These Silly Steiff Crabs Are Certain To Put You In A Good Mood!

Looking for a little something to pinch your interest? Then check out these wacky, and wonderfully silly sea creatures. Steiff has made just about every land and water animal you can think of. Some are incredibly realistic, while others - like these - look like they are straight from the imagination of a toddler with a big box of Crayola crayons. 

It's hard to be in a bad mood when it comes to this cute collection of Steiff's Cosy Clippy crabs. These beach buddies are each 10 cm and unjointed. They are made of woven fur, with the tops being one color and the bottoms being another complementary hue. Their front arms are made from tan felt, are dimensional, and have a little "pincher" on the tips. The rear legs are made from matching tan single thick felt, are flat, and are detailed with a spot of brown airbrushing on each "claw."  The faces on these crabs come to life with tiny black button eyes and a very simple black "v" shaped painted mouth.

Clippy was produced from 1995 through 1996 in six - yes six - colors: violet, yellow, red, olive green, eggplant, and raspberry. Steiffgal has four of the six, with the remaining two topping her bucket list. In hand, she has the violet and tan version, the olive green and light green version, the aubergine and light purple version, and the raspberry and pink version. For some reason, these are extremely rare on the secondary market, and very hard to find. This design is a good example of an item being "relatively" new, still yet quite desirable and collectible from the enthusiast's prospective.

As far as Steiffgal can tell, this is the only crab that Steiff has designed or produced. Given their size and structure, these cranky cuties would have made great woolen miniatures! However, Steiff did make a number of smaller, happily hued animals - mostly as playthings for children - in the 1990s. This series of crabs seems to fit into this product development initiative, given their size and materials. These other species included a series of 16 cm cozy snails in colors like purple, pink, and blue from 1994-1996, a series of 20 cm cozy caterpillars in colors like red, blue, and purple from 1995-1997, a series of 18 cm cozy mice in colors like raspberry, violet and blue from 1995-1997, and a series of 20 cozy crabby beetles in colors like red, purple, rose, and blue from 1992-1994, among others.

Steiffgal hopes today's blog on these funny little ocean creatures has added a spot of unexpected color to your day.

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

Size Defies When It Comes To Steiff's Adorable Woolen Miniature Mice!

With  just a handful of summer left, Steiffgal thought it might be fun to take little look at one of Steiff's legacy products that truly would fit in the palm of your hand!  It seems that everyone just loves Steiff's woolen miniatures, and for good reason!  They are completely adorable, gorgeously designed, and of course, don't take up too much room (which tends to be an issue the larger one's collection becomes!)  Perhaps the cutest - in Steiffgal's humble opinion - woolies are Steiff's tiny mice.  Check out this tiny two-some and perhaps you'll agree as well!

Size defies when it comes to these lifelike, miniature master pieces!  Here we have an albino white mouse and a grey mouse.  Both are cataloged as 4 cm, made from wool yarn, are standing on all fours, have long tails, and are head jointed.  Their petite feet, which each have four toes, are made of peach colored felt.  Their tiny faces come to life with airbrushed-highlighted felt ears, playful whiskers, bead eyes, and pink painted noses and mouths.  The grey mouse on the left was produced from 1931 through 1943 overall; he also came in white and brown.  The white mouse on the right was made from 1949 though 1984 overall and also came in grey.

Both mice sport IDs which are appropriate for their era of production.  The white mouse has a tiny raised script button and article number 7354/04 (suggesting a specific 1968 through 1984 manufacture date) while the grey mouse has a tiny trailing F button and article number 2504,1 (suggesting a specific 1937 through 1943 manufacturing date.)  These items never had chest tags, and as far as Steiffgal can see, no woolen miniatures ever did.  However, a handful of woolen miniatures are perhaps the only items in the entire Steiff history of production that did not leave the factory with a “button in ear.” Even birds, which clearly lack ears, had a button securing their label around their leg. Woolie ladybugs and hedgehogs do not, and never had, Steiff buttons. There was simply no place to attach them. But their look, feel, and manufacturing make them undoubtedly Steiff.

It is always fun with Steiff to track how designs change - or don't - over time.  This is especially true with beloved and popular items that are produced over a long period, even decades... as is in the case of these mice!  In general, with these two babies, it is clear that their core, basic pattern did not change over time.  And, given that both mice weigh 5 g, that the critical mass of the pattern remained constant over time.  However, there are a few very subtle differences between them.  These include:

• Their length from nose to fanny.  The white mouse measures 5 cm while the grey mouse measures 4 cm. 

• Their tails.  The white mouse has an 8 cm tail made from solid peach colored rubber.  The grey mouse has an 8.5 cm tail made from grayish-black stretchy elastic, like an elastic band.  You can see a close up of their tails in the photo above on the left.

•  Their whiskers.  The white mouse has numerous long, flexible, clear whiskers, while the grey mouse has just a handful of very short, stiff, brownish whiskers.

Let's talk about the size difference first.  Because each Steiff item is made by hand, it is entirely possible that size differences are a result of the touch of individual craftspeople.  It is also conceivable - because each mouse weighs the same (and clearly their bodies make up most of their mass) - that the composition of the woolen fibers used on these items changed over time, and/or aged differently.  

Now their tails and whiskers.  These differences are most likely attributable to materials available on hand at the time of their production, as well as manufacturing improvements to those materials over the decades. It is most interesting that the older grey mouse's tail, which is made from a stretchy material, has not dried out, cracked, or fallen off - which happens alot with older rubber items.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's tiny woolen mice has made a huge and happy difference in your day!

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

Every House Needs A Steiff Mouse!

There's no mousing around when it comes to solving Steiff mysteries!  And here is an interesting one that appears to come from the United Kingdom.  Take a look at this inquiry from Sarah, who wants to know more about her larger-than-life Steiff mouse.  She writes in part....

"Hi! 

I really enjoyed reading your web page... and I thought that maybe I'd finally found someone who could answer my question.

I have a large (30 cm) Cosy Fiep Mouse. He's bright yellow and was probably purchased from Harrod's sometime in the late 1980's or early 1990's.  His ear tag number is 5388/30.

Here's my confusion. When I look him up on any reference site his tag says he's meant to be green. I've tried time and time again to find any reference to a yellow mouse but I've failed.  And, the more I look into my mouse, the more it appears he wasn't meant to be this colour. I'm wondering if it was a factory error... or a sample... or... I don't know!

Best regards,
Sarah"

Steiff's Fiep mouse in grey

Mice can be nice, and this is big buddy is certainly proof of that.  What we have here is Steiff's Cosy Fiep Maus or Mouse.  A grey version of Fiep is pictured here on the left. Steiff uses the word "cosy" to describe a product that is soft, well constructed, and in general made as a child's plaything.  Fiep is simply constructed from plush; he has an oversized body and a long tail.  His face is detailed with a large black plush nose and black button eyes.  His ears are lined in contrasting colored soft fur.  This particular design was in the line overall from 1980 through 2003.  He was produced in 15, 30, 45, and 80 cm and appeared in white, grey, blue, violet, olive green, golden yellow, aubergine (which is like eggplant), and yellowish olive green over time.  This general design was also produced as a 15 cm musical mouse in red or white from 1985 through 1996.

Let's clear up any big confusion on this little guy.  Steiff has made thousands and thousands of items since the company's founding in the late 1800's.  And it is impossible for any website or reference book, or even official records to capture every single item in every single color and size.  And that probably is the reason for Sarah's confusion over the color and tag number of her mouse.  However, this item, with tag number 5388/30, IS noted (but not pictured) in the 1947-2003 Steiff Sortiment book, and is briefly described as "a 30 cm golden yellow Fiep mouse, produced from 1986 through 1988." If he were olive green, his tag number would be 5392/30.  

Although most collectors don't want REAL mice in their homes, few can resist including a few mice in their Steiff hugs.  They take up very little space, are adorable, and are great for adding a bit of humor and interest to displays and holiday vignettes.  Mice have been part of the Steiff line since the debut catalog in 1892.  The earliest Steiff mice were 4 cm, on all fours, and made from grey or white felt.  This same design was also produced on a colored felt pad as a pin cushion or an ink pen wiper.  Mice were also produced as 4 cm woolen miniatures in grey, white, and brown from 1931 through 1943; and again in grey and white from 1949 through 1984. The picture to the left shows two examples of Steiff's woolen miniature mice:  the white one is post-war while the grey one is pre-war.   

Perhaps the most beloved and collectible Steiff mouse is Pieps, who appeared in the line from 1958 through 1978.  Pieps is 8 cm, made from mohair, and begging; he came in white and grey.  His petite and precious details include a long felt tail, tiny black or red eyes, prominent whiskers, and a precious, "feed me" look.  During the 1970's, the high end toy store FAO Schwarz would dress up Steiff's Pieps mouse in wonderful and imaginative costumes, including a bride, princess, clown, hula dancer, and Miss America, among many others.  These dressed mice are highly desired amongst collectors.  Today, groups of Pieps are regularly featured in the delightful streetside windows of the fantastic Spielzeug Welten Museum in Basel, Switzerland - where they are dressed to the nines to complement the story theme of the museum's seasonal displays.  The photo on the left shows a detail of the museum's Christmas display (featuring Pieps!) from a few years ago.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff mice has been more than nice!

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