Swept Away Over This Latest Midcentury Steiff Discovery!

Isn’t this guy simply "one-derful?" Look who just joined Steiffgal's hug. She had been looking for a fine example for decades, and apparently good things come to those who wait. Make it your lucky day and say hello to this super Steiff Sweep!

This adorable chimney sweep puppet named Blacky is 17 cm tall. His head is made from a soft rubbery material. He has a plastic finger tube inside his head. His hair is once copper colored mohair, and his body is jet back mohair. His oversized hands are made from felt and are lightly stuffed with excelsior. He wears a traditional black felt top hat and carries a black plastic ladder. His face comes to life with black and white painted eyes and some not-so-random coal smudges. His "outfit" is accessorized with a partial black leather belt and a neck tie. This puppet rarity was made in this size only in 1964.

The chimney sweep profession goes back as far as the 16th century in Europe. According to legend, chimney sweeps have been associated with ushering in health and happiness. As such, many brides in the past would have their chimney swept on their wedding day. Steiff probably added a chimney sweep to its line because of his centuries-long reputation as a good luck charm. 

Blacky debuted in the company's "New Models 1964" catalog. This four page, full color brochure featured a number of now rare Steiff novelties, including a few that also were made for one year only. Steiffgal refers to these sorts of treasures as Steiff's "One-derfuls." Blacky is pictured on the back page of the catalog, and you can see that part of that page here above. You can also click on the image to make it bigger. 

His neighbor in this catalog is none other than Steiff's equally as rare and interesting Sneba snowman puppet. Sneba is 17 cm, unjointed, and made from white dralon. His face comes to life with button black eyes, an orange felt carrot nose, a red stitched mouth, and a touch of pink blush on his cheeks. He has two black "coal" woolen pompoms on his chest. Like his buddy Blacky, he wears a black felt hat and was made in one size only in 1964. 

You might just recognize Blacky's mug - as the same mold was used for a number of other rubber headed puppets in the 1960s through 1980s. These include Happy the clown, Hansel and Gretel puppets, a princess, a modernized Shockheaded Peter, and even a grandmother, among others. It is interesting to see how this mold was used to represent male and female characters of all ages. And there is precedence for "recycling" facial molds on Steiff's dolls and puppets. If you look carefully, Steiff's beloved and legacy Dwarfs Lucki, Pucki, and Gucki all have the same face.... and share those good looks with the company's rubber faced Santa Claus dolls of the same era.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Blacky the Sweep has been a happy windfall for you.

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

The Boys Are Back In Town!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least around these parts. Lights are going up, store windows tempt with seasonal displays and goodies, and traditional treats like candy canes, gingerbread men, and fruitcake line the shelves of most grocery stores. The only thing missing, so far, is a little snow to make the experience complete. But that can be remedied right here! To help nature along, here's a quick look at Steiff's history of snowman production.

Despite producing many snow-related dolls, animals, and accessories in the prewar period, it was not until 1955 that Steiff produced its first actual snowman. This fellow was 25 cm, very plump, and made from white wool plush. His flat feet, designed for standing, had felt pads. He wore a red felt hat and an orange felt scarf, had white woolie buttons down his front, and carried a tiny Christmas tree in his hands. His face came to life with black glass eyes and a dimensional nose and mouth. His article number 7525, corresponded to 7 = in caricature, 5 = wool plush, and 25 = 25 cm tall. He was made as an exclusive for the US market, is insanely rare, and tops the wish lists of many collectors today. The most recent publicly documented sale Steiffgal could find was in January, 2020 when a nice example sold for $1,143 on eBay. The picture on the left is from Worthpoint.

Steiff's next snowman was also a hands down rarity. In 1964, Steiff introduced its Sneba Snowman puppet. He was 17 cm, unjointed, and made from white dralon. His fingertips and head were stuffed with excelsior. His face was detailed with black eyes, an orange felt nose, a red stitched mouth, and a touch of pink blush on his cheeks. He had two black "coal" woolen pompoms on his chest, and his proper topper was a black felt hat. Sneba was made for only one year and is one of the most sought after postwar puppets as well as items. Like his wool plush cousin from the 1950s, he is as rare as hen's teeth. The picture on the left is from Steiffgal's collection.  

It would not be until the 1990s that snowmen would appear again in the Steiff line, but this time with more regularity. The largest standard line one to date was the company's 32 cm Teddy Bear Snowman from 1996. He was made from white mohair, head and arm jointed, and wore a black felt top hat. His face was detailed with an orange mohair nose and black button eyes. His accessories included matching black buttons down the front of his body and a broom made from wood and mohair. A few years later, In 2001, the company produced a series of 21 cm snowmen, including one wearing a blue and white cap and scarf for the German market, and one wearing a green and red cap and scarf for the American market. And perhaps the most appealing example from that era was the company's 18 cm Snowman and Raven duo, which was produced in an edition size of 3,000 pieces in 2002-2003. These happy friends from Steiffgal's collection are pictured here on the left. 

Given their universal charm, it was no surprise that Steiff produced smaller scaled mohair snowmen as holiday ornaments. An early, if not the earliest one, was a 12 cm, arm and head jointed version wearing a red top hat and carrying a straw and wooden broom made as an exclusive for Disney in 1998. A somewhat similarly designed version in 13 cm but wearing a black top hat was made as a limited edition for the USA in 5,000 pieces that same year. In 1999, a 12 cm version wearing a blue enameled hat and carrying a tiny Christmas tree topped many Steiff collector's holiday wish lists. And more recently, the company's "Mr. Winter" white mohair snowman ornament from 2016 held two ski poles; this frosty friend on the go is pictured here on the left. The image is from Amazon.com.

Snowmen were also produced by Steiff as novelties and licensed articles, including Olaf from Disney's Frozen. It's kind of interesting to note that Steiff never made a woolen miniature snowman, even though the pom-pom format would have worked well with their traditionally ball-like forms. A fun novelty example - based on a legacy toy pattern from the turn of last century - was the company's limited edition Roly Poly snowman from 2005. He was 18 cm tall, made from white mohair, and was head and arm jointed. He wore a black felt hat and carried a broom. His face came to life with black button eyes, a red button nose, a red embroidered mouth, and a pipe. Within the last few years, Steiff created a series of mohair and plush snowmen based on the Snowman made famous by English illustrator and author Raymond Briggs. A particularly charming one from this collection was a 13 cm tall, white mohair ornament. Like his namesake, he wore a matching woolen scarf and hat. He was detailed with black button eyes, an orange embroidered mouth, and a black embroidered mouth. He had three black embroidered buttons on his chest, and a white ribbon sewn into his back for hanging. This ornament was made in an edition size of in 2015 as a special for the UK and Ireland. The picture on the left is from Steiffgal's collection.  

Steiffgal hopes this snowman seminar has melted your heart, just a bit, in the most delightful way possible. 

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

Taking The Chill Out Of Your Day With This Darling Steiff Snowman Puppet

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas... at least around these parts! This morning, Steiffgal had the unexpected pleasure (or pain, depending on your perspective) of waking up to snow showers in her town! And the white stuff got her thinking about one of her favorite little Steiff oddities that is coming more and more seasonally appropriate each day! Check out this happy handful to see why he's worthy of a round of applause!
 

Let's set the stage and introduce this great Steiff hand puppet. Here we have the company's Hand Sneba. The German word for snow is Schnee, so his name makes perfect sense. Sneba is 17 cm tall and made from a white synthetic fabric called dralon. He is detailed with black pom-pom style buttons up his front, an orange felt nose to resemble a carrot, a red hand embroidered mouth, shiny black eyes, and a black felt hat. When he was new, he had just a touch of pink on his cheeks and you can just barely make that out now on this example. Sneba's head and the tips of his hands are stuffed with excelsior. His button and yellow tag are located on the edge of the front of his body.  Like most snowmen, this one only lasted a very short period! He appeared in the Steiff catalog for one year only - 1964 - making him one of the rarer post war puppets created by Steiff.
 
Like many things we all know and love, Sneba has cold hands but a warm heart! And despite his unassuming looks and personality, he has three very interesting features from the collector's perspective. 

First is his design. Unlike the vast majority of Steiff puppets produced by the company before the early 1980's, Sneba appears to be a totally original design and not based on a popular standard line character. The only other somewhat period snowman designed item Steiffgal can think of is the 25 cm white wool plush snowman that the company designed as a US exclusive in 1955, who is pictured here on the left. However, as you can tell, there really isn't any design overlap between him and Sneba.  This photo is from Gunther Pfeiffer's 1947-2003 Steiff Sortiment book.

Second is his material. During Sneba's period of production, Steiff made most animal puppets out of mohair, and character puppets with molded heads and felt and/or fabric bodies - not dralon. Sneba is in good - but extremely rare - company with Hand Gora, Steiff's dralon gorilla puppet from 1961 through 1964. Gora is pictured here on the left for your review. She is 17 cm; her body and head are made from long and short grey dralon and her hands are made from short tan dralon.  Her face comes to life with peach colored tan felt ears, black and white google style eyes, and extensive airbrushed features.  

And topping up reason number three is his accessory. Sneba wears a handsome black felt chapeau. Like many of Steiff's legacy dolls, Steiff's earlier "people" puppets generally wore head wear to complement their well designed outfits. Except for Steiff's Hand Bear Sailor puppet from 1972 through 1975, Steiffgal cannot think of another Steiff non-human puppet donning a hat. Hand Bear Sailor is pictured her on the left for your review. He is made from a very golden yellow colored mohair. His head is hard stuffed with excelsior, while the rest of his body is floppy. His paws are made of tan velvet material. His face is detailed with large black and white google eyes and a black plastic nose. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of Steiff's interesting Sneba snowman puppet has taken a bit of the winter chill out of your day!

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