Little Sister Rare Steiff Spidy Spider Spinne 2 IDS 1960 And 1961 Only

This colorful and densely mohair-covered lady with 3 glass eyes and 8 pipe-cleaner legs is the smaller of the two Spidy spider (“Spinne” in German) sisters Steiff made. She hatched in one of only two years—1960 or 1961. As you can see, her article number is 2312,00. I double checked the flag worn by the small Spidy who lives in my vitrine, and it is upside down as well. Since you would think Steiff would have wanted her number to be readily readable when Spidy is on display, that’s a bit surprising, but that is apparently the way the flag is supposed to be. Pfeiffer’s pictures are tiny, but if you look closely, you will see that his example is the same. In any case her flag, while a little curled, is otherwise in great condition: crisp with darkly printed and easily legible numbers.

A curious thing to notice about the flag is that the “Made in” is printed below the word “Germany.” I would have thought that constantly-used phrase was set up to print as a unit, with the grammatically less awkward 😉 two lines of type always the same. I mention this because it is interesting; it is not the slightest indication that there is something “wrong” with the flag.

I am not sure how, exactly, Spidy is meant to be measured to come up with her catalogued size; the “12” in her article number denotes centimeters. I would not have thought her pincers were supposed to be in that measurement, (like a rabbit’s ears are not supposed to be included in his height), but, as it turns out, Spidy is actually a little less than 12 centimeters long from front to back, including her pincers, or about 4 1/2 inches. On the other hand, because her legs and pincers are flexible, you can vary them quite a bit to your own taste when you put her on display. I bent her pincers downward a little for Spidy’s photo shoot from the way they were when she arrived. I made this tiny adjustment to allow you to get a good glimpse of her eyes when she faces front. Not variable is any part of Spidy’s body, of course; it is what it is. 😉 She’s about 6 centimeters (2 1/4 inches) wide across the widest part of her belly, and, although, as I said, her height can be varied somewhat by the way you bend her legs, as she is standing now, Spidy is about 2 3/4 inches high to the highest point on her back.

Spidy is in excellent-minus condition with vibrant coloring and mostly full mohair. I believe her underside may be a little thinner that what is was when she left Giengen, but I am not absolutely sure. If there is thinning, it is minimal and uniform, and I have added the “minus” to show a bit of restraint. I have seen Steiff animals for sale on the Internet (as I know you have too) in far worse condition than this who have been called “mint.” The name you give to her condition is not important; your purchasing decision should be based on what you see, and not what I am calling it. In any case, you don’t see her underside when she is on display.

I think I have covered just about everything you would want to know, in both words and pictures, but please write if you have a question. You rarely have a chance to adopt a Spidy, especially one in such nice condition. Every serious Steiff collection should include one, and this is your chance!

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT SPIDY 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.