Rare Early Post-WWII Steiff Big Brother Stalking Jungtiger Tiger Cub All ID + US-Zone Flag Near Mint 1954 Only!

Helping this gorgeous beast find a new den is not something I would ordinarily do right now, because his same-size sweet brother is also waiting to be adopted (and I am not sure how long at the current sale price). I generally don’t like to have my same-size animals competing for your attention, but I am making an exception this time, both because of the time of year and because these big tiger brothers would most likely go to different kinds of collectors (or gift givers, for that matter).

While my earlier-arriving 17 cm “stalking” Jungtiger (for “young tiger”) is really wonderful, he has no IDs, which might make him attractive to a beginning Steiff collector who cares more about quality and condition than s/he cares about IDs. For that matter, that tiger might also be just fine for a serious collector on a budget. Of all people, a serious collector would recognize the provenance of my ID-less cat, and because that cat is so rare, that collector might decide he is worth owning. I certainly have Steiff animals in my own collection without IDs, and I am happy to have them, nonetheless. I called my original big brother “JT” for short, and I am calling this one “JT2.”

JT2 not only has all three of the standard Steiff IDs—his button, flag, and (flawless) chest tag, he also retains a sizeable remnant of his US-Zone flag, as I am showing in a large insert in my third composite image. Not only do you know from his absolutely legible flag, with article number 1317,0, that he is a member of the first series made of this tiger (whose entire production spanned the years 1954 to 1958), you know he is from the FIRST year of production!

This is a good place to mention something I have alluded to on many occasions, and that is the fact that dates Pfeiffer gives for the use of the US-Zone flag end later than the 1953 date he gives—and most people have adopted—when they write about early post-war Steiff animals. In any case, that particular issue is only of collateral interest in this discussion. The REAL interest is that JT2 is near mint! His one slight detraction is some wear in white mohair of his beard. I am showing you an enlarged image of that area as part of my fourth composite image, which does show JT2 from underneath, but not from an angle where you could see his chin, even if my image were larger.

Oh yes, I must admit another slight detraction. JT2 is so spectacular that I almost forgot about it! I am referring to his lost ability to “roar.” You can feel his squeaker depress when you press on his belly, but the only sound that produces is the crunch of his excelsior stuffing. As I always point out when I mention this fact about one of my animals, it is my assumption that JT2 (either directly or as a gift) will end up in the home of an adult collector, where he will spend his retirement being admired from a distance in that collector’s vitrine, and his lack of “roar” will have absolutely no effect on his display appeal.

Although I am assuming you have learned about this size of the stalking tiger from reading my description of his sweet brother, but just in case you haven’t, I will tell you that he is the largest size of the three brothers Steiff made in this design, and he is the rarest, having been made for fewer years than his two smaller brothers, and therefore much harder to find in the secondary market (unless you are Rosalie ;-)). If you own a copy of Pfeiffer’s book, you will see that this largest stalking brother is not with the two others in his picture. Pfeiffer probably just couldn’t find one to borrow for his picture.

Another piece of information you might not know is JT2’s size. That is indicated by the “17” in his article number, 1317,0. That refers to his height in centimeters, measured to the top of his head. JT2 is not far from the catalogue; he is just over 16 cm tall, about 6 1/4 inches. Displayed facing from front to back (so you can see his intense green glass eyes looking back at you) he will require about 16 inches to allow his tail to stretch out to the place where it naturally touches the ground, and to have a little space left behind him.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you (oh yes, he has 6 whiskers on each side of his nose ;-)), but please write if you have a question.

You have TWO instances of this fantastic cat to decide between—or maybe you should get both!

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT JT2 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.