Gorgeous And Sweet Steiff Tiny Brother Sitting Leo Lion Wild Cat Fantastic Coloring ID

I DECEMBER kick myself after Leo goes in my shop (where he will join several relatives, including his big brother). I say that because little Leo is sooooo spectacular that he really should be in one of my vitrines.

Although Leo has some minor flaws, he is so gorgeous and sweet looking, those “issues” are really inconsequential. Because of his slight subtractions from perfection, I am rating him “very good-plus,” and I mean that not for the ridiculous “for his age,” but DESPITE his age. That age could be more than 60, if Leo is from the first series of this lion, which was made from 1956 to 1958. If he is from the next series, which was made from 1959 to 1964, he might still be over 60, but he would be well over half a century old, even at his youngest.

I know that Leo is from one of the two earliest series because of his glass eyes. He has only his chest tag, so I have no other information to go by. His chest tag, by the way, is in near-pristine condition; its only “flaw” is the fact that it was not sewn into the middle of his chest. I do not count this against Leo at all, since his chest tag was attached at the factory.

I will get Leo’s minor shortcomings out of the way; there is really only one, which is thinning. The more obvious thinning is in his beautifully colored auburn-tipped mane and in the puff of that same longer mohair at the end of his tail. I don’t think I have ever seen a Leo without some spacing in his mane, including the one who lives in my vitrine, so I don’t how much of what you are seeing came with him (and his off-center chest tag) from the factory. Leo has additional slight thinning in his longer white beard. That is most probably due to handling and play, but it is inconsequential because you have to look under Leo’s chin to see it.

Leo’s other detraction is actually somewhat positive, since it results from a factory design flaw. Steiff does not place the tails that extend from the backs of animals seated on their haunches in a place that does not conflict with their haunches. The end result of that conflict is usually a bent and weakened tail that has no proper place to sit behind the animal. Another example of such a body-parts conflict is in the Bengal tigers, but you will probably think of many others, including Leo’s significant other, Lea.

Leo’s tail takes an alternative route to avoid being severally bent as it touches the ground, which I why I say it is positive. Seeing Leo’s tail curve around like it does, instead of pointing straight back behind him really has no negative aesthetic consequences; it looks quite natural—at least that is my opinion. 🙂

OK; that’s it! Leo’s coloring is fantastic. His white areas are still as white, I am sure, as the day he left the factory; I am referring to the white areas on both his underside and his face. His main deep gold body color is rich and not at all faded, and his airbrushed accents are spectacular!

Finally, Leo has all 12 of his original whiskers (interesting to note because the small domestic cats typically have only four on each side).

I told you that this is the smaller of the two seated Leos, but I did not tell you his size. That size would be denoted by the “12” in either of the two article numbers he might have had: 3312 or 3312,00. That number is his measurement in centimeters to the top of his head. He is a bit tinier than that, measuring about 4 3/8 inches, or approximately 11 cm. high.

I think that covers everything, but please write if you have any questions. He is surely to one of the nicest little Leo’s I have helped find a new den; will that be yours? And while you are considering adopting him, please consider having one of his relatives in my shop join him!

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT LEO 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 DECEMBER, 2022.