Next To Smallest Sister Steiff Tapsy Brown Tabby-Striped Cat Kitten All ID

This sweet kitten is the second smallest of the four sisters in this family. Her catalogued size is 11 centimeters to the top of her head, which is indicated by her clear and darkly printed article number, 1311,00. At 10 cm, or about 4 inches, Tapsy is a bit smaller than the catalogue indicates. This disparity, sometimes even more, is the case for almost every Tapsy I have helped find a new home.

All sizes of Tapsy were made for only a short time, and all but the smallest, who was produced continuously from 1959 to 1966, had a hiatus in their production during the mid 1960s and appeared for one year only after the hiatus—1966. For this Tapsy’s two bigger sisters, the hiatus was between 1963 and 1966, but this sweet girl’s production had stopped a year earlier, in 1962. That was probably a long and complicated way of saying that this Tapsy was produced the fewest years of all four sisters, and is, therefore, the hardest to find.

Because of Tapsy’s wonderful green glass eyes (with a touch of fading in each of her irises), I know she is from those 4 years before the hiatus, 1959 to 1962. And even at her youngest, she is past the 60-year mark. You would never guess that because Tapsy is in excellent-minus condition. You can tell, from the way I phrased the last sentence, that my rating of Tapsy’s condition is absolute. I mean “DESPITE her age,” not “FOR her age!”

Perhaps I am being too hard on Tapsy by including the minus (and I am sure there are others who would call her “near mint”). I am being conservative because Tapsy has one issue, and even that one is fairly inconsequential.

Tapsy has a teeny-tiny amount of overall wear, with the most noticeable along her seams and the most notable of those are the two seams that form the “v” at the back of her head and the seam running down her back.

If you consider Tapsy’s IDs as part of her condition, her chest tag has some minor issues. Because I believe Tapsy will be going to the home of an adult collector and will not subject to prodding and poking by the hands of a curious child, I don’t think her tag will change from the way you see it now. The very short and tight string has pulled away up into the red periphery of the tag, and there is a very subtle bend in the tag approximately along the top of the bear’s head. I am calling it a “bend” and not a “crease” because its incursion into the crispness of the tag is so minimal.

Note, by the way, there is one thing about the tag that is amazing, and that is its retention of the little “dot” of cardboard that was supposed to be pushed out when the hole was punched. That may actually be the reason for the string’s position!

There is one thing that has nothing to do with condition, per se, and it is a feature of Tapsy’s anatomy. Since this is the way Tapsy was put together at the factory, you could call it a “birth defect.” I am referring to the fact that Tapsy’s rear right leg is much longer than her left one. When she arrived, her stance was awkward; she could couldn’t stand with all her paws hitting the ground simultaneously. I solved that issue by putting Tapsy into a walking pose, with her right leg pushed forward and bent in a way that makes it even with her left leg. This anatomical fix is only visible when you look at Tapsy’s underside,

Interestingly, this kind of anatomical anomaly is often the case with the animals I help relocate, and I have had many occasions to do what I have done to Tapsy. I wonder, whenever I see it, why it happens at all.

Everything else about Tapsy is wonderful. Her tail is stiff and perky; she has most of her whiskers (minus one out of six on each side of her nose), including four in front of each ear. Her coloring is strong, including little touches of rose-colored airbrushing on the tips of her ears and at the intersection of her lustrous floss nose and mouth. Her ribbon looks new, with no fading or fraying, and so does her bell, which has essentially no tarnish and still contains its tiny pebble “clapper.”

I can’t think of anything else you might want to know, but please write if you have a question. Tapsy is a rare, sought-after kitty, and you will be delighted if she joins your collection. If you can bear to part with Tapsy once you see her, she would delight the Steiff collector in your life. And check out her sisters!

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TAPSY OR ANY OF MY OTHER STEIFF ITEMS, PLEASE BE SURE TO SEE THE ARTICLE I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT STEIFF 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.