This Cool Cat Novelty Is Really Hot Stuff!

Brrr... the temperature has shifted from 80 degrees to 40 degrees overnight so it’s definitely time to share something Steiff-y to warm the heart and soul! Check out this amazing cat doll that does double duty... making her totally hot stuff indeed. Have you ever seen this hybrid treasure before?

This Steiff functional novelty is called "Cook Cat Coffee Cozy." She is 43 cm tall and is arm and head jointed. Her body and arms are made from red felt to resemble a shirt, her skirt is made from green felt, and her head and hands are made from white mohair. She wears her original white cotton apron. She come to life with pert triangular felt ears, early style green and black slit pupil glass eyes, and a hand embroidered pink nose and mouth. Her hollow body is lined in double thick felt to keep a pot of coffee, tea, or cocoa warm. She was made in this size only from 1906-1910.

Cook Cat Coffee Cozy was also produced with a bear's head or a rabbit's head. These heads were identical to the current rabbit and bear designs of the early 20th century. These cousins also measured 43 cm tall. The bear appeared in the line from 1906-1908 and the rabbit appeared in the line from 1906-1909. Like the cat version, these featured a mohair head and hands and were dressed in a red felt shirt, a green felt skirt, and a white apron. This happy group is a good example of Steiff's long tradition of "form and variation" - modifying a popular design slightly to produce a number of "new" products for their catalogs. You can see a picture of the "Cook Rabbit Coffee Cosy" here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book.

Cook Cat Coffee Cozy - and her bear and rabbit friends - are based on Steiff's earliest character coffee warmer which debuted in 1904. This was a cozy in the form of Mama Katzenjammer from the popular comic strip the Katzenjammer Kids. She was called "Cook Coffee Cozy." Cook Coffee Cozy also wore a red and green felt dress and white apron, but had a felt head and fingered hands that resembled her character. Cook Coffee Cozy was made in four sizes ranging from 43-100 cm from 1904 through 1943 overall. Her longevity in the line indicates how popular she was over nearly four decades. You can see a picture of the "Cook Coffee Cosy" here on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment book. 

This fantastic feline fits right into Steiff's early 20th century product development timeline and history. The Giengen company is well known for producing functional novelties for home, school, and work use in addition to the company's plush animal, doll, and bear production. This tradition goes back to the late 1800s, when Margarete Steiff produced and marketed a series of oversized, embroidered felt "pockets" designed as newspaper holders, bed wall bags, duster holder bags, and brush holders, among others. Other early and mostly prewar novelties include egg cosies, pen wipes, and pincushions. These rarities are treasured among collectors today.

Steiffgal hopes you found this discussion on Cook Cat Coffee Cozy the pause that refreshes.

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This Fully Jointed Steiff Rabbit Is One Cheerful Earful!

"Will you be my honey bunny?" Well, when it comes to Steiff's rabbits, it's hard to decline that request! Check out this delightful and very vintage Steiff bunny that just recently hopped into Steiffgal's hug this summer. It's all but certain you won't be able to resist this cheerful-earful either!

This beautiful bunny is Steiff's early Hollaenderhase or Dutch Rabbit. She is 26 cm, begging and made of white mohair (that has mellowed to a nice vanilla color over time.) Her face is detailed with striking pink and red glass pupil eyes and a simple tan hand embroidered nose and mouth. She has early and "chunky" proportions, including very large thighs and long and narrow padless feet. The remarkable, yet really subtle thing about this rabbit is that she is seven, yes seven, ways jointed! In addition to her head and limb jointing, each of her ears is uniquely jointed and can be moved around in a full circle! This fantastic and really novel pattern was produced in white, white and brown, and white and black in 22, 28, and 35 cm from 1907 through 1916.  Here she is modeling for you on the left; she wears a denim dress that is not original to her but made by Steiff, and a 1920's-era English children's handkerchief bandanna that is not original to her.  
  

Steiffgal "adopted" this happy hopper on a trip to the UK from a new friend who runs a great vintage doll and bear stall in a well known London antique mall. It truly was love at first sight, and the rabbit - since named Sarah - accompanied Steiffgal on her trans-London adventures. Sarah loved the ice cream and soda fountain parlor at Fortnum and Mason, and like her friend mini-Molly, even enjoyed a "Strawberries and cream" iced tea drink at the Mad Hatter's Tea at the Sanderson Hotel!  But, UNLIKE the other White Rabbit usually associated with Alice in Wonderland, Sarah was exactly on time for this fun gathering of friends.
 

This rabbit appeared in Steiffgal's life at a most coincidental and auspicious time. Steiffgal has been working on an interesting project to tell the story of FAO Schwarz and the family's role in bringing Christmas and play to America at the turn of last century. Part of this research involves reviewing old family photos and documents. Once photo, from about 1914, shows two of the Schwarz children at home, playing with some toys including a doll, squirrel, and a pair of rabbits. Upon closer review of the photo, it appears that the rabbits are indeed two of Steiff's fully jointed Dutch rabbits - one being all white (like Sarah) and the other perhaps brown and white. You can see this remarkable photo here on the left. Steiffgal and a friend recently presented some of their findings about FAO Schwarz at the 2015 United Federation of Doll Clubs annual event in Kansas City.  And guess who made a guest appearance at this seminar?  Sarah the bunny of course!  She stole the show as a "real life" example of a vintage Steiff treasure with historical ties to this remarkable family.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Sarah, the fully jointed Holland rabbit, has been a double-dutch treat for you.  

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