Racing To The Finish Line With This Unusual Wintertime Steiff Mascot

Baby it's cold outside! At least in many places where Steiff Superfans are residing right now! Here's a little chilly weather fellow that is certain to warm your soul - and possibly even start your heart racing! This little bunny on the mend recently joined Steiffgal's collection, and the timing could not be more perfect! Come see what makes him so fun, quirky, and intriguing from the product design and development perspectives.

This bandaged bunny is 18 cm tall and head jointed. Knupfi's head, ears, hands, and feet are made from mohair. His body is made from velvety material. His shirt is green and his pants are red; this clothing is integral to his body. His face comes to life with felt lined ears, big black and white cartoon style eyes, a red hand embroidered nose, a little pink airbrushing, clear whiskers, and brown shaded highlights. His arm is in a sling made from white cotton calico fabric with pink dots. His foot is bandaged in white tape, and he holds a red, white, and blue plastic ski pole in his hand. Perhaps he is using it as a cane, given his injuries? He retains his raised script button, yellow ear tag, and named chest tag as his Steiff IDs. This unusual character appeared in the line in this size only from 1968-1971.

Things are actually twice as nice when it comes to this (once) racing rabbit. It turns out that he was actually produced with a companion named Hupfi. Like Knupfi, Hupfi is 18 cm tall and head jointed. He has an almost identical body construction with a mohair head, ears, hands, and feet and a velvet body. His integral outfit includes a blue shirt and red pants. However, unlike Knupfi, he is in fine form physically and has a ski pole in each hand and carries a perfectly to scale pair of skis. Hupfi was produced from 1968-1970. Perhaps Hupfi is the "before" and Knupfi is the "after" bunny when it comes to skiing safety? You can see Knupfi and Hupfi posed together on the left; the photo is from Pfeiffer's 1947-1999 Sortiment.

So what is the back story to these fine fellows? Steiffgal couldn't find anything specific about that, but has an idea. Given their dating, it is possible that they might have been inspired by a big worldwide sporting event. The 1968 Winter Olympics were held from February 6th - February 18th in Grenoble, France. These were the first Olympics to be broadcast on television in color.  

Skiing related competitions are usually a big part of these cold weather games, and this one did not disappoint. French athlete Jean-Claude Killy swept three Alpine skiing events (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom). This accomplishment elevated him to icon status; he would go on to serve as co-president of the Organizing Committee of the 1992 Albertville Olympic Winter Games and become an IOC member in 1995. It is also interesting to note that the mascot for these games was also a playful, quirky little guy. He was named “Shuss”, and was in the form of a little man on skis. The top of his oversized, colorful head head, which rested on a unique zig-zag flash-shaped foot, featured the Olympic rings. You can see Shuss pictured here on the left. Perhaps Knupfi and Hupfi were Steiff's gentle nod to this also colorful and somewhat goofy mascot of the era.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's ski rabbits has put you in the pole position.

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Does This Steiff Prewar Tom Cat Tickle Your Whiskers?

This great Steiff inquiry walked in on little cat's feet! And talk about launching a collection with a rockstar! A new friend from Germany writes about her debut vintage Steiff purchase. She is curious about its birth year, give or take a bit. Rebecca shares,

"I bought my first vintage Steiff animal and it's the famous Tom cat. As I know that she was produced over many many years I'm now super curious which exact time it was that mine was produced. It's the smallest one. And it has the old button with the long "f" at the end. So I think that means that it can be between 1923 and 1953, right? Do you think you can say it more specific? I just can't find more information. Kind regards from Germany!"

Wow, Rebecca's purchase is truly the cat's meow. It is Steiff's mid- to later prewar Tom cat. This fantastic feline was made for the standard line in 8, 10, 14, 14, 22, and 28 cm from 1923-1943 overall. The 8 cm and the 10 cm versions had a pitch black velvet body and a fuzzy black mohair tail. From 14 cm onward, all sizes were made entirely from black mohair. These cats were technically measured vertically, from the top of their heads to their toes. Their long vertical tails almost "doubled" their height measurements. They were detailed with green and black round or slit glass pupil eyes, a simple hand embroidered mouth and nose (Steiffgal has seen both pink and red examples), and clear monofilament whiskers. They left the factory wearing a decorative silk ribbon and sometimes a little bell to match. The bow on Rebecca's example is not factory original. 

Now back to the question - his birthday. The best telling clue here is that he has the short trailing 'f' style button. This button appeared on items in the line from about 1936 through the very early 1950s. So we know that the earliest the cat was produced was 1936. As noted above, this particular cat with a black velvet head and body and mohair tail was made in 8 or 10 cm from 1933-1943 overall. This skinnies down his production timeframe to most likely in the c. 1936-1943 timeframe. So he's clearly from the late prewar period. 

One thing that's nearly purr-fect about this feline pattern is how long it has appeared in the Steiff line. The earliest version made its grand public debut in a photograph featured in the 1903-1904 Steiff catalog... in the same picture that introduced PB55... the world's first jointed Teddy bear! This puts Tom in very good company for sure. This photo is here on the left - you can click on it to make it bigger. And Tom CONTINUES to make guest appearances in the line on and off to this day in the form of replicas and special editions. His timeless, universal popularity and appeal have truly earned him legacy status within the Steiff collecting community.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's prewar black Tom cats has tickled your whiskers in a most happy way. 

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

Developing A Plush Crush On This Early Steiff Rod Bear

Steiffgal's just a little out of joint when it comes to today's special guest. And you probably will be too! This turn of last century cub is off the charts rare, totally adorable, and has great provenance. Check out "Plush," an all original Steiff rod jointed bear, and see what makes him so amazing from the historical and product development perspectives. 

This grand old man is Steiff's 28PB. This somewhat technical name refers to 28=measures 28 cm sitting down, P=plush material, and B=jointed. Plush was "born" around 1904, is fully jointed, and is very solidly stuffed with excelsior. His early and signature features include black wooden shoe button eyes, a prominent back hump, an "American" football shaped torso, very curved wrists, felt pads, a simple tan embroidered mouth, a trimmed muzzle, and five black hand embroidered claws on each of his paws. He has very long arms, as he was originally designed to be posed standing on all fours. He also has his original black gutta percha nose. This is pretty special, and also unusual, as this hard rubber facial feature often is lost to time. He would have sported the company's earliest elephant style button when he left the factory c. 120 years ago - but that ID has been lost to time. Without a doubt, Plush is a great example of Steiff's early turn of last century commercial production.  

Steiff's rod bears are typically firm to hard in their texture... not usually "cuddly" as we think of Teddy bears today. They need to be "sturdy," in part, because of their jointing. Their metal rod jointing is heavy and clunky, and would shift around in the bear if it were not tightly packed into his body. The reason rod bears typically have a football shaped torso and slightly unnatural proportions is because these shapes can hold the rods and hardware securely in place when augmented with wood wool stuffing. 

The nose also knows when it comes to rod bears. Each rod bear's nose was applied by hand - with an artisan dropping bits of melted gutta percha directly on the bear's muzzle area until there was enough there to configure this important facial feature. The warm gutta percha was sculpted by hand, so each nose was a little different, and often included the fingerprints of the person making the nose. Legacy has it that Richard Steiff saw this production step and felt it took far too long, and was not consistent enough. So, when he designed the next version of his fully jointed bear - a cardboard disk version that was introduced around 1905/06 - this cub pattern had an embroidered nose (and mouth) to simplify and add efficiencies to the manufacturing process. 

Now let's talk a little bit about Plush's history and background. This bear originally belonged to Katharine Wilson Walker (2/14/1899 - 2/28/1985). Kathe (as she was called) named the bear "Plush" when she was a young child. Kathe passed the bear to her great niece, Barbara Walker Burrows, in the early 1980s. Until most recently, Barbara proudly displayed Plush in her china cabinet, along with other family treasures and period antiques.You can see Plush right at home amongst some lovely blue and white plates in the photo here on the left. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's early rod style bears has given you a "Plush Crush" on this remarkable Walker family treasure!

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

Jumping For Joy Over This Funky 1980s Era Steiff Toy Rabbit

You may be really surprised at Steiffgal's latest addition to her hug. This softie recently arrived as part of a large auction lot purchase from overseas. Although he doesn't exactly fit in with the age, materials, and era of most of her vintage to antique button-in-ear collection, there's just something really sweet and appealing about him. As such, he's earned a place on Team Steiffgal, and in her heart as well. Come learn more about this happy hopper produced at a key time in Steiff's business history. 

 

Baby Rabbit is standing, unjointed, and measures 28 cm tall, including his ears. He is made primarily from a vibrant baby blue colored soft plush. His paw pads, chest, muzzle, and the lining of his ears are made from soft white plush. His face comes to life with black button eyes, a black hand embroidered nose, and a spot of pink to highlight his mouth. His squeaker works loud and clear. He left the factory wearing a pink neck bow. Baby Rabbit was made in this size in this color combination, as well as a pink and white version, from 1983 through 1986. The pink version is pictured below on left; the image is from Pfeiffer's Steiff Sortiment 1947-2003. 

 

This super sweet bunny was clearly produced as a toy for children. In terms of "kidproofing," his practically embedded black plastic eyes, lack of a chest tag and button branding (his tag is stitched into the seam of his ear), and washable, synthetic materials set him up for years of cuddles, play, and roughhousing. And his name, and youthful color, (and that of his twin pink sister,) also hint that this pattern may have been intended as a nice baby or baby shower gift.

What's most interesting about Baby Rabbit is the timing and era in which he was produced. The 1980s through the early 1990s were a period of great transition at Steiff. The company was at an important juncture in terms of business, pricing, and design priorities, and the toy industry as a whole was moving quickly in new directions. 

 

Two key market realities of this era were the continued influx of inexpensive toy imports from Asia and the emerging interest (and rise in value) of vintage to antique Steiff bears, animals, and dolls. As a result of all of this, Steiff started, and/or tested, several new initiatives to adapt to these changes. These included offering replicas and special limited editions; creating an ongoing line of Christmas items and ornaments; increasing partnerships with key organizations (like Disney and F.A.O. Schwarz) and other toymakers (like Suzanne Gibson); and launching the Steiff Club in 1992. These strategies were rolled out in part to capture the higher end market and gain new collectors. Here on the left you can see Steiff's very first replica, "Papa" bear, from 1980. He was made in a worldwide edition size of 11,000 and was designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Steiff Company.

Steiffgal thinks that Baby Rabbit, and other simple, lower end soft plush items of his era, were probably designed, produced, and distributed to compete with the Asian exports part of the business equation. 

 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on the company's 1980s production has you feeling nostalgic, in the best possible way. 

 

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