Middle Brother Steiff 5xJointed Rare Zimt Cinnamon Colored Zotty Teddy Bear 2 IDs

The Zotty Fairy has done it again! This sweet boy is the same size—28 centimeters—as one of his relatives in my shop, but he is the rare cinnamon (“zimt” in German) color. I don’t know what proportion of Zottys in any of their seven (non-display) sizes were made in this special color, and I don’t know that the proportion was the same for each size. I just know that every once in a while, a zimt guy shows up at my door.

As I said, Zotty is the 28-cm size, so I know there would be a “28” somewhere in his article number. Unfortunately, his flag is very uninformative on that issue. Not only is it worn and faded, but a big swatch of yellow seems to have worn off the surface of the fabric, leaving white below.

The first number in ALL Zottys’ flags is a “6,” which is Steiff’s way to signal a young animal. And Zotty’s sweet presentation is definitely cublike. After the “6” would be a “3,” which indicates the outer covering is mohair. Although the ”6” is unmistakable on Zotty’s flag, I admit that if I did not know what the second number was supposed to be, I might not have been able to identify it. After those two numbers, you get into the white territory of the flag, and no more information is gleanable—at least as far as numbers go. Above the numbers you can almost read the name “Steiff,” even though part of it is in the white area.

Even if I had made my picture of the flag huge, it is very likely that you would not make out much, but, if you are Zotty’s new owner, you will have an opportunity to verify what I am telling you here. 🙂

Although Zotty’s catalogue size is 28 centimeters, he is actually a bit shorter than that, just under 10 inches tall, or about 25.5 centimeters. He looks adorable sitting, so you might want to display him that way—a posture he DEFINITELY prefers to standing, although I expended a lot of effort getting him to do that for you. Of course, if you have a stand (which I don’t), that would enable you to display him upright.

OK, having covered the preliminaries, I have to tell you about Zotty’s condition. He definitely seems to have been loved by a former young guardian. The main evidence of that is the hair missing from his head and face. He has some all-over slight wear, but the main loss is more serious, which is perhaps the result of thousands of kisses. 😉

I believe that Zotty will be going to the home of an adult collector, and while his head and face certainly reveal their condition under close scrutiny, the wear would not be that noticeable from a display distance. That’s because the color of the underlying fabric is pretty much the same as the mohair, and because Zotty’s mohair is long and shaggy, it helps camouflage what’s underneath. By the way, this is a good time to mention that Zotty’s name comes from the German word “zottig,” which means “shaggy.”

Although Zotty’s mohair is uniform in color (except for his tan shaved mohair muzzle and breast plate), the zimt color is somewhat subdued—not so much that you would ever mistake it for caramel, but I believe it was redder at one time. The light gold patch of hair on Zotty’s chest was also closer to apricot at one time. Interestingly, his felt areas, while also showing some fading, are not far removed from what they must have looked like 60-something years ago when Zotty left Giengen. Likewise, the rose-colored airbrushing that decorates both halves of Zotty’s palate is subdued but definitely visible.

Since I am nitpicking Zotty to pieces (would you want it any other way? ;-)) there is one more indication that his face endured many kisses. His left eye is a little loose, but by no means is it in danger of falling out!

Along the same lines, Zotty’s head can be made to nod “yes;” it sits a bit loosely on his shoulders. You can see that it is not drooping or showing any sign that the connection of his head to his body is anything different from what it was initially. As with his eye, you can rest assured that nothing calamitous will happen to Zotty’s head.

This is the point in my descriptions that I typically mention last, since it is least important condition item an animal could have, especially one who would be owned and displayed by an adult. I am referring to Zotty’s now-silent squeaker. His former young guardian must have delighted in making him “roar” again and again, until he could roar no more. Of course, when you admire him on display, you would not know whether he roared or not.

The last thing I want to mention is the wonderful ribbon I gave Zotty. He arrived with what I believe was already a replacement, and it was pretty much shredded to pieces. Not only is Zotty’s ribbon really attractive, but, appropriately, so my source tells me, it was made in Germany. 🙂

I think I have covered everything you could think of asking, but please write if you have a question. Zotty is not perfect, but he would make a wonderful addition to your hug. If you can bear (hehehe) to part with him when he arrives, he would make a wonderful gift for the arctophile in your life.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT ZOTTY 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.