Bibbed Beauties: Steiff's Rare And Wonderful White Zotty Bears

Steiff's White Zotty bear, in the line for only two years, remains a collector's favorite more than six decades post his introduction. Here's a little more about this pattern, within the context of his legacy Zotty bear design. 

“Zotty” is from the German word “zottel,” which means “shaggy," and as such, is the perfect name for this signature Steiff bear. He was designed as a breath of fresh air after the factory reopened for toymaking business post WWII as his elements truly reflected the optimism and aesthetics of the 1950s. He was instantly popular, and many other toy companies introduced copycat Zotty bears as a result of his success. These companies would vary the pattern just enough not to infringe on the Steiff version.

Zotty’s legacy (and perhaps namesake) goes back over a century. In 1914, Steiff debuted their first “Zottlebaer” or “Shaggy Bear. ” He was in the line through 1927 and was known for his shaggy coat, sweet face, and soft texture.

Steiff's debut, midcentury Zotty bear was produced in 9 sizes ranging from 17 - 100 cm from 1951 through 1978. He was fully jointed and made from long shaggy caramel tipped mohair with an orange bib and a shorter mohair muzzle. His paw pads were made from felt. Earlier versions had glass pupil eyes, while later versions had plastic pupil eyes, for safety reason. Depending on size and era, Steiff sometimes backed the eyes in felt. Zotty featured an open, felt lined mouth, an embroidered nose, and distinctly toddler-like proportions. Zotty was created by Steiff designer Mr. Siegfried Zeller (1915-2000) around 1949-1950. His son, Rolland Zeller (1944-2008) also worked for Steiff and designed over 2,000 items over the course of his career there. You can see this great Steiff duo, along with an original caramel Zotty bear, in this photo on the left. 

Given his supersonic rise in popularity, Steiff debuted a white version of Zotty in 1960. He was made in 28 or 35 cm. He had almost identical design details as his caramel tipped cousin, but was made from very shaggy white mohair. In Steiff's 1960 new releases catalog, he is pictured along with a Disney Perri squirrel and a mohair Nagy beaver who were also relatively new products in the line at that time. Both Perri and Nagy which would go on to appear in the catalog for decades. You can see this catalog page here in the photo on the left. 

It is not clear why White Zotty was produced in so few sizes, relative to the standard line Zotty, or why he was discontinued just a year later in 1961. Traditionally, white mohair Steiff bears are quite popular and sell really well. It is possible that he just did not take off with customers, and/or the finances did not make sense. It is also possible that his white mohair was not available, or really expensive, or simply was challenging to work with. Whatever the reason - only he knows for sure!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the history of Steiff's white mohair Zotty bear has been a hair raising experience for you!

Would You Take A Tumble For This Early And Fantastic Feline Steiff Novelty?

This next Steiff inquiry comes in on little cat's feet. A new friend has reached out about a special family heirloom with provenance. Just what is this very early turn of last century treasure? And what makes it so fantastic from the collector's perspectives? Tom shares in part,

"I've attached photos of my Rolly Polly cat. I've had this since I was a child (50+ years ago)... It originally came from a relative who inherited it from their partner who came from a wealthy family from New England."

This guy is simply the cat's meow. But, given his form, he is "technically" a tumbler and not a roly-poly. Steiff's early 20th century roly-polys are all fabric and shaped sort of like an inverted balloon. Most are head and arm jointed, without legs. Examples include mohair cats (made in 16 and 23 cm from 1909 through 1919 overall); mohair Teddy bears (made in 16, 19, 23, and 29 cm from 1909 through 1916 overall); mohair rabbits (made in 23 cm from 1909 through 1918); and a series of mohair and felt dolls from the same basic time frame.

On the other hand, tumblers are full bodied and mounted to a very heavy, weighted wooden half circle base. As such, they wobble about like a weeble but always return to an upright position. Their bases are simply stained and are a natural wood color. Most tumblers measure 12 to 17 cm tall and are standing, sitting, or begging. Steiff did make a few oversized circus bear style tumblers in 35 and 43 cm through 1918 overall.

Tumblers debuted as early as 1894 and appeared in the general line with frequency through the late 19-teens. In the late 1930s, Steiff produced a series of three begging style tumblers on green or red painted wooden bases from 1936 through 1943 overall. Models included a velvet and mohair squirrel, a mohair Waldi Dachshund, and a mohair kitten holding a pom pom ball.

So back to Tom's cat. The photos suggest that he is made entirely from felt. Steiffgal suspects he is the company's Tumbling Cat, which appeared in the line in 17 cm (not including his base) from 1894 through 1919. The cat is solidly stuffed with excelsior and features black shoe button eyes and simple facial embroidery. It is hard to tell if he ever had a button, based on the photo of his face. It is entirely possible that he was manufactured pre-1904. Other early Steiff cat tumblers include a spotted velvet version made in 12 cm from 1904 through 1917 and a velvet striped version made in 17 cm from 1901 through 1919.

What makes this tumbler even more remarkable is its condition. He is made from felt, which tends to get grubby over time and attract insects. He was also designed as a toy, but it is clear he received little hands on play. Also of note is his tail. These are actually super thin, not terribly sturdy, and are attached to the animal's rear with just a few stitches. Often, these go missing or break off given their construction and natural aging. However, in this case, Tom's tumbler appears clean and damage free against all odds! Super score all around!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early tumblers has got you rocking and rolling!

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

This Rare Steiff Cartoon Doll Is No Laughing Matter!

Steiff certainly has international appeal - and so do many of the company's rarer prewar novelties! Check out this note from a lucky collector who hit it really big with a fantastic doll purchase. Stefan shares:

"I hope this email finds you well and you're doing well. Recently I purchased a figure, which I'm 99% sure it's Steiff. It's a comical character, known as Silent Sam in America, but in Europe known as Adamson. I was just wondering, do you know what year it was manufactured? Thank you so much.  Kind regards, Stefan"

This delightful cartoon doll is no laughing matter! Here we have Steiff's Adamson doll. This fine fellow is 29 cm tall, fully jointed, and made from felt. His face comes to life with dramatic seaming, blue and black glass pupil eyes backed in large white felt circles, a dimensional nose, and a bald head highlighted with a few remaining black hairs. He smokes a brown and white cigar, which is integral to his mouth. He wears a red and white shirt with cuffs; a white vest detailed with buttons, a collar, and a blue tie; blue pants, and white shoes. These dolls were made from 1925-1929 in this size only. According to the Cieslik's Button in Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends reference book, 997 examples of this doll were sold. The Ciesliks also note, "In 1925 Steiff adopted Adamson into their program after several trial attempts. For Adamson was not easy to portray; he had a cigar in his mouth which he rarely removed." 

So just who is this cute character? Adamson, also known as Silent Sam, was the star of a cartoon strip drawn by Oscar Jacobsson (Swedish, 1889–1945). It debuted on October 17, 1920 in the Swedish humor publication Söndags-Nisse. What was so interesting - and universal - about Adamson is that he almost never spoke or used words. Instead, he went about his business and communicated with gestures and movements. As such, Jacobsson's character would go on to be appreciated and enjoyed internationally across all of Europe, the USA, and Asian countries including Japan and China. Silent Sam was a big hit in America starting in 1922. Over time, a series of artists brought the strip to life until it was last published in 1964. 

To honor Jacobsson and his contribution to the art of illustration, the Swedish Academy of Comics founded the Adamson Award in 1965. It is given to one Swedish and one international comic creator every year.  You can see a sample of the Adamson cartoon above on the left. 

Adamson dolls are certainly few and far between, and Stefan is super lucky to have one in his collection. As far as Steiffgal can tell, only three examples of Steiff's Adamson dolls have come up for public auction from 2017 onward. All were sold by Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH of Ladenburg, Germany. They ranged in hammer price from 2600 to 4500 euro. The doll pictured here on the left hammered for 4200 euro in 2021; the image is from Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH.

Steiffgal hopes this blog post about this cigar smoking doll has really lit up your day. 

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

A Delightful Steiff Head-Turning Mystery!

Everyone loves a good Steiff mystery. And this one just might color your world, as well as have you nodding your head in agreement. Check out this note from a new friend who lives overseas. She writes in part:

"Hi,

I wonder if you have seen a Steiff like this before.  

He looks to be from around the 1930-40's as his head is quite small and long body unlike the 1950's shape. He is 10 inches high. The front of his body and the inset of his ears are cream mohair and the rest of him is golden. His head is unjointed and he has a canister type thing in his body; you turn his tail and his head goes from side to side. He is not a yes/no as the tail does not move up and down.  

I have not seen one like him before. I would love to hear what you think and also what you think his value is.  Many thanks!"

This Ted is one rare bear indeed! Steiffgal has only seen one or two other examples in many decades of collecting and studying Steiff items. 
 

What we have here is Steiff's "Original Teddy bear with neck mechanism." This little guy with the big clunky name was produced in 1955 only in 18 or 25 cm. He is arm and leg jointed, and his little tail turns his head. This bear pattern is known among other factors for his ears and belly which are a lighter hue than his head, limbs, and body.  He also has a tail, which is an extremely unusual detail feature on Steiff mohair bears from any era. His back side and tail are pictured here on the left.

This bear is neck and neck in rarity with other unusual Steiff items from the early 1950's, including a little known 15 cm clockwork tumbling bear called "Turbo Teddy Somersault Bear" made in 1951 only. One thing that's a bit unusual about today's "head turner" is his production era - the 1950's. After receiving patents for "tail moves head" mechanisms, Steiff introduced a series of these items in the 1930's. For the most part, these were based on the most popular and beloved patterns of the time and included cats, dogs, rabbits, penguins, goats, and lambs, and even Mickey Mouse, among others. These were advertised as, "The ingenious head-movement makes Steiff animals appear alive."  The Bully pictured on the left is one of Steiff's early tail moves head items and appeared in the line in 11, 15, 18, 23, 26, and 31 cm from 1931 through 1935 overall.

Overall, about 25 different tail turns head models were produced through the late 1930's and very early 1940's. Interestingly, there was not a Teddy bear on this pre-war production list. It would be almost two decades later that the Teddy bear with neck mechanism under discussion today would appear in the line - and just for a year at that.  In 1990 and 1991, the company produced the 25 cm version of this bear as a replica in a limited edition size of 4,000 pieces.  This replica tail moves head Steiff bear is pictured here on the left.

 

And now for the question that requires a mohair crystal ball - his value.  As always, something is worth what someone will pay for it.  This item rarely if ever appears on the secondary market and is on the wish lists of many Steiff collectors.  However, there really are no readily available comps to help frame an estimate.  In the broadest sense, Steiffgal guesstimates that he might sell in the $1,500-3,000 range... but only he - and his next future owner - know for sure! 

Steiffgal hopes that this discussion on the company's Teddy bear with neck mechanism has been a dynamic read for you.  

 

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