painted strap. This hard working mole was produced in 1999 only as an advertising specialty for Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company headquartered in Berlin.

All that glistens is not gold - but in this situation - it is "Goldi." This petite treat is 15 cm, standing, unjointed, and made from soft plush. Her fabulous and largely scaled head is made from SEVEN different materials, including five colors of short plush, one color of long plush, and felt - for her prominent teeth! Her eyes are simple black buttons and she has black whiskers. Goldi is dressed to the nines in removable clothing including a teal velour shirt and yellow cotton overalls featuring the Commerzbank logo. This precious gem was made in 2007 for Commerzbank, a global financial services company that was founded in 1870 and has its headquarters in Frankfurt. 

It is interesting to note that Steiff also produced a 32 cm Goldi the Hamster in 1978-1980 for Commerzbank. This happy hamster is best known as the mascot of Germany’s “Kinder-Verkehrs-Club” or “Children’s Traffic Club” which was sponsored by Commerzbank over time. This countrywide program was launched in 1976 and ran until 1997. The goal of the program was to help parents of three to six year old children teach their youngsters about road and traffic safety.

Things are twice as nice with this next pair of rarities. Here we have two very playful Steiff dragons. They are both sitting, unjointed, and made from soft yellow plush. Their bellies are white while their wings, back scales, inner ears, and open mouths are orange plush. Their blue tongues are made from felt and their cartoonish eyes are machine embroidered. Each has two sets of arms. The larger one stands 26 cm tall, while the smaller one, which has a keyring attached to it, is 14 cm tall. They bear the GVS logo and are the company's natural gas mascots. Given their form and IDs, this dragon duo was most likely made within the last few years. GVS is short for GasVersorgung Süddeutschland GmbH; they are one of Germany's largest gas companies. According to their website, they "supply natural gas to public utilities companies, regional gas suppliers, industrial customers and power stations both within Germany and abroad."

Next in this monster-mashup is this fine green hand puppet, also in the form of a dragon. This lean green machine is 35 cm tall and made from trivera velvet. His body is green, his wings are pink, his ears are blue, and his mouth is peach colored. He is detailed with green felt back scales, grey faux suede "hair", and oversized black and white google style plastic eyes. You can open and close his huge mouth from inside his hollow body. This playful puppet was made in 1991 as a promotional item for the printer Oldenburg, which is now part of the De Gruyter group. This large publishing house is headquartered in Berlin and has a company history that goes back over 260 years!

Now for a refreshing change, please consider this last "blue moon" Steiff selection. Here we have a very chubby, cartoon looking 30 cm unicorn called "Fritz Horn." This name appears on his yellow Steiff ear tag. His unjointed body is made from white velour and his feet are made from black fabric. His tail and back mane are made from black spotted white velour. His eyes, nose, and mouth are machine embroidered in black. And what's that thing on his head? Why it’s a black velour "fritz-kola" bottle horn, of course! This black and white beauty was made in 2016 for the Hamburg based Fritz Kola company, which was started in 2002 by two childhood friends. This quirky, playful European specialty brand is "mainly known for its high caffeine content (about 25 mg per 100 mL) and its strong lemon flavour as well as its distinctive glass bottles," according to its website.

Steiffgal hopes this review of "once in a blue moon" rarities helps your stars align for a very happy and healthy 2018.  

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

It's Easy To Love Steiff's Woolen Miniatures In A Really Big Way!

Sometimes just a little bit is more than enough!  And that is the case when it comes to Steiff's delightful woolen miniatures.  These petite and precious treasures, which are amazingly constructed and pack so much detail into so little space, have been collector's favorites since their introduction in 1931.  Steiffgal recently welcomed several new, somewhat unusual wonderful woolies into her collection.  Take a big look at these tiny treats - perhaps you'll fall in love with them, too!

Let's kick things off with this adorable "pet set."  Here we have Steiff's woolen miniature guinea pig and hamster.  Both are 6 cm, made from woolen yarn, with peach colored felt ears and double thick white felt front feet.  Both the guinea pig and hamster have black button eyes and clear mono filament whiskers.  The guinea pig is white, black, and orange while the hamster is golden yellow and white.  They are basically the same design in different colors with one finishing difference:  the hamster has a tiny white felt tail while the guinea pig is tail-less.  Both these items never had chest tags. Guinea pig appeared in the line from 1973 through 1980 and hamster from 1973 through 1979; both were made in this size only.

This next woolie will certainly bug you, but that's ok in this case.  Here we have Steiff's woolen cockchafer, also known as a may bug or beetle.  He is 4 cm and made of brown, white, and black yarn.  His underside and six legs are formed from a thin piece of brown dye-cut plastic.  He has a tiny black woolen tail.  His head most interestingly is made from a round black plastic bead, which is finished with two black string antennae.  Cockchafer was manufactured from 1969 through 1974 in this size only; he is one of the very few Steiff items that never had a Steiff button or tag.

Here we have a very small bundle of joy.  This lovely item is Steiff's woolen stork.  She is 11 cm, standing, and made from pure white woolen yarn.  Her tail feathers are scalloped and made from black felt, and her long legs and toe-d feet are red plastic.  Her tiny face is detailed with black button eyes and an orange plastic beak - which would be perfect to hold a tiny new baby! Her neck contains a flexible metal wire so it is somewhat poseable.  This item never had a chest tag as there was no place to put it. Stork was manufactured from 1970 through 1977 in this size only.  

It's always fun to hang out with Steiff, and this last item really illustrates that point.  Here we have Steiff's highly kinetic "Woolen Coral Reef Fish Mobile."  The mobile consists of five little woolen miniature fish that are carefully balanced and weighted on tan strings and thin metal wires to create this hanging piece of art.  The fish themselves are 7 cm each and made from colorful woolen yarns.  Each has black plastic fins, large brown and black pupil eyes, and a large, smiling, felt mouth.  The fish are primarily blue, yellow, green, orange, and red, and all have their button and yellow flag on their top fin area. This set appeared from 1969 through 1975 packaged in a square plastic box.  This marvelous mobile hangs playfully from Steiffgal's dining room chandelier and is a constant source of food for thought - no pun intended!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of unusual Steiff post war woolen miniatures has helped to brighten your day in a big way.

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