Let The Good Times Roll With This Vintage Steiff Molly Dog On Wheels

Mark Twain once wrote, “The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven not man’s.” And who could disagree? No company can match Steiff's attention to detail, quality, and appeal when it comes to our favorite canines. Next to Teddy bears, dogs have always been Steiff's most beloved and popular editions.  

Steiff's pre-war dogs on wheels could easily be considered the best of all worlds. These endearing, softly proportioned pets are adorable on their own, as well as the perfect pals for turn of last century dolls. Their wheels give them a distinctly playful - and old fashioned - appearance. So Steiffgal was more than delighted to learn of a very large - perhaps lifesized - 1920s era Steiff Molly on the go! This particular Molly on wheels is scaled to be either a large pull toy, or a small riding animal for a toddler. 

This Steiff pretty puppy is the wheel-deal indeed. She is standing, unjointed, and 35 cm tall. She is made from very long tipped tan mohair which has faded overall to a vanilla color over time, but is still very lush and full. Her floppy ears are "folded over" as they have been since her launch in the mid-1920's. She has oversized brown and black pupil eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. She rides upon four red wooden wheels. Molly on wheels was made in 28 and 35 cm from 1927-1943 overall. This example was made in the earliest part of that time frame, given that she retains her long trailing "f" button and traces of her red ear tag, as pictured here.  

Steiff's Molly the Puppy is a very important design for three key reason.

1.  First, she is one of the very few Steiff dogs that doesn’t have a “breed” associated with her. For example, Terry is the Steiff Airedale, Foxy is the Steiff Fox Terrier, and Snobby is the Steiff Poodle. This model is simply known as Molly the Puppy.

2.  Second, her 1925 introduction was so successful that she can be credited for opening the floodgates to a huge influx of Steiff dog designs. Between 1925 and 1938, close to 40 new canine species were noted in the Steiff catalogs after her debut. These included the now classic Bully Bulldog, Arco the German Shepherd, and Peky the Pekinese, as well as some lesser-known designs including Cheerio, the laughing dog, Putzi, a caricatured standing dog, and Lord the Great Dane.

3.  And third, she was a prime source of highly successful “theme and variation” product launches. Through the early 1940s, Molly appeared sitting and standing and in numerous color combinations, including red and white, green and white, and blue and white. She appeared as a puppet, purse, pincushion, music box, and Charleston animal, among other items. Smaller versions appeared standing on eccentric wheels, while larger ones, like the example under discussion today, appeared on centered wheels. Steiff used her basic appealing, endearing “young dog” pattern on other lesser known dogs of the 1920s and 1930s, including Trolly (a white, yellow, and brown St. Bernhard puppy), Flock (a blonde and white puppy), Zotty (a white puppy) and Fellow (a black and white puppy). A picture of Fellow and Molly are featured here on the left, the photo is from Theriaults. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's prewar Molly the Puppy on wheels has been more fun than a joyride for you!

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

This Huge Steiff Chimp Is More Fun Than A Barrel Full Of Monkeys!

What's on your Steiff bucket list? For the longest time, Steiffgal dreamed of adopting a Studio Jocko chimp. She had seen a few in photographs and immediately fell in love with their scale, playful looks, and charming personalities. Whenever Steiffgal asked her what she wanted for a birthday, anniversary, or holiday gift, she would jokingly exclaim, "a Studio Jocko!" Well, be careful what you wish for... because wishes - especially Steiff wishes - can come true. Please meet Studio Jocko, Steiffgal's new beloved Steiff pal. Here he is pictured on the left, relaxing on the couch with a few relatives. 

It's easy to go bananas over this great ape. He stands 150 cm tall (5 feet) and is head and arm jointed. He is made of really long, chocolate brown mohair. His face, feet, ears, and hands are made from tan felt and are detailed with light airbrushing to give them additional dimension and depth. He has typical Jocko chimp detailing, like pert eyes set into eye pockets, a white mohair chin, and an open, smiling mouth - albeit on a huge scale. Jocko has an internal rod metal skeleton for stability, and he stands on two flat feet. He is solidly stuffed with excelsior, which must have taken several strong men weeks if not months to complete. According to the Sortiment book, this big boy was produced in this size only in 1960 and 1967. Here on the left is the Steiff Display Animal catalog page from 1967 featuring him. 

Now let's take a brief "guided tour" of Jocko.  

As you can see, he really is a very big dude indeed. Here he is pictured with Steiffgal. Just for reference, Steiffgal is 5'5". It is Steiffgal's best estimate that if indeed he were real and made from muscle and bone, his girth and proportions would put him between 300-400 pounds. He actually weighs about 25 pounds.  

His handsome, proportionally large face is simply irresistible - and always smiling! It measures 22 inches from his chin to the top of his head, and 20 inches ear to ear.

Here is a close up of his dimensional and very lifelike ear. You can see the smallest 4 inch Jocko resting on it so you get an idea of its scale. Big Jocko's ears measure 5.5 inches high each. 

And here is a close up of his hand. Again, the smallest Jocko helps to put his size in context. His hands measure about 8 inches long and 9 inches wide.  

Jocko has flat felt feet to help him stand (with a little help.) They measure 14 inches long and 8 inches wide. 

As you can see, Jocko is extremely photogenic. If you are in the Maryland area on September 28th and 29th, 2018, Jumbo Jocko and Steiffgal will be attending the United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) Region 11 conference in Towson, MD. We will be manning a Steiff table in the salesroom with lots of Steiff temptations for doll and Steiff collectors alike. Jocko looks forward to meeting as many Steiff fans as possible at this great event, and is available for once-in-a-lifetime selfies. Click here for more information on this UFDC celebration.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on her Studio Jocko has been a larger than life experience for you.

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

Playing the Name Game With This Adorable Vintage Steiff Bear

Looks can be deceiving! This sweet vintage Steiff bear looks sad or thoughtful, but he's actually just trying to tug at your heartstrings. At least that's what Steiffgal thinks! This petite prince joined Steiffgal's hug over the summer, and she couldn't be happier about it! Let's take a look at his history and design and see what makes him so interesting from the collector's perspective.

What we have here is a smaller scaled Steiff Dicky bear. He measures 23 cm standing and is fully jointed. His body is made from blonde mohair and his muzzle is made from white mohair. His dear face comes to life with brown and black glass pupil eyes and a black hand embroidered nose and mouth. His mouth is somewhat asymmetrical, adding to his appeal and personality. Unlike the majority of Dicky bears, this particular example has plain tan colored felt paw pads and not stencilled velvet ones. 

Dicky was produced in blond, white, and brown in a wide range of sizes. All were five ways jointed and had the same distinctively shaped and constructed muzzle. His pattern was specifically designed to be as cost, labor, and material efficient as possible, given that he was launched during a period of economic depression and widespread unemployment in Germany. The blond and white versions were mohair and were made in 15, 29, 23, 25, 30, 32, 35, 43, 45, 50, 65, and 75 cm (measured standing) from 1930 to 1937 overall. A dark brown wool plush version was made in 25, 32, and 43 cm (measured standing) from 1935 thorough 1941. This particular Dickie has a long trailing "f" button and tiny traces of a red ear tag, dating him to the beginning of this production timeline.

One thing that has always been interesting to Steiffgal about this pattern is its name. Some of Steiff's bears and animals started having "endearing" names in the 1920's. Before that, most things were just cataloged as their species or breed. For example, Petsy the Baby Bear, Molly the Puppy, Bully the Bulldog, and and Charly the King Charles Spaniel all debuted during the "roaring '20s." A quick search of the most popular German boy names in 1930 reveals that "Richard" was the 50th most common of the year. So chances are, this bear was not named for popular cultural appeal. Steiffgal wonders if perchance he was named endearingly for Richard Steiff, the genius who invented the fully jointed Teddy bear as we know him today, for Steiff around 1903? Naming a model for a member of the Steiff family is not without precedence; it is thought that the company's adorable Susi cat, introduced in 1936, was also named for a Steiff family relative. Only Dickie knows for sure!

It's also a clothes call with Dicky's new wardrobe. As pictured above, Dicky arrived from overseas naked, and clearly had been someone's best friend for a number of years - given his somewhat "threadbear" presentation! Sometimes, if this is the case, it is a good idea to give a new vintage friend some protective clothing. As such, Steiffgal's sister jumped into action and handmade this sweet boy his trousers, red t-shirt, and grey sweater. Notice how the button on his cardigan matches the mushroom design on his pants! Isn't he stylin'? A shout-out to Steiff Sis for such a great job.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this pensive Dicky has been thought provoking for you.

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

Your Jaw Will Drop When You See This Turn Of Last Century Steiff Tom Cat!

Mouth agape! That was exactly Steiffgal's reaction when this turn-of-last-century rarity finally made its way into her Steiff collection. Like every Steiff enthusiast, Steiffgal also has a wish list, and this terrific Tom had been on it forever - until now! Check out this cover boy (really - and more about that later!) and see what makes this fantastic feline so interesting from the historical and design perspectives.

They say orange is the new black, but sometimes being old is in vogue, too! Here on the left is Steiff's original Tom Cat in the smallest sized produced. He is standing, unjointed, and made from jet black velvet. Measured vertically, he's 8 cm from the top of his head to his toes and 10 cm from the top of his tush to his toes. His thin, almost straight tail measures 8 cm long and .5 cm wide - and even more astonishingly - it is stuffed with excelsior! How did they do that, given its scale and configuration? Tom Cat wears his original silken bow and bell. This pattern was produced in 10, 14, and 17 cm from 1903 through 1919 in black velvet, and in 14 and 17 cm in white velvet from 1906 through 1908. This example retains his original blank button, dating his production to around 1905 or 1906.

Face it, you can't look away from Tom Cat's distinctive head design and construction. He comes to life with tiny, triangular shaped ears, black seed bead eyes backed in yellow felt, and an open, pink felt lined mouth. The lining is held in place with tiny pinkish-tan colored stitches - perhaps to resemble teeth? You can see where the seamstress tied the knot of pinkish-tan thread for these stitches on the cat's chin area. This is a tiny but interesting detail; it is not unusual to see an embroidery thread  knot on the face of an early Steiff bear or animal. Tom Cat also retains a number of his clear, monofilament whiskers. One could say he has a face only a (Steiff) mother could love! You can see all of these delicate details on the photo trio above. 

This Tom Cat is truly a headliner - from both aesthetic and well as historical angles. This petite treat was featured in an important photograph from the company's 1904/04 product line catalog. But what's so special about that? It's the same picture that debuted PB55... the world's first jointed Teddy bear! Timing is everything, eh? A snapshot of this catalog page is shown here on the left; you can spot the arched back Tom Cat a little to the right of center standing on top of a donkey on wheels. Given the scale of the items in the image, it is Steiffgal's best guess that the Tom Cat pictured is the 17 cm version. What you can't see on the photo is the cat's intricate mouth construction, but you can make out his bow and bell. This picture is from the Cieslik's Button in Ear The History of the Teddy Bear and His Friends reference book, published in 1989.

Now let's paws and look at the details noted on the photo. According to the hand written notes along the bottom of the page, these original black velvet Tom Cats were 14.40 Deutchmark per twelve. That is VERY ROUGHLY equivalent to $0.30 each in 1903.  This translates to approximately $8.59 in today's US dollars, given inflation and other financial and economic factors. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion of this rare Tom Cat has left you on your toes for your next great find!

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