This Charly Purse Is A Crown Jewel In Steiff's Prewar Novelty Production

Hold everything and check out this absolutely amazing rarity! Steiffgal has a thing for Steiff novelties, especially those made in the prewar era. And it is certainly the best of all worlds when it comes to this breathtaking example. This Charly the King Charles Spaniel handbag will undoubtably have your vote for “Best of Show” in terms of her beauty, design, and willingness to lend a paw in service!

What we have here is Steiff’s Charly Handtasche or Charly Purse. This novelty is based on Steiff's beloved and legacy Charly The King Charles Spaniel pattern which debuted in the late 1920s. This precious pooch purse is 25 cm long, in a standing (albeit slouchy) position, and head jointed. She is made from long and short mohair plush. Her ears and tail are brown-tipped mohair, while her body and face are off-white mohair which has mellowed to a vanilla color. Her face is detailed with oversized brown and black glass pupil eyes and a simple black hand embroidered nose and mouth. She also has black embroidered claws on her hands and feet. And here’s what makes her a purse: her torso is hollow like a pouch, and is lined in bright orange velvet. You can see that detail in the photo on the left.  Her back opening closes with a study brass zipper. The pouch volume is quite small; it probably is the volume of about a small sized apple. This fantastic and very rare prewar novelty was produced in 22 and 25 cm from 1927 through 1940.

Steiff debuted a series of zippered, mohair purses in 1927 based on some of their most beloved characters of the era. These measured 17 to 29 cm in size, measured horizontally. Each featured a velvet or silk lined, hollow back pocket which closed with a zipper. The zipper had a mohair ring pull to it, which probably also was designed as a small handle. These rings tend to get lost to time or wear given their function. The first button-in-ear handbag designs to appear included this Charly, as well as Jocko the Chimp, Petsy the Baby Bear, Bully the Bulldog, and Molly the puppy. Other patterns rolled out over time, with the final design being a Pip in 1941. 

Now let's do a bit of time travel. Check out this image on the left from Steiff's 1929 catalog. You can click on the image to make it bigger. The page is dedicated to their line of mohair handbags. Three young ladies are happily modeling the purses, including one with the Charly bag under discussion here today. Steiffgal thinks she looks the happiest of the gals, and for good reason! You can also see the circular mohair zipper pulls on the purses. The words on the advertisement translate roughly to, "Elegant in the arm of the lady, funny with the little ones.” The catalog page also notes that the purses were decorated with a collar or silken ribbon. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's animal handbags has got you carried away - in the best possible way!

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

A Steiff Mystery of Olympic Proportions

Now this latest Steiff find may just test your mettle - your Olympic medal, that is!  Steiffgal recently acquired a most unusual Steiff purse, one that she had only read - and dreamed - about.  The item itself is sort of interesting, but its possible history and origins just might be world class!

Hold everything and check out this sports-themed handbag.  This round purse has a diameter of 18 cm.  It is basically made from two circles of white plush which are sewn together on a blue and white canvas fabric edging. On one side of the bag is the five ringed Olympic logo in black. The other side is detailed with the words "1980," and "Lake Placid" and that game's mascot logo, Rocky the Raccoon. Rocky is grey, white, and black, with white and black pupil eyes. All decorations on the bag (except the inserted eyes) appear to be stenciled. The bag strap is a long blue cord which matches the color of the fabric edging. The bag closes with a simple silver metal zipper.  In terms of Steiff ID, the purse has a generic, unnumbered late 1970's style yellow ear tag, but no chest tag or button.

Here's where the mystery kicks in. According to Pfeiffer's 1947-2003 Steiff Sortiment, this item - called a "disco bag" - was in the line in 1979 and came in two color themes. These include the blue one as described above, and a similar one with red and white canvas edging and a red cord bag strap. The red version did not include the date "1980" on the Rocky logo side of the bag. The purse's article number is noted as 6354/18. For the most part, items that appear in Pfeiffer's Steiff books have been produced and distributed on a commercial scale.

However, according to beloved Steiff authority Dee Hockenberry's reference book, Steiff Bears and Other Playthings Past and Present, this item, and a plush Rocky raccoon logo toy never went into production. Specifically, for the purses, she says...

"Olympic Pocketbook Prototypes: 7 inches in diameter. Plush with zipper closure. Never in production. The only examples ever made."  

The photo on the left of the purses is from the Hockenberry book. 

And for the Rocky logo toy, she notes... 

"Prototype Raccoon: 11 inches. In 1978 and 1979, Steiff, through their US representative, made presentations to the American Olympic Committee in order to obtain a licence to make 1980 Olympic souvenirs. Three prototype were made incorporating the Lake Placid mascot and Olympic logo. Although the samples were attractive, an official licence was never granted.  These are the only examples ever made."  

The photo on the left of the Rocky logo toy is from the Hockenberry book. 

Just how rare are Steiff 1980 Olympic souvenir handbags? The Pfeiffer and Hockenberry references seem to suggest opposite sides of the story. What Steiffgal does know for sure is that in 40+ years of collecting Steiff, she has never seen or even heard of another example of a Rocky Lake Placid Olympic item. And this item's generic yellow Steiff tag without numbering does suggest that this particular example may be a very early example or prototype. However, Rocky's face painting on Steiffgal's version does not exactly match up to the painting on the one pictured in Dee Hockenberry's book. As such, the ones pictured in the Hockenberry book are NOT the only examples ever made. It seems that the mystery behind this unusual "disco bag" - like many Olympic achievements - is one for the record books.  

Steiffgal hopes you've taken this discussion on Steiff's Rocky handbag quite purse-sonally.

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.  

A Few Of My Favorite (Steiff) Things

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens... are a few of Julie Andrew's favorite things for sure!  What's on your list?  Hopefully a piece of Steiff, or two or three!  Steiffgal is traveling this week, so in the interim before next week's new question and answer post, she thought she would share a few treasures with you that she has had the pleasure of adding to her collection over the past year or so.   So without further ado, please check out her top three highlights!

The first item is both huge and tiny at the same time!  Here we have Steiff’s 12-centimeter baby Dinos Stegosaurus dinosaur. He is unjointed and standing on all fours, made from tan-colored mohair that has been painstakingly hand airbrushed in a full spectrum of greens, blues, purples and browns. Dinos has a matching felt fin along his back and a sweet, baby-like face. His head is detailed with an open, pink lined felt mouth; green and black google style eyes; and little yellow felt ears. Dinos was produced in 12 and 42 cm as a U.S. exclusive from 1958-59 only. He retains his complete set of ID that includes a named chest tag, raised script button, and crisp, fully legible yellow ear tag.  

For more information on Dinos, including his history, design legacy, and value, please click here!

The second item is quite a doll - literally.  What we have here Steiff’s Zwerg Puck or Dwarf Puck, who stands 20-centimeters tall and is five-ways jointed. He is quite detailed and very charismatic for his size! His face, a classic “center seam” design, is made from felt and is detailed with shiny black eyes, a comical, round nose, an open, smiling mouth, ruddy cheeks, large ears and a very long, white mohair beard. He has large, clown-like felt hands and very skinny fabric legs. His clothes, which are integral to his body, consist of a light blue felt jacket, a brown felt shirt and blue and white cotton calico pants. He has donned a triangular-shaped yellow mohair hat. He has very large feet (proportionally) and is wearing denim blue-colored fabric boots.

For more information on Puck, including his history, design legacy, and value, please click here!

And finally - it's quite clear this fantastic find has quite a purse-sonality.  What we have here is Steiff’s Charly Handtasche or Charly Purse. This precious pooch is 22 centimeters tall in a standing (albeit slouchy) position with a jointed head. She is made from long and short mohair plush and her ears and tail are brown-tipped mohair, while her body and face are off-white mohair. Her face is detailed with oversized brown and black-pupil eyes and a simple black hand-embroidered nose and mouth. She also has black embroidered claws on all four paws. And here’s what makes her a purse: her belly is hollow like a pouch, and is lined in lime-green velvet. It closes with a study brass zipper. The pouch volume is quite small; it probably is the volume of about a small-sized apple.  According to Steiff records, this Charly Purse was produced in 22 and 25 cm from 1927 through 1940. This particular example, with her trailing “F” Steiff button and red ear tag, was made in the 1928-through-1934 time frame.

For more information on Charly, including her history, design legacy, and value, please click here!

Steiffgal hopes this 1-2-3 review of delightful Steiff treasures has been a delightful numbers game for you.

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