Jumping For Joy Over This Tiny Steiff Prewar Mystery Rabbit

It's off to the races with this next Steiff mystery. Size defies when it comes to this bitty hare on the go. Her proportions, IDs, and detailing date her to the Roaring Twenties - but who exactly is she? Let's go down the research rabbit hole and see what we can infer about her origins. 

Steiffgal is jumping for joy over this teeny tiny running rascal. Baby bunny is on all fours and about to spring into action. She measures about 8 cm tall and 10 cm wide. She is unjointed and made from mohair that has faded over time to appear brown with silver tipping. Rabbit has a simple pink hand-embroidered mouth and nose, brown and black glass pupil eyes, and a few remaining clear monofilament whiskers. She also has "rough" stitching on the edge of her ears. You occasionally see that on some mid-1920s era items, including early Molly dogs. Running rabbit retains her long trailing "f" button and traces of her red ear tag as her Steiff IDs. 

As far as Steiffgal can tell, this item does not appear in the Sortiment as a regular line item. After a little digging, she suspects that it was made especially to be one of the passengers on the company's mid to late 1920s-era pull toy novelties. Specifically, given the rabbit's size, color, era, and presentation, it is possible that she was produced to ride on the company's Galop-Fux novelty. This is pictured here on the left; this wheeled wonder was in production from 1926-1929. This image is from Pfeiffer's 1892-1943 Sortiment.

Galop-Fux consisted of a little grey running rabbit and a red brown fox that were mounted upon an elaborate metal wire chassis. Their cart had four red wooden wheels. When pulled along, passengers on a Galop toy shuffled back and forth in opposite tandem; the rotation of the front wheels was responsible for one animal's movement, while the rotation of the back wheels was responsible for the other one's movement. The running rabbit form would be perfect for this sort of effect. 

Galop style toys appeared in the Steiff product line from 1926-1929 overall. In addition to this fox and rabbit model, Steiff also made Galop toys with a Molly and black cat; two bears; an elephant and a lion; Barney Google and a bear cub; Barney Google and Sparkplug; and two goats.

It is interesting to note that there is precedence for Steiff making unique items for their 1920s-era pull toy novelties. Like this rabbit, these rarities did not appear in any other sizes or as stand-alones in the line at all. For example, the Galop featuring a Molly and black cat version included a c. 10 cm tall standing and unjointed black Tom cat. He is fabulous for sure - but does not make an appearance anywhere else in the catalog ever, as far as Steiffgal can tell.

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this mystery rabbit has improved your day by leaps and bounds. 

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

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.

Hands In The Air Over This Fabulous Prewar Steiff Find!

The show must go on... and this week it is in the form of a puppet show! Yet another super Steiff surprise hit Steiffgal's inbox this week. Here is something so rare that Steiffgal can count on one hand (yes, pun intended!) the number of examples she knows of in real life. Check out this note from Mariette who shares...

"I read something about your Charly puppet and saw my Petsy puppet in the same advertisement picture. Since you are always interested in more Steiff items I present to you my Steiff puppet from I guess 1928? It is about 24 cm long and made from tipped reddish and white mohair. It has blue glass eyes and a prewar long ff button with red remnants of a tag. On the inside it has a cardboard cylinder where you can put your finger in to move the head. I bought it at an antique market for 85 euros in the Netherlands. Hope you can tell me something about if it is rare because I never saw one before."

Here's a tip - this guy is off the charts great! What we have here is Steiff's "Punch Petsy," or Petsy as a hand puppet. According to published company records, this cute cub was made in 17 cm from 1928 to 1932. His head and the tips of his paws are stuffed with excelsior, and as Mariette notes, he has a cardboard finger tube embedded in his head. Of course, he is based on the company's beloved brown tipped mohair Petsy the Baby Bear design - one of the true sweethearts of the company's "roaring 20s" era Teddy bear production.

Petsy's design was introduced in the late 1920s and was originally named "Buschy." Thankfully, Steiff's marketing team changed this to "Petsy" to reflect his precious and toddler-esque presentation and personality. Brown tipped Petsy appeared in the catalog from 1928 to 1930 in 10 sizes ranging from 22 to 75 cm, measured standing. This model was fully jointed with tan felt pads. His distinctive facial properties included a prominent center facial seam, blue and black glass pupil eyes, a rose-pink hand embroidered nose and mouth, and proportionally large, rounded, wire rimmed, and posable ears.

In addition to a puppet, Steiff also made a handful of other novelty items based on their brown tipped Petsy pattern. These included a full bodied musical version, which was produced in 25 and 30 from 1928 to 1930. He also appeared as a pull toy on wheels, called a "Record Petsy." This delightful design appeared in the line in 20 and 25 cm from 1928 to 1929. And finally, Petsy was manufactured as a standing, head jointed handbag in 17 cm from 1927 to 1928. All of these blue eyed novelties are indeed blue ribbon, and as rare as hen's teeth!

Ok, how about a penny for your thoughts here? Mariette notes that she paid 85 euro for her Petsy puppet. So how did she do? After much research, the only other example Steiffgal could find of a Petsy puppet sold at public auction was in February, 2016. There, one traded hands at over 6,300 euro! Of course, something is worth what someone will pay for it, and Mariette's example has some condition and losses which might impact its ultimate value or price tag. But it is safe to say that she did VERY WELL, and would have no trouble at all selling it at a significant profit if she ever decided to rehome it. 

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's amazing Petsy Puppet is worthy of a standing ovation. 

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

Would You Take A Tumble For This Early And Fantastic Feline Steiff Novelty?

This next Steiff inquiry comes in on little cat's feet. A new friend has reached out about a special family heirloom with provenance. Just what is this very early turn of last century treasure? And what makes it so fantastic from the collector's perspectives? Tom shares in part,

"I've attached photos of my Rolly Polly cat. I've had this since I was a child (50+ years ago)... It originally came from a relative who inherited it from their partner who came from a wealthy family from New England."

This guy is simply the cat's meow. But, given his form, he is "technically" a tumbler and not a roly-poly. Steiff's early 20th century roly-polys are all fabric and shaped sort of like an inverted balloon. Most are head and arm jointed, without legs. Examples include mohair cats (made in 16 and 23 cm from 1909 through 1919 overall); mohair Teddy bears (made in 16, 19, 23, and 29 cm from 1909 through 1916 overall); mohair rabbits (made in 23 cm from 1909 through 1918); and a series of mohair and felt dolls from the same basic time frame.

On the other hand, tumblers are full bodied and mounted to a very heavy, weighted wooden half circle base. As such, they wobble about like a weeble but always return to an upright position. Their bases are simply stained and are a natural wood color. Most tumblers measure 12 to 17 cm tall and are standing, sitting, or begging. Steiff did make a few oversized circus bear style tumblers in 35 and 43 cm through 1918 overall.

Tumblers debuted as early as 1894 and appeared in the general line with frequency through the late 19-teens. In the late 1930s, Steiff produced a series of three begging style tumblers on green or red painted wooden bases from 1936 through 1943 overall. Models included a velvet and mohair squirrel, a mohair Waldi Dachshund, and a mohair kitten holding a pom pom ball.

So back to Tom's cat. The photos suggest that he is made entirely from felt. Steiffgal suspects he is the company's Tumbling Cat, which appeared in the line in 17 cm (not including his base) from 1894 through 1919. The cat is solidly stuffed with excelsior and features black shoe button eyes and simple facial embroidery. It is hard to tell if he ever had a button, based on the photo of his face. It is entirely possible that he was manufactured pre-1904. Other early Steiff cat tumblers include a spotted velvet version made in 12 cm from 1904 through 1917 and a velvet striped version made in 17 cm from 1901 through 1919.

What makes this tumbler even more remarkable is its condition. He is made from felt, which tends to get grubby over time and attract insects. He was also designed as a toy, but it is clear he received little hands on play. Also of note is his tail. These are actually super thin, not terribly sturdy, and are attached to the animal's rear with just a few stitches. Often, these go missing or break off given their construction and natural aging. However, in this case, Tom's tumbler appears clean and damage free against all odds! Super score all around!

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on Steiff's early tumblers has got you rocking and rolling!

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