Rare Early Post-WWII Steiff Teddy Baby Bear Hand Puppet 2 IDs

If you are a Steiff bear fan or a Steiff puppet fan, you would recognize this sweet guy as the hand puppet version of the beloved Teddy Baby (henceforth “TB”), even if he had no IDs. In fact, however, he has his button and flag. Not only is his flag absolutely legible, but it indicates that TB is one of the earliest of his kind, almost certainly not made after 1952.

Of course, TB’s early article number is 317, but his flag, with the old block-letter font and wording that was used before WWII, allows me to pinpoint his manufacture date to a period of two years: 1951 and 1952. Although this model of TB was made starting in 1949, his raised script button dates him a little later, to 1951.

I am fairly confident that TB was made no later than 1952 because of the wording and font of the printing on his flag. Of course, you see the name “Steiff” at the top, underneath which is the word “Original.” Then comes the word you don’t see on later flags, even in the 1950s. That word, “geschützt,” means “protected,” and it serves a similar function to the ® we associate with trademarks and the © we associate with copyright.

Because the time period for this “geschützt” wording is so specific, even though Teddy no longer has his chest tag, I can tell you the tag had his name printed in red-brown letters, and the bear’s head at the bottom of the flag had a more angular shape, even than the later red-brown printed chest tags used in 1953. This “in-between” angular shape is reminiscent of the pre-war “watermelon” chest tag.

OK, although the history of each individual piece of Steiff ID is of great interest to me, YOU probably care more about his condition than his precise year of birth. I am delighted to tell you that his condition is excellent (or maybe followed by the word “minus” ;-)), and I am giving him this rating absolutely, not “for his age!” I assess condition independently of age; you can find a pristine antique or a recent animal who is ready for the trash. If you want to bring age into it, TB is in such spectacular condition DESPITE his age (and play).

One minor lack in TB’s condition is very likely due to play; that is his missing chest tag; you know everything about the way that tag looked, but you will have to keep that in your imagination. The chest tags of puppets are often missing or, if they are still there, their condition is often really poor. That is because the chest tag on a puppet is in the direct path of the puppeteer’s fingers as they bring the puppet to life. Therefore, although his absent chest tag is most definitely a lack, it is not one I count very much against him.

TB’s coral ribbon is also a teeny tiny “minus.” It is ever so slightly faded, but you can tell its not much, since the color is uniform and not darker near the knot of the bow. The bow is very nicely preserved in another respect; it has minimal fraying at the ends. The third good thing to tell you about the bow is that it is still tacked to TB’s neck.

Likewise an inconsequential “minus” are the literally teeny tiny (clear) worn areas of the painted backs of TB’s amber glass eyes. These are only apparent upon close scrutiny, and I only mention them for the sake of completeness.

I am showing you the final component of the (very slight ;-)) “minus” I have given to TB in my third image. He has a smaller-than-eraser-size moth nibble on his upper back. In order to show you what it looks like, I have made the inset image of the immediately surrounding mohair on TB’s back much lighter and brighter than it looks in person, and I also have used high contrast in that image, to be sure to bring it to your attention. You could very likely not notice it at all, if I did not tell you about it. Since the waves and folds of TB’s mohair sometimes expose more or less of the burlap background fabric, depending, among other things, on the lighting, it is hard to see this under most imaginable display circumstances. Even after I finished working on the complete image of TB’s back, I could not find this nibble in the entirety of his back, so I circled the area that I THINK contains it!

The real thing to take away from this long discussion is the fact that TB’s mohair is full and lustrous, and although it is dark brown, it has a strong auburn component. Again, you see more or less auburn depending on the lighting.

Previously in this discussion, I mentioned both play and DISplay. If you are an adult collector, with no young children to entertain, it is likely that that TB will handsomely and endearingly live out his retirement in your vitrine or other display area. But if you are thinking of putting him through his Thespian paces, my last several images might give you some ideas.

Whether your collecting interest is puppets or bears, or TB is destined to join the collection of that (lucky!) Steiff person in your life, he is sure to please all who see him—and for a LOT less than his full-bodied relatives! I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have a question.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TB 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.