Posted 13 years ago
lydiajane
(3 items)
These were my toys when I was still young enough to play with stuffed animals - and I'm 60 now! I really don't remember anything in particular about them, and there are no tags on any of them. The boxer and seal are a material that feels like leather, but I'm sure it's some synthetic. The others are plush.
I'd like to pass them on to my little grand nieces, but thought it would be nice to know more about them, if there's anything to know in particular, that others might be able to share with me.
Thanks!
The plush ones are most likely Steiff. I wish I could remember the name of the manufacturer of the leather-look ones.. I think I had one or two of those myself.
Wow. interesting! Nope, no little metal buttons, sorry to say. How can I find Steiff Gal? My older sister went to Rice University, whose mascot is an Owl, and he looks just like that mascot - used to look, back then, anyway. Thanks, folks!
Thank you scandinavian_pieces - very interesting! I appreciate your remembering and sending me the info. Rare, indeed! I just sold him to SteifGal....
The owl - he most resembles Wittie, Steiff's regular line owl. Wittie as a plaything was produced from 1954 through 1977 in four sizes: 10, 14, 22, and 35 cm. Wittie is made from mohair and is unjointed; he has marvelous airbrushed detailing on his body, huge green glass pupil eyes, and charming tufts of black hair on his forehead. One of the things that is quite remarkable about this piece in any size is his enormous felt feet. Whittie was also produced as a popular hand puppet from 1955 through 1978. However, standard line Wittie is green where yours is blue.
It is interesting to note that in 1960 only, Steiff created a 10 and 13 cm mostly blue owl for the German company Weisse Eule.
It is my best guess, given my experience working for and with the Steiff company, that yours might have been an early sample of the Weisse Eule.... or a variation on the more traditional Wittie. It is somewhat unusual to find these hybrid or transitional pieces, but Steiff being a company that prides itself on economy, put almost everything into the market they made to keep sales up.
I hope that this sort of helps out with this delightful mystery.