Can't Help But Crow Over This Latest Prewar Steiff Find!

Welcome to our next Steiff egg-cellent adventure! Steiffgal spotted this fine feathered friend on an online sales channel and just couldn't resist his impish personality and adorable presentation. Turns out, he's pretty rare, too! Check out this prewar, bitty barnyard buddy and see what makes him so interesting from the design and product development perspectives.

Size defies with this tiny feathered friend! Here we have Steiff's smallest sized prewar rooster. He is about 8 cm, standing, unjointed, and made from blonde mohair. His feet are made from metal which has been painted orange. His tail feathers are made from elegantly cut and shaped brown felt. His face and waddle are made from red felt, and he sports black button eyes. Rooster was produced in 8, 17, 22, and 28 cm in this specific color combination from 1930 through 1937 overall. This smallest size was made for one year only, in 1933. Although this example has lost his IDs to time, these baby birds would have left the factory with their button and tag placed on their felt back feathers or worn like a bracelet around one of their metal legs.  

This little guy has two (well, two and a half) subtle, but interesting features of note. 

First is his coloring. Most people think of Steiff's prewar roosters as being very colorful, often with green feather detailing. And, Steiff did make a very similar rooster design in this more vivid color palate in 8, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1930 through 1943 overall. The little guy under review here today is from a lesser known series of 1930s-era tan and brown roosters. Given that the ones with the green details were produced for a much longer period suggests that they also sold better and were more popular with customers. 

Second is his legs and feet. They are made from orange painted metal. Steiff has a long history of making their early prewar birds with metal feet and legs, but they were either "slipcovered" in felt or wrapped with string. As far as Steiffgal can tell, these 8 cm mohair roosters introduced in 1933 might have been the first full bodied birds with painted metal legs, complete with their requisite poultry "spurs" just above the ankles.

And the half? Well, coincidence or not, Steiff debuted its line of woolen miniature birds in 1931. These first mini guys, and all the company's prewar standing pom-pom style birds moving forward, had painted metal legs and feet almost identical to the ones seen on the smallest prewar mohair rooster. It is possible that by 1933 - when the smallest mohair roosters debuted - that the company had perfected their metal legs and feet production technology to the point that this design element could be implemented on other more sophisticated patterns. For example, here on the left, you can see tiny rooster's metal legs and somewhat twisted toes (guess he might be having a little foot arthritis after a century!) and the metal legs and toes of his woolen miniature owl friend from 1934.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this little bird with interesting leg features has you standing tall. 

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

Strike Up The Brass Band Over This Mysterious Steiff Fawn

Oh deer! What do we have here? This charming field and forest friend is not only just lovely and elegant in design, but she also has a less obvious but totally WAH-HOO good surprise element to her as well. Get ready to fawn over this precious prewar rarity!

Here we have Steiff's 22 cm mohair fawn. She is standing, unjointed, and made from tan mohair. The lining of her ears and her tail are made from white mohair. Her face is detailed with black button eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. Her legs are particularly thin, shapely, and elegant and are made from velvet. She has a gentle, distinctly old fashioned look to her. This pattern was produced in 17 and 22 cm from 1934-1943.

Now for her little secret. Given her era of production, she would have left the factory with either a long or short trailing "f" style knopf, depending on her specific year of manufacture - with earlier versions having the long trailing "f" version and the later versions having the short trailing "f" version. However, this gal proudly wears an unusual BRASS colored short trailing "f" Steiff button and has traces of her yellow ear tag. The button measures 6 mm in diameter. This seldom seen branding appeared on a few Steiff items from 1933/34 through 1943. You can see that brass button in the photo below.  

So just how rare is this brass prewar button? It is really hard to quantify, as Steiffgal has only handled - literally - a handful of items with this distinctive ID in memory. In her personal collection, she has one prewar treasure with this distinction. This is a small standing Waldi dog. He 10 cm, unjointed, and made from copper colored mohair. He has long, floppy ears. His face is detailed with shiny black glass eyes and a black hand embroidered nose. His mouth is indicated by a little black airbrushing. Waldi wears his original green leather collar and has his "watermelon" shaped bare faced tag, with his name imprinted in crimson. This guy was made in 10, 14, 17, 22, and 28 cm from 1933 - 1943... the identical time frame as the fawn under discussion today. This prewar Waldi is pictured below on the left. 

It remains a mystery why Steiff used a brass button for branding some of their items during this turbulent geopolitical period. It might have to do with availability of materials, or shortages, or other rationing reasons. It is also not clear why some items would have a brass button, and others would not - as Steiffgal has seen examples of both the prewar Waldi and this fawn with Steiff's standard silver colored prewar IDs. Only these precious treasures know for sure... and they aren't talking!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's lovely prewar fawn with her unusual button has put the pedal to the metal for you.

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

Racing To The Finish Line With This Amazing Steiff Gallop Novelty

There's no horsing around when it comes to this week's blog featured guest. Or guests, in this case! This amazing Steiff rarity came to Steiffgal somewhat out of the blue, and belonged to a collector on the West Coast who really, really loved precious Steiff items. Check out this prancing pair on wheels and see what makes them so delightful from the design and product development timeline perspectives.

It's off to the races with this Steiff Gallop novelty. It consists of two standing, unjointed 8 cm mohair pets on a metal cart with red wooden wheels. The first animal is little Molly dog. She is made from tan and brown tipped mohair and is solidly stuffed with excelsior. Her face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. Her ears are seamed on their outside edges, and are folded over in typical Molly style. Her IDs have been lost to time. Her companion is a distinctive cat made from silver tipped mohair. She has a trimmed muzzle, a pink hand embroidered nose and mouth, green and black slit style glass pupil eyes, and a few remaining clear monofilament whiskers. She retains her long trailing "f" button. This Molly and cat Gallop novelty appeared in the line in this size and configuration from 1926-1929.

Now let's check out the lucky passengers on this very special ride! Standing Molly appeared in the line in 8, 12, 14, 17, 22, 28, and 35 cm from 1925-1936 overall. She was not produced standing postwar. This Gallop Molly is most likely an example of the 8 cm standard line Molly. The cat, on the other hand, did not appear in Steiff's catalog, as far as Steiffgal can tell, except on this exact novelty. This prewar black mohair cat design is just one of a tiny handful of kittens - other than the company's famous arched back Tom Cat - produced in this color and fabric before WWII.

This Gallop toy was one of three novelty pull toy designs Steiff produced from the mid-1920s through the mid-1930s. These included Roly-Drolys, Wiwags, and Gallop toys. Each of these three patterns used pairs of small, standard line items on wooden carts. All were created in response to product development need identified by Richard Steiff. He was living in America at the time and insisted that these sorts of "mobile" items were necessary in the line to keep up with the demands of the marketplace, consumer preferences, and growing worldwide competition.

And just how did these pull toys rock and roll? Roly-Droys appeared in the line from 1924–1934. The animals rotated in circles as their cart was pulled along. "Roly-Droly" comes from the German words "rollen" (to roll) and "drollig" (funny or droll). Wiwags appeared in the line from 1924–1927; its passengers see-sawed up and down as their cart was propelled forward. And Gallop toys, like the one under review here, were made from 1926–1929. The riders glided back and forth as their cart's wheels turned round and round. Each of these metal and wooden toys came with a pull string that was tipped with a wooden knob decorated with a Steiff button. You can see Steiff's range of Gallop toys as pictured in the company's 1929 catalog. The image is from Carsten Esser's Steiff Katalog 1920-1929. 

According to Steiff's advertising, Gallop toys consisted of..."Two different animals of fine plush on car of special construction. When pulled along, the galloping moment is produced." Gallop toys were produced in a number of configurations. These included one with a brown and white standing bear; one with a standing lion and elephant; one with a standing fox and hare; one with a Barney Google doll and a standing bear; one with a Barney Google doll and a standing Spark Plug horse; one with a Spark Plug horse and an ostrich; one with two standing goats; and one with a Molly and black cat. The advertisement on the left is from the mid-1920s and features the Molly and black cat version under discussion here today. The image is from Carsten Esser's Steiff Katalog 1920-1929. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Gallop novelties has put a fun spring in your step today. 

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

Good Things Come In Threes With This Fabulous Prewar Steiff Duck Chain

It's time to get your ducks in a row and check out this next marvelous Steiff find. It's hard to believe that this family of fine feathered friends was most likely made over a century ago - they appear practically brand new today. Who wouldn't want to feather their Steiff nest with them? They are truly "aligned" in so many interesting ways....and here's why!

Good things come in threes with this duck family trio. It consists of a larger mother duck - measuring about 10 cm tall and 14 cm wide - and two baby ducks - measuring about 6 cm tall and 9 cm wide each. All the ducks are unjointed and are solidly stuffed with excelsior. They have grey felt bodies and green felt wings and heads. Their wings are decorated with yellow embroidery to look like feathers. Their beaks, legs, and feet are made from orange felt, and their eyes are little black buttons. The mother retains her original grey silk neck ribbon. The mother is cataloged as article number "2110,42 ex," and the two ducklings are cataloged as article number "2106 ex." These numbers translate to:  2= lying; 1=felt; 10= 10 cm and 06= 6 cm; 42= simple pattern with a voice; and ex= eccentric wheels. The mother and one of the ducklings retain their tiny raised script button in one foot.

Now let's check out their fabulous rides! Mom is mounted on a square metal wire carriage which glides along on four green wooden eccentric wheels. When she is pulled, she waddles and makes a peep which is generated by a little movement activated voice box embedded in her belly. You can see this feature illustrated in the photo at the end of this post. She also has a green and white twine pull string that looks period, if not original, to her. Each of her babies is mounted on a diamond shaped metal wire carriage which rides upon two green wooden eccentric wheels. They also waddle about when they are rolling along. There are loops and hooks at the end of the carriages to keep the family linked together. 

Steiff's beloved felt "duck chain" parade was a legacy item in the early 20th century. It was produced in two standard line versions: a mom with two ducklings or a mom with five ducklings. Both versions appeared in the line from 1917-1932 overall. From 1919-1921, this duck chain was produced in a substitute plush material because felt was in short supply for toy making purposes during and shortly after World War I. Steiff's signature duck chain novelties were marketed as, "This waddling felt duck with brightly colored fathers is fixed onto solidly built, eccentric wooden wheels, which provide the duck with its characteristic waddle. Also fitted with a deceptively realistic "quack-quack" voice. A droll little toy."

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this duck chain pull toy has really tugged at your heartstrings!

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

Do Steiff's Rod Jointed Bears Test Your Metal?

Steiff is truly the ideal international ambassador. The reach of the brand, and the goodwill it generates, is simply universal! Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of speaking with a lovely collector from the Isle of Man, which is part of the United Kingdom. It was Steiffgal's first time connecting with someone from this small, rugged island territory that has a population of less than 85,000. (Just the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts - where Steiffgal lives - has a population of 119,000!)

Man-O-Man, did this collector have something to share! She recently added a very special bear to her hug and wanted to know more about it. Her new vintage friend just happened to be a delightful and very early Steiff rod bear! This bear was a blonde PB28 - Steiff's c. 1904 era, solidly stuffed and fully jointed cub. This fine, 40 cm tall example retained two of its "crowning glories," its all original black gutta percha nose, as well as its elephant ear button. (You can see a photo of this button at the bottom of this post.) He also sported black shoe button eyes, a prominent back hump, an "American" football shaped torso, felt pads, and five hand embroidered claws on each of his paws - all design elements typical to Steiff's early turn of last century production. A gorgeous example all around. 

Do Steiff's rod bears test your metal? One of the things that makes these turn of last century cubs so interesting is how varied they truly are - despite their limited time and appearance in the line. They were technically only produced in blonde and white in two sizes (28 cm sitting/40 cm standing and 35 cm sitting/50 cm standing) from 1904 through 1905. Steiffgal has handled only 8 examples professionally, but none of them really looked anything alike. Some were long and lean; others were quite chubby and cub-like. Their faces ranged from serious and pensive to "dazed and confused." And the fabrics included short cinnamon mohair to long and wavy apricot plush - and everything in between. It is most unusual to see such variety in manufacturing, especially from a company famous for its precision, consistency, and quality control. So how can this be?

It's Steiffgal's best guess that each rod bear is almost a "one of a kind" because of their era of production. Jointed bears were truly an entirely new category for Steiff; made, stuffed, and detailed by hand; and based on quickly evolving patterns. So the manufacturing "learning curve" had not kicked in yet. And mohair became commercially available in 1903 - just a year before their launch. As such, it is possible that Steiff used a variety of mohairs on these earliest bears because that is what was available at the time. 

Steiffgal hopes you note that this discussion of rod bear finds - and differences - has been a joint effort.

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

This Tiny, Turn of Last Century Steiff Pomeranian Is The Wheel-Deal Indeed!

What's the "best of all worlds" Steiff find for you? Everyone certainly has their own take on what that might be. For Steiffgal, that would include a small, prewar dog on wheels with ID with an interesting history. So it was a real treat when she was recently asked to help rehome just that from a fine estate in Ohio. Apparently his previous owner had a real life Pom, so its clear why this treasure was a crown jewel in her collection. So without further "pom" and circumstance, check out this petite treat and see what makes her so interesting from the design and historical perspectives.  

This little gal is the wheel-deal indeed. She's an early standing and unjointed 17 cm Steiff Pomeranian on wheels. Her legs, face, and ears are made from felt and her body and tail are made from lovely long mohair. Both started out more white but have mellowed to a vanilla color over time. Pom's adorable face is detailed with prominent seams, early black shoebutton eyes, a thin hand embroidered brown nose and mouth, and a touch of tan paint on her nose. Her legs are quite firm and appear to lined in metal rods to support her. These rods end at the tips of her paws in loops. These loops in turn secure her to the axles that connect to her metal wheels. Each wheel measures about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and has four spokes.

In terms of age and marks, this pretty Pom retains her tiny long trailing "F" Steiff button in ear as her ID. She was produced in 17, 22, 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm (measured top of head to toe, sans wheels) from 1902 through 1929 overall. This design appeared exclusively on metal wheels through 1916/17; as such, she was certainly made at the beginning of her manufacturing time frame.   

Pomeranian dogs are a legacy design for Steiff. The company's earliest felt and mohair Poms were manufactured in many configurations, including sitting, jointed, on a pincushion, and on wheels - like the example under discussion today. An interesting, unusual, and rare five ways jointed version was produced with its legs jointed and attached to the back end interior of the body torso - not along the outside of the hip area as typically seen. A great example of Steiff's Pom pincushion is shown here on the left; this item realized $700 in January, 2018 at a Theriaults doll auction. The photo is from Theriaults.

It goes without saying these antique Poms are charming - and charmed! Every turn of last century Pom that left the Steiff factory in Germany was decorated with a red cord with two pom-poms or tassels. This gave the dogs an undeniably “regal” appearance. The breed does have some connections to German royalty, which may explain why Steiff decorated them like “little kings.” Steiff's earliest Poms also have enormous appeal to vintage doll collectors, who love to pose them alongside antique dolls from the same era.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early Pomeranian dogs has unleashed your desire to add one to your collection someday!

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

On A Roll With These Steiff Hightlights From The Upcoming James D. Julia Auction Event!

The temperature is dropping - but the fall auction season is really starting to heat up!  And that means many opportunities to add a new - or a few - new vintage Steiff treasures to your collection!  

To kick off the sales calendar, Steiffgal is very excited to announce that the next James D. Julia, Inc. toy auction features several collections of simply marvelous button-in-ear rarities and collectibles. These include groupings of exciting Steiff treasures, single items that will take your breath away, and also a bunch of very early "button-in-ear" pull toys. These items are all currently being photographed and cataloged for this event, which will occur in Fairfield, Maine on November 7th, 2014. The online catalog should be available in a few weeks. But with Steiffgal on your side, there's no need to wait for a special preview! Here is a sneak peek at a few exceptional items from a fine collection from New Hampshire that will be featured at this can't miss sale!

Size defies when it comes to this amazing duo of teeny-tiny felt farm animals on wheels! And Steiffgal really did do a happy dance when she first learned of these petite treats! Here we have the smallest sized donkey and horse ever produced by Steiff; both are made as pull toys on wheels. Oh baby - each is only 8 cm tall!! The donkey is c. 1917, standing, unjointed, and made from grey felt. He has a tiny grey felt tail and traces of his grey mohair mane. His face is detailed with black button eyes and felt ears. He rides upon a metal carriage mounted on four natural colored wooden eccentric wheels. He retains the blue leather belt that was part of his saddle cloth detailing, and his tiny Steiff button as his ID. This tiny donkey was manufactured in this size only from 1917-1933.

Donkey's neighhh-bor, the horse is also c. 1917, standing, and unjointed. He is made from rust brown felt. He has a black woolen tail and traces of his black mohair mane. His face is detailed with black button eyes and felt ears. He rides upon a metal carriage mounted on four natural colored wooden eccentric wheels. He retains his blue felt saddle cloth and brown belt. His IDs have been lost to time. This handful-sized horse was manufactured in this size only from 1917-1927. 

The next featured Steiff pull toy in this auction is truly the wheel-deal as well. This blue-ribbon buddy is a charming example of the earliest model German Shepherd dog produced by Steiff. And it is doubly interesting to note that according to the Steiff Sortiment reference book, this pattern was first produced on wheels and then without... it is usually the other way around. Although many collectors assume that Steiff has called their wonderful and popular German Shepherds "Arco" since their introduction, the breed did not actually  official receive its official "Arco" moniker until 1937.

So here are the Shepherd's doggy-details. He is standing, unjointed, and made from brown and tan mohair. His appealing and realistic face is detailed with a prominent brown muzzle, a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and black and brown glass pupil eyes. He has a curvy tail and black embroidered claws. He rides upon four regular green wooden wheels. He retains his original leather collar, but his IDs have been lost to time. This model, an absolute favorite with vintage Steiff collectors worldwide, was manufactured in 28, 35, 43, and 50 cm from 1923-1928 and due to his limited production and time frame, rarely comes up for sale on the secondary market.

Today's final Julia's auction highlight, a very vintage Steiff zebra on wheels - may just have you seeing stripes. That's just what happened to Steiffgal when she first laid eyes on this jungle gem! These striped sweethearts have been gracing the Steiff catalog since 1899, and collectors have been "lining up" since then to add these beautiful beasts to their hugs.

Here are zebra's facts, in black and white. Here we have an utterly fantastic and seldom seen early woolen plush zebra on wheels. He is standing, unjointed, and made from textured grey material that has been lovingly and painstakingly hand painted with black stripes. He has a grey and black yarn mane and a black mohair tipped tail. His charming and distinctly old fashioned looking face is detailed with black button eyes. He rides upon four early metal wheels. He retains his Steiff button as his ID. This absolute rarity was manufactured in 28, 35, 43, 50, and 60 cm from 1910-1919 and is seldom, if ever, seen up for public auction.  

Steiffgal hopes this preview of some of the wheeled wonders to be sold at James D. Julia's November 2014 toy auction is worthy of a round of applause! The full catalog is now online and can be accessed by clicking here.


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