Rare Seated 17 Cm Brown And White Early Post-WWII Steiff Cockie Cocker Spaniel Puppy Dog US-Zone

I know; I know; I am supposed to be a “cat person,” and the cats in my shop hiss every time a dog shows up. In fact, Cockie follows right on the heels of little Peky. I would just like to find homes for as many Steiff animals as I can, and especially when the dog is rare, as this Cockie is, I want to do my best to help him or her relocate.

Cockie is the third size up from the smallest, and although she is not rarest size, she is definitely rare in my experience; I have helped her get adopted only twice before, and the last time was 2008!

This (17 cm.) Cockie was made between 1951 and 1955. She is exactly in accord with the catalogue, just under 7 inches to the top of her head.

Cockie’s US-Zone flag remnant (see my fourth image) eliminates the last year as a possible date of birth for her. And sadly, I must say that she has not weathered the intervening years too well. In fact, if you compare her to Dally, another early and rare 17-cm. dog in my shop, she makes him seem “near mint” by comparison. As I am always telling you, my condition assessments of my Steiff critters are absolute, so my saying that Dally seems “near mint,” is just hyperbole. What I am trying to impart is that although Dally has some condition issues, Cockie has many more and more serious ones. My adoption fee for each of them reflects this difference.

There is no easy way to say this, and I think my pictures do a good job of showing you, Cockie has just about every condition issue a Steiff critter can have (poor pup!) She has darkening/discoloration of both her mohair and velveteen areas. On the other hand, some of her coloring is still quite nice: her brown areas are not too badly faded, and her white underlying body mohair color is still probably close to what it was more than 60 years ago. The top of her head is now more beige than it probably once was, but I have found that the shorter mohair on these sitting brown and white Cockies’ heads is always somewhat darker.

Having mentioned the top of her head, she has some moth nibbling there, but one of the areas where mohair is absent might actually be a burn. You can see that (brown) area in my ninth image. The hole is about the same diameter as a cigarette. (!?!) Because of their look, I know the tiny little open spots are moth nibbles; what I don’t know for sure is whether the large expanses of mohair loss on her chest and underside are also moth-caused or just wear. My guess would be that what you see in her 11th image, are a combination of both.

Although Cockie’s velvet underlip and neck are still fairly close to their original white, her velveteen muzzle and palate are both faded and discolored. Her palate once had a nice coating of rose-colored accents, which are now mostly gone, although you can see a small hint of color remaining in the back of her mouth. Her palate was once a light orange color (under the airbrushing) but that is now faded, discolored, and worn. The top of her muzzle was once white. Although it has wear and discoloration too, Cockie’s freckles are still very strong.

I think I have discussed Cockie’s main issues (and positive attributes), and I do not want to belabor what you should be able to see really well in my pictures. I have two things to add—one of which you can see. The blue ribbon I gave her is a substitute for the red one she originally had. The red ribbons I have are synthetic and not nearly as nice as this 100% cotton ribbon, which is both vintage and from Germany, so it is in the right spirit. 🙂

The thing you can’t see is her non-working squeaker. With all of her other issues, her silence is not much of a surprise. 😉

I do want to make a comment about what remains of Cockie’s US-Zone flag. Of course, what remains is not independently identifiable as such, but anyone who knows anything about older Steiff animals would immediately see what it is. What is truly bizarre (for lack of a better word coming to me as I write), it appears as if the flag was CUT, not the victim of wear. Why would anyone do that???!!!

I guess Cockie is right for that special person, who wants to own Steiff animals that have some historic and collectible value. On that score, she will be a nice addition. If you collect based on condition, this sweet little doggie is not for you.

I can’t think of anything else (her eyes are glass, as you would expect them to be because of her age), but please write if you have a question.

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.