Kicking Of 2021 With A Huge Steiff Smile!

It's the best of all worlds when it comes to Steiff's prewar animal dolls! And their appeal seems to transcend borders and continents. Check out this note from a friend in the UK who asks about Steiffgal's beloved "Bub" animal doll. It should be no surprise for you to learn that Bub has a passport of his own, given he is Steiffgal's favorite travel buddy! Marcus shares:

"I keep watching your videos and love your travel companion Bub. Especially his background, why he is constructed the way he is and the scarcity of material at the time. I was trying to find a bear like him and it was harder than I thought. I found one finally on eBay. Do you think his Lederhosen and green linen shirt are original? They seem to be as they fit beautifully. Also the linen shirt appears to be the same type of weave as his body. It is also hard to find literature. Do you know of any literature which deals with this particular design of the head jointed animal dolls in substitute material? Thank you in advance for any help or insight you can provide.

Cheers, Marcus"

It's a clothes call when it comes to this great bear. Yes, indeed this is one of Steiff's irresistible prewar animal dolls. Not a lot is published about them and most information needs to be distilled from catalog listings and through historical context and interpretation. This cute cub has the head of the beloved Steiff Teddy Baby design and the body of a simple doll. He is head jointed, has dangling arms, and a solidly stuffed torso and legs. His head, hands, and the tops of his flat feet are made from what looks like light blonde woolen or mohair plush; it is hard to exactly tell from the photos. His body and limbs are made from a flesh colored fabric. His face is detailed with brown and black glass pupil eyes, a brown hand embroidered nose, and a smiling, tan felt lined mouth. You can see his long trailing "f" Steiff button in ear and traces of his red ear tag in the photo here on the left. He wears a green linen shirt and brown felt shorts. These articles are well fitting and appropriate for him but were "mommy made" and not manufactured by Steiff. You can tell because: 1. the shirt color is far too vibrant and without wear and should have faded in proportion to the aging on the bear, and 2. the shorts - they are cute - but not of Steiff clothing quality.

This Teddy Baby doll was one of several different animal dolls produced in the 1930s and 1940s. Other popular models included a number of rabbits, a cat, a pug (picture here on the left, photo from Steiffgal's collection), an elephant, a Scotty, and a German Shepherd. Regardless of size or date of manufacture, each of these pre-war treasures produced from 1931 onward was branded as Steiff with an ear button and ear tag. However, unlike most other Steiff products of the 1930’s and 1940’s, these dolls did not leave the factory in Germany with chest tags. The IDs on Marcus' bear suggest that he was made in the early to mid-1930s at the latest.

These sweet animal dolls were all dressed for success. Their clothes were removable, charming, lovingly stitched, and produced from the finest cottons, calicos, felt, and other materials. They were dressed as boys or girls, or in in occupationally or nationally inspired clothing. Numerous outfit variations were available for some of the more popular models. For example, Steiff’s Puppkatz or cat doll, which was introduced in 1931, was available in up to 11 different outfits over time. These included pajamas, dresses, swimsuits, playsuits, and traditional German attire including dirndls and trousers. Here on the left, you can see a c. 1938 catalog page showing Marcus' Teddy Baby bear featured at the top of the image; his nine original outfits at the time are noted next to his image. You can click on the image to make it larger. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's delightful Teddy Baby doll bears has been a two for one experience for you. 

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

It's The Best Of All Worlds With This Vintage Steiff Bear Doll

Who deserves a standing ovation? Why, this precious Steiff Puppbaer or Doll bear, of course! Steiffgal admits to having a huge plush crush on this bitty boy, a recent addition to her Teddy hug. Not only is he totally adorable, he also has a bit of a mystery to him. But more on that later. Let's first take a look and see what makes him so interesting from the design and historical perspectives.

This Teddy Baby doll is truly the best of all worlds. He has the head of the beloved Steiff Teddy baby design, the body of a doll, and a charming, well fitting outfit made from period fabrics. He stands about 22 cm tall, is head jointed, and has dangling arms. His head, hands, and the tops of his flat feet are made from light yellow woolen plush. His body and limbs are made from a flesh colored fabric with a somewhat velvety finish. His face is detailed with brown and black glass pupil eyes, a brown hand embroidered nose, and a smiling, tan felt lined mouth. He wears green trousers and a red and white calico shirt - which are original to him - and a tiny old fashioned brass basketball charm around his neck, which is not. Overall, this model was made in 14, 22, and 28 cm from 1931 through 1943.

It is interesting to note that over his production period, Steiff's Teddy Baby doll was dressed in about 11 various outfits.  This particular example is in outfit #8, which is documented simply as, "green trousers, red blouse." Outfit #8 was manufactured from 1935 through 1942.

Although Steiff produced dressed animals, especially monkeys, bears, and rabbits, since the turn of last century, it was not until the late 1920's that the company produced a true animal doll such as the Teddy Baby under discussion here. In 1929, Steiff introduced a Pupp-Bully, Charly, and Treff. All were 28 cm and only remained in the line through 1930. Between 1931 and 1932, Steiff debuted a number of animal dolls, including a cat (pictured here on the left), duck, pug dog, and a boy and girl rabbit couple. And like the Teddy Baby doll, all were made in 14, 22, and 28 cm and appeared in a number of different outfits over time. In the mid to late 1930’s, Steiff would go on to produced a delightful series of additional pupp-animals including an elephant doll, Waldi the Dachshund as a hunter, Scotty the Terrier as a Scotsman, and Arco the German Shepherd as a farmer. However, due to supply restrictions and geopolitical realities, production on all of these doll models ceased by 1943. 

Once the factory reopened for toy production at the end of WWII, Steiff briefly resumed their manufacturing of their “pupp-animals.” In 1949, a pair of fully dressed, 25 cm wool-plush Teddy Baby dolls appeared in the line; these were quickly followed with the introduction of a pair of 25 cm blond and brown mohair dressed Teddy Baby dolls in the early and mid 1950’s. Steiff continued the production of their pre-war pair of boy-girl rabbit dolls but renamed the set Hansili in 1954. They also extended this doll animal line to include two additional models of rabbit pairs, a Dachshund doll boy and girl set (pictured here on the left), and a fox doll boy and girl set. Overall, all of these sets were discontinued by the early 1960s, probably due to their highly detailed, labor-intensive and costly production requirements.
 

Ok, so perhaps you are wondering by now what is so mysterious about this little Teddy Baby doll. When Steiffgal was doing a close inspection on him, she noticed something entirely unexpected. He has a US Zone tag sewn into his leg seam. But that would suggest a production date in the c. 1947 to 1953 time frame. So what's going on here? Only Teddy knows for sure, but here are a two scenarios:

1. It is entirely possible that he was produced in the late 1930's or early 1940's, put in storage during the war, pulled out after the war, labeled, and sold in the late 1940's to early 1950's.
    
2. It is also entirely possible that he was indeed made as part of the early post war production. As noted above, the literature documents that Steiff did produce a 25 cm wool plush Teddy Baby doll from 1949 through 1950. Perhaps Steiff also made a few of them in 22 cm at the time as well.

Either way, given the US Zone tag, Steiffgal is all but certain he did not leave Giengen until at least 1947, and that his "birthdate" is somewhere in the 1935 to 1950 time frame. Unfortunately, Ted's primary IDs have been lost to time. However, given his documentation and look and feel, Steiffgal suspects that originally he had either a short trailing F button, a blank button, or a raised script button.
 
Steiffgal hopes that this discussion on this precious Steiff Teddy Baby Doll has been as enjoyable as child's play for you!

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

Color Your World With This Most Unusual Steiff Painter Dog Doll

It's time to get creative with this most unusual and early Steiff rarity!  Steiffgal recently learned of this amazing dog doll through a fellow Steiff collector in Switzerland.  Although Steiffgal had seen a photo of him in the Steiff Sortiment book, that could not prepare her for the excitement of knowing a friend had one in the flesh, or in this case, in the fur!  Let's take a look at this wonderful item and see what makes him so interesting from the design and historical perspectives.

It goes without saying that this Steiff treasure is pretty as a picture.  Here we have Steiff's Kleksel The Painter Dog doll.  He is 30 cm tall, head jointed, and standing on flat feet.  His head, feet, and hands are made from mohair, while his solidly stuffed body is made from fabric.  His arms are not jointed but hang softly at his sides. He does not have a tail.  He is artistically attired in a cream colored, collared shirt; an orange felt jacket; green and tan plaid pants; a little leather belt; and a red bow tie.  He originally came with a slouchy hat, but this has been lost to time.  Kleksel was made in this size in two years only, 1939 through 1940.

This charming Kleksel is one of a group of Steiff Pupp-dogs (doll dogs) made by Steiff in the very late 1930's.  These animal dolls were dressed in national clothing or in clothing associated with specific occupations.   The others included a Scotty as a Scotsman with a kilt in 22 and 28 cm; an Arco German Shepherd as a farmer in 22 and 28 cm; Paddy the terrier as a sailor in 30 cm; Waldi as a hunter in 22 and 28 cm; and a Chow as an explorer in 30 cm.  Unlike these "working" Steiff pupp-dolls, earlier versions from the late 1920's through mid-1930's were more playfully or youthfully dressed and were not associated with adult professions.  

And what about his funny Steiff name, "Kleksel?"  This word roughly translates from German to English as "a blob."  In this case, a blob could be referring to a number things:

• A "blob" of paint, which would be perfectly appropriate for an artist doll; 
• The "blobs" of color on his ears and face, which are indeed multi-hued;
• The fact that the dog may be lazy and lies around all day resting as a "blob";
• Or something totally different... only Kleksel knows for sure!

It is interesting to note that unlike most of Steiff's animal dolls, Kleksel-like dogs did not appear in the standard Steiff line.  In the vast majority of cases, these animal dolls were designed with the heads of the most popular animals of the era, like Bully the bulldog, Charly the King Charles Spaniel, Arco the German Shepherd, etc.  It is not clear exactly what dog breed Kleksel represents, with his black and brown ears, prominent white muzzle, and relatively small open felt lined mouth.  He really does not look very much like any other standard Steiff dog in the line at the time of his manufacture.  It is Steiffgal's best guess that he somewhat resembles a Saint Bernhard or perhaps even a Spaniel.   What do you think? 

Steiffgal hopes this introduction to Steiff's Kleksel the Painter Dog has been a colorful experience for you!

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