Next To Smallest Brother Early Model Rare Steiff Reclining Tiger Cub Magic Eyes 2 IDs

Believe it or not, this tiger is the second smallest of the four reclining tiger cubs (“Jungtiger” in German, and “JT” henceforth) made in this design. He is definitely not small in terms of most of my other Steiff critters, and you should be able to deduce that from his estimated shipping charge. Not only that, you can see that, even with my wide-angle lens, I could hardly get a picture big enough to include my hand for reference.

JT’s catalogued size is 28 cm (but see below), denoted by his article number, 2328,1. You can see the first four digits of his number, even though they are faded. You will have to go on trust that the “8” is followed by a comma, which is followed by “1.” This number indicates the second-to-earliest production span for Jungtiger (JT for short). He was born sometime between 1954 and 1958.

JT is in excellent-minus condition. He has full, wonderfully colored mohair. His orange and black stripes are vibrant, and his white long-haired areas are still white. His chest and his underside are a very pale yellow. I hesitated to use that word, since, it has bad connotations when describing the color of Steiff mohair critters. I am not even sure that JT’s non-striped areas were once the exact snow-white color of the longer mohair lining his ears, comprising his sideburns, and decorating his chin. I believe that they probably were once CLOSER in color to those longer-hair areas, but the difference, even now, is slight. Mind you, my condition assessment of JT is NOT “for his age;” rather, I am saying he is in excellent-minus condition DESPITE his age! That age could be near 70.

The “minus” is due to a few really minor things; the first is his tail, but the “problem” is invisible. JT’s tail has suffered some internal stuffing separation, but you can tell this only by feel. His tail is fine visually, and the part of the tail closest to his behind is firm. That’s a good thing, since it makes his tail stay close to his body, even if he is raised up. Sometimes you see tails that have such obvious separation problems that when you lift their owners up into the air, their tails sadly droop down behind them; not so for this handsome boy. 🙂

I know; I am supposed to be giving you the “minus,” but thinking about that droopy tail situation leads me to another thing that is superb about JT. His chest is firmly stuffed, and he sits proudly with his head held high. I would even say it is more likely than not that you will see a reclining wild cat with his chest mooshed down, followed by his head. In the most pathetic cases, the poor critter will have his chin resting on his paws. While this state of affairs is more likely to happen with big (and still bigger) guys like JT, I have even seen it among the smallest wild cats.

OK, I spent the last paragraph gloating; let me get back to the “minus.” Actually, the minus is part of a much bigger “plus,” and I am referring to JT’s glow in the dark (“magic”) eyes. The glow is spectacular, although it is ephemeral, but the phosphorescent paint on the back of JT’s right eye has apparently somewhat worn away. This really does not affect the eye’s ability to glow, but you can see an “interruption” in the green iris. It is a very small area on the outside of JT’s right eye, and mentioning it is Rosalie nitpicking at its best. 😉

The last reason for the “minus” is the lack of JT’s “roar.” I would not even have expected to find a squeaker, but that is what the “1” at the end of his article number indicates. For all I know, his squeaker still functions, but I simply was not able to find anything that felt like a voice box. JT’s body is thick, so there could be a squeak somewhere inside him, waiting to be discovered by bigger and stronger hands than mine.

I spent so much time telling you about JT’s minor imperfections that you must be tired of reading. Therefore, I will forgo discussing his other POSITIVE traits. The one thing you do need to know is his size, so you can plan for a nice place to display him. The “28” part of his article number denotes JT’s size in centimeters, as I said above.

I have always found the catalogue dimensions of Steiff reclining animals to be less than helpful. I never know where to measure to come up with the catalogued size. What you really want to know are his actual dimensions, and here they are: If you turn JT over, it is easier to measure him on his flat bottom. He measures about 11 1/2 inches from the outside of his right front paw to the outside of his left back paw. Add about 1 1/2 inches in horizontal space to include his tail being draped closely to his body—a total of 15 inches would be great. You’ll need vertical clearance of 9 to 10 inches if you don’t want to squash him down onto a too-low shelf. I say 9 to 10 since JT’s height to the top of his head is 8 inches, and his sweetly posed higher left ear measures about 8 3/4 inches off the ground. You want to give him a bit of space above so he does not get claustrophobic. 😉 Basically, then, you will need a space approximately 15 by 12 to ensure JT fits comfortably—and looks his best—on display.

As I said, I could go on telling you more great stuff about JT, but I will stop now. Of course, if you have any questions, please write.

If you like the Steiff wild cats, be sure to JT’s relatives, including his baby brother, in my shop.

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.