Earliest Series Gorgeous Coloring Little Brother Steiff Reclining Tiger Cub Wild Cat All ID Near Mint Magic Eyes

Oh boy OH BOY! This guy is fantastic! This is the smallest of the four sizes of the reclining tiger cub (“Jungtiger” in German and “JT” henceforth), and he is among the earliest that Steiff made. I know that because JT’s article number is 2317,1. This series of the reclining tiger was made between 1954 and 1958, so even at the very youngest he could be, JT is well past his 60th birthday.

You may know that the “17” denotes JT’s size in centimeters. I am really not quite sure what measurement would result in that number, so I will tell you that he measures just over 9 inches from the tip of his right front paw to back edge of his back left paw (which is to the right as you look at him). If you want to include his tail in determining his full horizontal measurement, add an additional 2 inches. JT is about 5 inches high to the top of his head—and his posture is wonderful; slouching can be a real problem with the reclining animals, even the smaller ones.

I would say that JT is in near mint condition, and “near” mostly because he no longer roars; see more on that below.

JT’s coloring is fantastic—both his orange background and his midnight black stripes. He also retains some rose-colored accents on the insides of his ears and depicting his mouth, along the seam separating his face from his chin. These may be more subdued than they were 60-plus years ago, but that is another tiny reason for my “near.” 😉

Speaking again of JT’s intense black airbrushing, there is a touch of errant black spray on his left lower leg. I thought I could show this to you really closeup, but my images really looked silly. You can see the area I refer to in my fifth image, where I am pointing to it with a green arrow. Of course, if you must call that little booboo anything, it is a “birth defect,” and I trust you’ll agree that it is totally inconsequential. Why did I even mention it? Because I am Rosalie! 🙂

JT’s coral floss nose is lustrous and new looking and his airbrushed black nostrils are probably as intense as they ever were. His (12 original) whiskers are well behaved, sticking out neatly from both sides of his nose. His mohair is full, including the longer (and still snow-white) hair lining his ears and comprising his sideburns and beard. To nitpick a little, his beard hair is slightly thinner along and under the seam separating his face from his chin, but for the most part, his beard is as full as his other longer hair.

Finally, although the “magic” 😉 glow of JT’s eyes is ephemeral, it is among the strongest and longest lasting I can recall ever having seen.

About JT’s lack of roar, I knew to feel for a squeaker because the “1” at the end of his article number indicates an animal with a “voice.” It is harder to find squeakers submerged in reclining animals, but I pushed in several places, and he remained silent. Finally, I gave him a good whack and he made a barely audible yelp; you’d yelp too, if someone punched you in the stomach.

JT’s new guardian will likely be an adult collector, who will derive the pleasure of ownership from seeing JT displayed in a vitrine. When JT sits on display and looks back at his admirers with those intense green eyes (even when they are not glowing!), those meeting his gaze will not know whether JT made a sound or not. Thus, functioning squeakers are always really low in the hierarchy of things I consider when evaluating an animal’s condition.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have a question. Please note, by the way, that several of JT’s relatives are also in my shop, including his big reclining brother. But there are also different poses and formats; perhaps you will decide to adopt one of those too. 🙂

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT JT OR ANY OF MY OTHER STEIFF ITEMS, PLEASE BE SURE TO SEE THE ARTICLE I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT STEIFF ID FRAUD—INCLUDING COUNTERFEIT CHEST TAGS—(AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR COLLECTORS). YOU WILL FIND THE LINK ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF MY SHOP HOME PAGE UNDER “FAVORITE LINKS.” IF YOU HAVE NOT LOOKED AT IT RECENTLY, I UPDATED AND EXPANDED IT IN MARCH, 2023.