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.

Bleating With Happiness Over This Marvelous Moving Steiff Goat!

Could this next Steiff discovery be the GOAT (greatest of all time)? Well, it depends who you ask, but he certainly qualifies by genetics! Check out this absolute rarity from the early 1930s and see what makes him so delightful in multiple ways!

What we have here is Steiff's tail-moves-head goat. He is standing, head and tail jointed, firmly stuffed with excelsior, and made from tan mohair. The backs of his ears and the underside of his tail are made from black mohair. He has gorgeous teal and black slit glass pupil eyes and a simple black hand embroidered nose and mouth. When he left the factory nearly a century ago, he had lovely and realistic hand airbrushing over his body to give him texture and dimension. His bow and bell are not original to him, but he also sported these accessories when he was new. 

This adorable barnyard buddy was produced in 18, 23, and 29 cm from 1931-1934. This guy is the baby of the bunch at 18 cm. His precious presentation plus his tail-moves-head feature really put him in a class all by himself. 

So what are the deets behind this mechanical marvel? When you very gently twist his mohair covered tail in a circle, his head follows in tandem. He has an internal metal jointing system which enables this. You can often tell tail-moves-head items because they have an especially long and thick and somewhat undefined neck area. That is necessary to hold the jointing apparatus as well as allow for room for the fabric to move a bit. And more times than not, tail-moves-head items are missing the mohair covering on their tails. You usually see just a naked metal loop or tag, but in this case goat has managed to retain his mohair tail over all of these years. Guess he was good at protecting his assets!

It is interesting to note that this guy, and other Steiff tail-moves-head items from his era had an additional ID tag. This was a round, Steiff branded cardboard tag that read "turn here and I will move my head" in three languages. It was attached on or near the animals rear end. Unfortunately, goat's extra tag has been lost to time in this case. 

They heyday for Steiff's tail-moves-head production occurred in the years leading up to WWII. The mechanism, which consisted of a metal apparatus, was patented in the early 1930s. Over 25 different animals were produced with this feature. These included cats, dogs, rabbits, penguins, goats, and lambs, and an elephant, among others. They were considered "luxury toys" at their time and even appeared on the cover of one of the company's 1931 catalogs for their debut. They were promoted as, “The year 1931 has presented us with the animals with the new head movement… The simplicity of the mechanism, though which the splendid movement is produced, cannot be beaten, yet it is unbreakable and allows lifelike play, full of variety and mimics… When buying new supply in plush toys please be sure to include the STEIFF animals with the new head movement; all numbers equipped with it are marked ‘H."

Steiffgal hopes this discussion on this delightful tail-moves-head goat has you jumping for joy.

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