Early 1950s Colorful Steiff Wool Miniature PomPom Drake Duck Bird All ID

I have been so lucky to find another wool miniature pompom animal, and while Erpel (“drake” in German) is not AS early as my wonderful pre-WWII pompom rooster, he is early! Erpel is from the first post-war series of this duck, with article number 1506. That series was made starting in 1949, although Erpel’s raised script button probably dates him no earlier than 1951. On the other hand, it is extremely likely that Erpel hatched no LATER than 1952, six years before the end of the series.

The wording, font, and layout of Erpel’s flag were used well before the war, as far back as the 1920s. The word “geschützt,” at the top left of the flag means “protected” and serves a similar function to the ® we associate with trademarks and the © we associate with copyright.

I would say that Erpel is in excellent-minus condition. And it is probably that rare flag, not Erpel, himself, that contributes the most to the “minus.” You can see that the printing on the flag is faded, but I believe you should be able to read it from my pictures, and if not, you will certainly be able to read it in person.

The back of Erpel’s flag is in a bit worse condition. The words “100% Wool” are legible, but to their left are some faded ink hand-written letters and numbers (written upside down from the Steiff printing).

Another slight sign of age and handling is the (VERY MINIMAL) wear in the orange lacquer covering Erpel’s metal legs. I believe his legs are among the best I have seen in all the many hundreds of wool miniature animals I have helped relocate, including many much younger animals, made as late as the 1960s.

Mention of his legs brings me to his last, again minimal, condition issue. That is the fact that although he will STAY STANDING on his own in an upright position, Erpel may be slightly more inclined to bend forward with a nudge of your finger than an absolutely mint relative. However, I am sure you have seen many pompom birds who can do nothing but stay in the “pecking for food” pose, and return immediately to that position every time you try to stand them upright. The wool of those birds is extremely loose around the horizontal part of their leg assembly that connects the two sides. Erpel is nothing like that, and I am telling you this because I want to be complete. I am not sure if it makes sense to give Erpel’s posing stability a number, but if I were asked to “rate” it, I would say a 9 on a 1-t0 scale.

The tightness of Erpel’s wool around his legs can be appreciated in another, much more obvious condition feature, and that is the fact that the wool of his entire body is in tight. It does not look like it was handled much at all. Not only that, but his colors are fantastic!

The only thing that remains to tell you is Erpel’s size. The “06” in his article number denotes his height in centimeters to the top of that cute white pompom; he is actually taller than that. When measured in the upright position, Erpel is 7.5 centimeters tall, about 3 inches. He still does not require much display room.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have a question. The wool miniatures—especially the early ones with metal legs—are much sought after. You, or the Steiff collector in your life, will be delighted to own this wonderful exemplar of this colorful Steiff bird. And because he is so diminutive, you might think about adopting him with one of his pompom friends in my shop.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT ERPEL 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 JANUARY, 2023.