RARE RARE RARE CUTE CUTE CUTE Earliest And Tiniest Sister Steiff Standing Brown And White Cockie Spaniel Puppy Dog All ID

This adorable puppy’s name is Cockie, a logical name for a cocker spaniel. You can see several relatives of hers in my shop, including her big sister.

As you can see, Cockie’s full article number is 1311,0. She is a member of the first of two series made of this rare doggie, coming on the scene sometime during the short span of years between 1957 and 1958. Cockie was made in the next series, with two zeros following the comma, only one year, 1959. That’s it! There were three sizes of this Cockie, and ALL of them were made for these same three years only!

The “11” in Cockie’s article number denotes her size. She is almost exactly in agreement with the catalogue, measuring about 4 3/8 inches to the top of her swivel head when she is facing straight ahead.

I would rate Cockie’s condition as somewhere between “good-plus” and “very good.” Of course, it is hard to be precise when using such general words, and yes, the difference between those two descriptors, even if I could quantify them, is minuscule. The reason I want to give Cockie a gentle nudge up to the better category is that her unbelievable cuteness has to be given some weight in her description. I have, on many occasions, purchased a Steiff critter for my own collection that was so cute, or in other ways appealing, that I preferred that one (with no ID) to others that had all ID! I realize that my collecting predilections may differ from yours, but I will talk about her other characteristics in an unbiased and neutral manner. By the way, whatever term most accurately describes her condition, my rating is not “for her age!” I use the same standards to rate my Steiff animals whenever they were born; thus, if you must bring age into it, Cockie’s condition is good plus or very good DESPITE her age, which you know from her production dates is at least 64.

The main detractor in Cockie’s condition is her wear, which is fairly uniform on the main parts of her body and a little worse along her seams. Much of that seam wear is out of view when Cockie stands on display. I refer to the seams under her feet and tail (the latter of which culminates and widens at the tip of her tail).

The second detractor in Cockie’s condition is her fading. This is mostly in her ears, although the brown spots on her face and body are a little faded too. I know this only because her near mint sister lives in my vitrine. There is nothing obviously faded in her brown areas. may be a little more obvious—is the ALMOST missing rose coloring on her right jowl. It is there if you look closely, but her left jowl still has really nice airbrushing.

Something that goes along with this jowl asymmetry is not, like fading, due to the passage of time, and it is not something that “happened to” Cockie, except in the most general way that the seamstress who put her together did it. I refer to the fact that the seam (highlighted with strong black airbrushing) that divides Cockie’s mouth from her chin (and thereby the size of each jowl) is crooked. If you must give a name to this condition, you can call it a “birth defect.” I think it actually adds a bit to Cockie’s adorable presentation.

One definite contribution to the positive side of Cockie’s condition assessment is the whiteness of her mohair AND the same whiteness of the underlying burlap fabric. If either component of Cockie’s coverage had darkened or yellowed, thereby making the wear in her mohair much more apparent, this would have a negative impact on her appearance. Of course, you can see the wear when closely scrutinize Cockie, with your nose in her side, but, from a reasonable display distance, she looks wonderful. Remember that when you look at my HUGE pictures!

The other elements of Cockie’s complete “package” are her red leather collar and her IDs. Her flag is darkly printed and complete, with even the price section. Her shiny button securely fastens her flag to her ear, although it has torn away ever so slightly. I am sure that I am not the first person who lifted up her the tip of ear to see her article number, and I did not want to make the situation worse by lifting her ear even further, so that you could see the “Steiff Original” printed at the top. I am mentioning this to be complete, but the attachment of her button and flag is absolutely secure, and I would say that her chest tag is a “9” on a “1-10” scale. And, finally, Cockie’s collar has no wear or cracking; in other words, it looks new.

If I really want to nitpick (don’t I always? ;-)), I will tell you about Cockie’s glass eyes. The brown back-painted irises show just a touch of fading—a little more so on her left eye. But Cockie’s eyes, and even their placement on her face, are the essence of her adorable expression; their slight fading is absolutely inconsequential.

I can’t think of anything else you’d want to know, but please write if you have a question.

Cockie should be in any serious Steiff collection—whether it is yours or the one belonging to the Steiff person in your life. Even if, like me, you are not a Steiff doggie fan, per se, you will be absolutely delighted if you are Cockie’s lucky new guardian (or she will be joining the collection of someone you love). And while you are considering this baby, please take a look at her sister; it would be great if they could stay together.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT COCKIE 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.