It's Hip To Be Square With This Steiff Prewar Charly The King Charles Pajama Bag

You snooze, you lose! But everyone who is interested in this next fantastic find is a clear winner. Check out this short inquiry from Steiff superfan Michael, who writes about an unusual novelty. He simply writes...

"Hi, could you give some detail and history on this pajama case, I think?"

It's hip to be square with this marvelous 1930s era Steiff Charly the King Charles pajama bag. The bag itself is 30 x 30 cm, square shaped, and made from long, soft tan mohair. It closes with a metal zipper with a pull ring and is fully lined in textured light green fabric. All of these details appear to be original to the bag. The bag itself is decorated with the head of Steiff's signature Charley the King Charles Spaniel. Charly's head is made from mohair and measures about 15 cm long. It is head jointed to the bag and was designed to rotate. His face is detailed with oversized brown and black glass pupil eyes (one appears to be missing), a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and oversized, floppy ears, just like the real dog. And cue the happy dance - this great novelty retains its long trailing "f" button as its Steiff ID. 

 

This functional favorite was made as part of a series of children's pajama bags in the late prewar period. They were formally called "night dress bags" and were the first style of pajama bags that Steiff launched to the world. For the most part, they are really rare and seldom seen on the secondary market as they were designed to be used and loved as toys as well as functional items. As such, most wore out or were lost to time. Their basic "template" was a simple, square shaped and lined bag with the head of a well-known Steiff pet of the era. They were produced from 1930-1937 overall and came with Teddy baby, Bully, Charly, a Scotty, a Sealyham, Molly, or a Siamese cat as the animal detailing. This is the first one Steiffgal has seen with a Charly as its featured animal.

 

This rare pajama bag appears to be in really nice condition overall. It is missing an eye, which sometimes happens. Replacing the lost eye would add to its appeal and presentation, and is not that difficult to do with the right needle and thread. However, it is sometimes challenging to find an exact ocular match in terms of size and era. And for some reason, eyes that don't match often look a little strange. As such, if Michael is not able to find an exact match, he may consider replacing BOTH eyes on this item to give the face a pleasing and authentic balance. Of course, it is important to note and disclose any and all known restoration on a vintage item if you are considering selling it at some point in the future.  

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's Charly the King Spaniel pajama bag has been the crown jewel in your day today. 

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

This Charly Purse Is A Crown Jewel In Steiff's Prewar Novelty Production

Hold everything and check out this absolutely amazing rarity! Steiffgal has a thing for Steiff novelties, especially those made in the prewar era. And it is certainly the best of all worlds when it comes to this breathtaking example. This Charly the King Charles Spaniel handbag will undoubtably have your vote for “Best of Show” in terms of her beauty, design, and willingness to lend a paw in service!

What we have here is Steiff’s Charly Handtasche or Charly Purse. This novelty is based on Steiff's beloved and legacy Charly The King Charles Spaniel pattern which debuted in the late 1920s. This precious pooch purse is 25 cm long, in a standing (albeit slouchy) position, and head jointed. She is made from long and short mohair plush. Her ears and tail are brown-tipped mohair, while her body and face are off-white mohair which has mellowed to a vanilla color. Her face is detailed with oversized brown and black glass pupil eyes and a simple black hand embroidered nose and mouth. She also has black embroidered claws on her hands and feet. And here’s what makes her a purse: her torso is hollow like a pouch, and is lined in bright orange velvet. You can see that detail in the photo on the left.  Her back opening closes with a study brass zipper. The pouch volume is quite small; it probably is the volume of about a small sized apple. This fantastic and very rare prewar novelty was produced in 22 and 25 cm from 1927 through 1940.

Steiff debuted a series of zippered, mohair purses in 1927 based on some of their most beloved characters of the era. These measured 17 to 29 cm in size, measured horizontally. Each featured a velvet or silk lined, hollow back pocket which closed with a zipper. The zipper had a mohair ring pull to it, which probably also was designed as a small handle. These rings tend to get lost to time or wear given their function. The first button-in-ear handbag designs to appear included this Charly, as well as Jocko the Chimp, Petsy the Baby Bear, Bully the Bulldog, and Molly the puppy. Other patterns rolled out over time, with the final design being a Pip in 1941. 

Now let's do a bit of time travel. Check out this image on the left from Steiff's 1929 catalog. You can click on the image to make it bigger. The page is dedicated to their line of mohair handbags. Three young ladies are happily modeling the purses, including one with the Charly bag under discussion here today. Steiffgal thinks she looks the happiest of the gals, and for good reason! You can also see the circular mohair zipper pulls on the purses. The words on the advertisement translate roughly to, "Elegant in the arm of the lady, funny with the little ones.” The catalog page also notes that the purses were decorated with a collar or silken ribbon. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's animal handbags has got you carried away - in the best possible way!

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

Hold Everything And Check Out This Unusual Steiff Novelty!

Now for something completely different! Steiff 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. You can see some of these fantastic items here on the left. Today's blog feature, despite its unconventional form and psychedelic hues, has its roots in these early and legacy products.

Hold everything and check out this unusual Steiff "thing-a-ma-bob." This is the first and only example of this oddity Steiffgal knows of or has handled. It measures 25 cm long and is made of yellow and red knitted fur. These colors reflect Steiff's corporate branding hues of the period. It is unjointed and unstuffed. It comes to life with oversized brown and black pupil eyes, a red fabric nose, red felt ears, and a red mouth. It has a 15 cm red zipper on his back which has a silver pull ring. According to Pfeiffer, this item is identified simply as an "accessory case" and appeared in the line from 1979-1981 in this size only. The case retains its button, eartag, chest tag, and hang tag as its Steiff IDs.

So of course there are two mysteries associated with this item. The first is, what animal is it supposed to be.... and the second is... what exactly is it designed to hold?  Neither has a clear cut answer. 

Let's take a closer look at both questions here. As for its identity, it has the physical qualities of several species. It is long and narrow like a snake or eel. Its round ears and muzzle shape sort of have mouse qualities. And its rear end fin is fish-like. So it would be safe to say that it is a "happy hybrid." And for its functionality, it is Steiffgal's best guess that it might have been proportioned to hold pencils and pens for a school child as a pencil case. However, he could just as easily hold a nail file, makeup, and a comb for an adult as a cosmetics bag. Unfortunately, only he knows for sure - and he's not talking!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this unusual Steiff novelty case has held your attention from start to finish. 

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

Hold Everything And Check Out This Unusual Steiff Poodle PJ Bag!

Care to noodle a most mysterious poodle? Then check out this delightful Steiff Snobby - in the form of a pajama bag! This mohair marvel appeared out of nowhere on an online auction, and Steiffgal had no idea this pattern even existed. She studied her listing closely, first suspecting she was "mommy made" or even a "Frankenstein" item - made of bits and pieces of other items sewn together to make a "new" item. But a careful check of the photos detailing her construction and materials - including her zipper pull, belly lining, and seaming - confirmed she truly was all original. Cue the happy dance!

This nifty napper measures about 23 inches long, is lying flat on her belly, and unjointed. She is in the form of Steiff's legacy, mid-1950s Snobby poodle. Her arms, legs, beard and forehead are made from very long, soft grey mohair while her body, feet, tail, ears, and face are made from shorter matching grey mohair. Her face is detailed with lovely tricolored glass pupil eyes, a black hand embroidered nose and mouth, and a round, red felt tongue. On her belly, she has a long, silver colored zipper; when you pull it open, her hollow belly is lined in a lovely grey colored silken material. This pajama bag retains its raised script button in ear as its Steiff ID. She is in great, clean condition with little or no playwear to her at all. 

Pajama bag Snobby is clearly part of the Steiff Snobby poodle family tree. This classic Snobby pattern made its debut in 1953 as a full bodied, standing pup and appeared in the line through 1974 in 10, 14, 22, 35, and 43 cm. The design proved so popular that it was soon being produced in a number of novelties, including a riding toy, a puppet, and as a soft, curled up resting animal, among others However, Steiffgal cannot find reference anywhere to a standard line Steiff Snobby pajama bag.

However, there is precedence for sleepers like this. Steiff produced a fantastic, beautifully rendered mohair pajama bag as an exclusive for F.A.O. Schwarz from 1962 - 1972 in the form of a walrus. Like this Snobby, the walrus also has an identical zipper down its belly and a silk lined interior. And Steiffgal has a similarly constructed and also undocumented large black and white mohair Cockie Cocker Spaniel pajama bag, as well as a mohair lying tiger pajama bag. She does know through the original owner of the Cockie bag that he was purchased at F.A.O Schwarz as well in the late 1960s or early 1970s. This hints that Pajama bag Snobby might have been produced in a very small edition size for F.A.O. Schwarz, or another upscale toy retailer, during this time frame as well.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this Steiff Snobby pajama bag has added a little zip to your day.

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

Put A Tiger In Your Tank With These Great And Unusual Steiff Postwar Tiger Designs!

Steiffgal has always had a thing for Steiff tigers. After all, who can resist their friendly/fierce personalities, delightful coloring, and the remarkable detailing that bring these big cats to life? Steiff has featured these grrr-eat wild animals in their line almost continuously since 1915, with the first cubs being made of mohair and fully jointed. Given their history and appeal, Steiffgal thought it would be fun to "catch a tiger by the tail" and check out three of the company's rarer post war examples.

Let's kick things off by sinking our teeth into this large and impressive Steiff Bengal tiger. This handsome cat is sitting, unjointed, 43 cm tall, and made from beautifully hand-airbrushed tan mohair. He has green and black pupil eyes, a pink and black shield-shaped embroidered nose, clear monofilament whiskers, and black embroidered claws. His chin, ears, and sideburns are made from long, white mohair. His most distinctive feature is his well formed and open mouth - which is lined in peach colored felt - and detailed with four large embedded wooden teeth. He is either grinning broadly or yawning; perhaps this depends on the time of the day! 

This beautiful Bengal beast was made in 14, 22, and 43 cm from 1959 through 1961 only. The medium and large ones are quite rare on the secondary market. Only the medium and large examples have wooden teeth; the smallest baby size one is toothless - perhaps Steiff thought he was still teething when he was being designed! All three sizes have impressive, long tails.

Our next tiger highlight truly has spirit - school spirit, that is! Here we have Steiff's seldom seen, 25 cm tall Steiff tiger made as a mascot for Princeton University. Smarty-pants is sitting, head jointed, and made from tan mohair that has been brought to life with realistic orange and black airbrushing. He has green and black pupil eyes "cartoon" style eyes, an early pattern pink nose outlined in black, clear monofilament whiskers, and black embroidered claws. His sideburns are made from  long, white mohair. Like his Bengal buddy, this pattern also features a prominent, well designed open mouth - which is lined in peach colored felt - and detailed with four proportionally sized, embedded wooden teeth. He has a working squeaker in his belly. When he was new, he left the factory in Giengen wearing a black and orange felt "Princeton" blanket. 

This Princeton University Prince was made in this size only in 1952 as a special edition for the United States. Other larger Steiff mascots produced in the early 1950's included a 28 cm lion for Columbia University, a 21 cm lioness for Columbia University, a 28 cm bulldog for Yale University, and a 28 cm goat for the Navy, among others. Smaller 1950's era cataloged mascots included a 14 cm bulldog for Yale University, 12 and 14 cm donkeys for the Army, as well as a 12 cm donkey wearing a "DEM" felt blanket for the US Democratic party! (To keep things balanced, Steiffgal once saw a small Steiff elephant wearing a "REP" felt blanket.  This example was probably made as special item for the US Republican party but somehow did not make it into the standard Steiff reference books or cataloging.)

Well, if this discussion hasn't put you to sleep yet, this final example should do the trick. Here we have a most unusual Steiff tiger pajama bag. He measures about 40 cm long and about 20 cm tall. He is in Steiff’s “lying” position, meaning he is curled up with his legs resting gently to his side. He has piercing green and black eyes, a pink embroidered nose, and tufts of longer mohair around his jowls. Tiger is head jointed and made from short tan mohair, which has been "tiger-ized" with careful orange and black airbrushing. Right down the middle of his back is a long metal zipper that extends from practically his neck to his tail; this hides his internal silk-lined pouch designed to  hold the sleepwear of a toddler!

As far as Steiffgal can tell, this tiger pajama bag does not appear in any of Steiff's standard reference books. It is her guess that this tired tiger is probably a modification of Steiff’s standard-line lying tiger cub, which was produced from 1953 through 1978 in 17, 28, 43, and 60 cm.  Steiffgal has also heard of other uncataloged Steiff pajama bags made from standard line designs including turtles and lions.

Steiffgal hopes this review of rare Bengals, mascots, and novelties has indeed put a tiger in YOUR tank!

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