Adorable Vintage Rare Anker Toys Munich Germany 5xJointed Shaggy Little Brother Bear Cub Zotty Cousin Loud Roar

This cute little guy was sold to me as a Steiff Zotty, although I knew that was not the case. I originally believed he was a Hermann bear, classified by Hermann as a “Jungbaer” or “bear cub,” not called by any proper name. I don’t even know whether Hermann made a bear called “Zotty,” although I think not. In any case, what bears Hermann made, what they looked like or were called, is no longer, except tangentially, relevant to this sweet bear, whose actual manufacturer was the Anker toy company.

I refer to him as “Zotty” here for the sake of convenience, although Anker Toys, located in Munich, Germany, and in existence only from 1954 to 1976, did not give him a name. I obtained all my information about Zotty from Anker expert, Tanja Ruehl, both from her website and from e-mail correspondence I undertook as a result of discovering that website. I sent her a picture of Zotty, asking about his apparent identical relative circled in my last composite image, taken from the website. You can also see, from the partial text of one of those e-mails, quoted directly below, that history of this bear is less exact and comprehensive than the histories I always try give for my Steiff items. I am grateful, however, for the information Ms. Ruehl supplied:
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“The little bear can be found quite often. It is similar to the Steiff Zotty with its silver fur, but has a large head with a high forehead and a red painted mouth. It has no name, but its article number begins with the series = 15. Ironically, it is the case with the 15 that it was used for several different bear types. So I don’t know when the first guy stops and when the new guy starts. In the catalog there is only “15” without a photo. I only have proof of this bear for 1968 and 1970. But it was certainly produced before and after, I just don’t know how long. The sizes differ slightly from each other in the catalogs, but overall there were 20 – 60 cm.

My collection includes over 600 items from ANKER and I have around 15 of these bears in variants. Not everything is shown on my website.

It was also entirely available in Dralon (approx. 1974) and was produced as a “Schuco Freund” (1976).

There is actually nothing more to say about him.”
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Let me give you some specifics about this cute Zotty. He 8 inches high, which corresponds to 20 centimeters. You can see, from my quote above, that this is in keeping with Ms. Ruehl’s information. As I noted, I have circled the bear in my last picture as the one corresponding to my guy. You can see that he is wearing the Anchor toys trademark blue lion and anchor tag, and I, assume that my Anker “Zotty” must have worn one too.

An earlier blue chest tag, also pictured on Ms. Ruehl’s site, was a seated bear with an anchor. I don’t know when the lion trademark came into use, but that is not something that should concern us here.

Of course, I am using the same criteria for my assessment of Zotty’s condition as I do for my Steiff animals, and, as I do with them, I leave age out of my evaluation—especially important here because I do not know Zotty’s age! The only thing I see that would be a condition issue in any way is Zotty’s slight thinning of the mohair in his chest. I am guessing that this wear comes from Zotty’s having been the companion of a young guardian, who delighted in pressing his chest over and over again to make him “roar.” 😉 Despite that assumed prior play, Zotty’s squeaker is strong and loud! Other than that minor thinning, I have nothing to report about Zotty’s condition, and I would say it is excellent.

Although Ms. Ruehl does not discuss the specifics of the pictured bears, it is interesting that she claims only to have “proof” of the bears’ 1968-1970 production. Zotty’s eyes are glass. At least a rule I have been comfortably following for virtually all of my Steiff animals, would date Zotty to the early ‘60s at the latest. Ms. Ruehl does acknowledge that the bears she pictures were also made before 1968, and if my Steiff glass eye rule applies, Zotty may well be quite a bit older than his pictured relatives.

I should tell you some of the features of Zotty’s construction, especially as they differ from his Steiff counterparts. There are many things that are the same, which explains why you often see Anker and Hermann Zotty-esque bears for sale online who have been MISdescribed as Steiff. On the other hand, there are many other ways in which this little guy is different, some obvious and some subtle.

Getting back to the initial reason I knew this is not a Steiff bear, Zotty’s eyes are red, a color Hermann bears often have, which supported my original (and wrong!) identifying him as a Hermann bear. Steiff bears’ glass eyes, as far as I am aware, are typically brown or dark amber.

Probably the easiest thing to notice as far as differentiating Anker (and Hermann) Zotty-esque bears and Steiff Zottys is the color of their chest mohair. Steiff Zottys have an orangey/blond (depending on the degree of fading) rectangular “bib,” while Anker (and Hermann) bears like Zotty have all-over covering with blond-tipped caramel mohair.

The next thing I want to note is the fact that Zotty is softly stuffed, but his stuffing is not soft in the way kapok is soft; rather it is springy. What is interesting to me is that the springiness has a more resistant feel than I would ascribe to Steiff foam-filled animals. I know it may not be of much help to describe his filling as somewhere between kapok and foam, but I can only tell you what I am feeling. The same resistance (or lack thereof) is characteristic of Zotty’s whole body, including his head. I don’t know how this differs (if at all) from the filling and feel of larger Anker “Zottys.”

Two other subtle body characteristics are shape and proportions. This Zotty has a noticeable hump on his back, something you associate with antique Steiff bears. I believe you never see a hump on a Steiff Zotty, even the oldest and largest ones. Also, and this becomes more noticeable with size (see the group picture), Anker bears—at least THIS Anker bear—have big heads compared to the rest of their proportions.

I have already mentioned the difference in eye color between Steiff and Anker Zottys. I know, from my limited experience, with Hermann bears, that this is a consistent difference between Steiff and Hermann, generally. Since I have no prior experience with Anker bears, I can make no equivalent general conclusion about them.

Another facial feature that has a distinctive (non-Steiff) “look” is Zotty’s nose. Again, I must make such a distinction based only on this bear’s nose. There are two different ways in which it differs from Steiff Zottys’ noses: the shape of their noses and the color of the floss thread used to depict their noses. Steiff Zottys have brown noses, while this bear’s nose is black.

Still on his face, this bear’s muzzle is dralon, whereas his Steiff counterparts have shaved mohair muzzles.

Finally, it appears that two of the Anker teddies in the group picture have ribbons tied around their necks, one blue and one green, I don’t know whether either ribbon is original, or whether these bears even came with ribbons. I am guessing they did, although Zotty came to me unadorned. The rayon ribbon he wears is my addition.

All the features I have not specifically mentioned as differentiating this Zotty from his Steiff counterparts are pretty much the same—except one more thing. This Zotty cannot stand on his own. I have cheated with all his upright poses, leaning him against my black background structure. I don’t think this is a flaw, but rather a function of Zotty’s anatomy, including the shape of his feet (with very rounded bottoms); the angle at which they extend from his ankles, AND his soft springy stuffing.

Of course, you could use a stand or lean Zotty against the wall or another animal in your vitrine—that is if you MUST have Zotty standing. He looks adorable in a seated pose, as you can see from my pictures. It is not clear what, if any, artifice was used in the Anker group picture to make it seem as if they were standing. They are grouped closely, and what may have been going on behind their backs remains an unknown. I did not want to pepper Tanja Ruehl with loads of questions, so I have left many things as unknowns. You can learn more about Anker generally by visiting her website, whose exact URL cannot appear in this description, but you may be able to find it by searching Google for “Anker teddy.”

I have exhausted the information I can give you about this sweet little bear or any of his Anker relatives. If you still have a question about this cute Teddy, of course you may write. If you are looking at this item, there is a good chance that you are interested in Steiff bears and other animals too, so I invite you to look at my article on Steiff ID fraud. You can find a link to that article ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF MY SHOP HOME PAGE under “Favorite Links.”