Rare Adorable 5xJointed Steiff Tiger Wild Cat Cub ID

This wonderful cat is the middle size of the three jointed tiger cub brothers. He retains only his button, but even without his flag, you’d know that there was a “10” in either article number he could have had: 5310 or 5310,00. That “10” denoted his height in centimeters, and he is just slightly taller, at about 4 1/8 inches high. In a way, it does not matter too much what his flag said, since Tiger is really rare in any case. The two models spanned only the years 1952 to 1959.

Measuring Tiger’s precise height is not as simple as having him stand erect with all four of his legs perpendicular to the ground. Because he has the “birth defect” so commonly found in Steiff jointed four-legged animals, he stands most stably if you arrange his legs in a “walking” position. This anatomical issue is not damage, of course, but the way Tiger was put together at the factory. His legs are not all exactly the same length, nor do his hips and shoulders start at precisely the same height on his torso. For good measure, Tiger’s head does not sit precisely in the middle of his shoulders. 😉 Notwithstanding all of these factory-created issues, Tiger can be made to stand well and stably, as you should be able to see in my pictures.

The reason that Tiger’s anatomy is not a bar to placing him in a good standing position is that his joints—while they are definitely not perfectly symmetrical—are really healthy and tight! To demonstrate that tightness, I have posed him standing on only his rear legs; see my eleventh image.

Because these anatomical characteristics are factory-created, and also because, if anything, they ADD to Tiger’s cuteness, I am giving them no importance in evaluating his condition, which I would say is excellent, or, maybe, very good plus. I am hedging a bit because Tiger has some wear along some of his seams (see, in particular, the seam running down the left side of the back of his head). But the REASON for the prominence of that seam is the pristine whiteness of Tiger’s underlying mohair. I don’t think I have ever seen jointed (or any version) Steiff tiger whose mohair was whiter. To complement that, his orange background and black stripes are vibrant and gorgeous.

Speaking of coloring, note the strong dabs of rose-colored airbrushing both above and below the elongated “X” of black floss depicting Tiger’s nose and mouth. A little subdued from what it once may have been, the insides of Tiger’s ears also retain subtle hints of rose.

Before I leave the discussion of Tiger’s anatomy, there is one anatomical feature which contributes to Tiger’s wonderful presentation, and that is his straight tail. His tail points directly back behind him, with no hint of the stuffing settlement you often see on such animals.

While Tiger’s button placement is not a feature of his anatomy per se, his small ears—his left ear in particular—may have contributed to the not-absolutely-perfect insertion of his button—again a factory issue. Although Tiger’s button is very firmly attached to his ear, the attachment seems to be largely the responsibility of the prong that is closest to his face. The outside prong may still be contributing some to the attachment, but it didn’t make it as fully into his ear as the other prong. I believe that the point of the left prong did get inserted into his ear, while the rest seems to have folded upon itself, but my main point (hehehe) is to let you know that his button attachment is fine!

One last thing I want to mention is the fact that Tiger has his full complement of original whiskers—four on each side of his nose.

I can’t think of anything else to mention, but please write if you have a question. Tiger is wonderful, and if you are into the Steiff wild cats, he should absolutely be part of your collection. If you are thinking of the tiger or Steiff lover in your life, that person would be delighted to receive him as a gift. While you are in a tiger frame of mind, be sure to check out my others, including a puppet.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TIGER 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.