Rare Earliest Series Steiff Hexie Dachshund Puppy Dog All ID Unusual Chest Tag

This sweet dachshund is the next-to-smallest of the four Hexies Steiff made in this design, but she is quite a substantial doggie with a wonderful presence. I am delighted she asked me to help her find a new home, since she is very rare. It was way back in 2011 that I helped the last Hexie of this size relocate!

Hexie’s article number, as you can see clearly, is 1313,0. The “13” denotes her height in centimeters, and interestingly, she is quite a bit taller than that, measuring about 16 cm. high to the top of her swivel head, about 6 1/2 inches. I find the way Hexie differs from the catalogue interesting, because almost always, when an animal differs from their “official” size, it is in the OTHER direction. Of course, each animal is different, even those put together by the same seamstress, so it is no big deal. Also, and this is really sweet, you CAN’T measure Hexie to the top of her head as a horizontal line. She was put together with her head resting on her shoulders at an angle, and her “resting” position is as you see her on the left side of my second composite image.

Since dachshund dogs are known more for their length, I should tell you that Hexie measures about 11 inches long from the tip of her nose to the point of her perky tail (more on that later). This is an approximation because the distance will be dependent on how Hexie is holding her head when you take the measurement. From shoulder to behind, Hexie measures about 6 inches long.

This Hexie is the earliest model made, whose whole production time was 1954 to 1958. It is interesting that she was born after 1953 (when the printing her name was in blue ink) but the SHAPE of her chest tag, with the angular bear’s head, dates to 1952. In fact, even by 1953, you might still see a rounded bear’s head on a tag, but still with red printing. I am guessing that Hexie was among the very first instances of this dog—the earliest of the early.

Hexie is in excellent condition, and I DON’T MEAN “for her age!” Her mohair is full, and her coloring is wonderful. Her main color is a tawny or rusty cognac brown, and her underside is gold, with dark brown accents. Because her upper parts are much darker to begin with, it is a little more difficult to see that she has the same dark brown accents on her sides, face, and the top of her head. Actually, if you visit my shop with any regularity, you would know that I favor black backgrounds (except when he animal or part of it is black too). Although Hexie is this beautiful rusty brown, I could not get her images to work with black. I gave up after MANY hours of trying. 🙁 Of course, I have satisfied myself that Hexie is rendered close to the way she looks in person, but I have no idea how she looks on your monitor. 😉

OK, about her tail. When Hexie arrived, her tail was anything but “perky!” It was creased, bent, and droopy with several areas of stuffing settlement. I guess I could have even given her a bigger dose of new excelsior (her tail shows some small wrinkles), but I was reluctant to push too far into her body, and I wanted to keep my repair opening as small as possible. I succeeded in that, and while you can see my stitches under her tail, you have to look closely for them. I am showing you an enlarged and differently-angled image of my repair on the far right of my second composite image.

Some nitpicking on Hexie’s chest tag: Although I don’t think it has much of a negative impact on her presentation, I do want to mention that tag has some staining on it, and there is a very shallow vertical crease extending the short distance down from the bottom of the hole through the “ex” of her name but stopping there. You can see that there is some rust on the grommet too. To complete my nitpicking, the tag seems to be uniformly faded, or, at least, the colors are not saturated, as they are on newer tags. Notwithstanding any of this, I think her tag is in reasonably good, and crisp condition, and it does have the virtue of the unusual combination of color and shape.

A few final comments: Hexie’s red leather collar is in excellent condition, with no wear or cracking, and her googly black and white eyes are glass.

And finally, the thing that is almost always at the end of my descriptions, Hexie no longer “barks,” but pushing down on her springy squeaker does produce a sound—the crunch of her excelsior filling. As I always say when I report an animal’s muteness, it does not affect her display appeal, and because I assume she will be joining the collection of an adult, display is precisely the way Hexie will be enjoyed.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have any questions. You, or Hexie’s recipient if she meant as a gift, will be absolutely delighted with her.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT HEXIE 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.