Rare Steiff 5xJointed Dralon Teddy Petsy Bear All ID Near Mint 5 Years Only!

I have never had the pleasure of helping a Petsy bear find a new home, nor had I ever seen one before! I am delighted this sweet Teddy knocked on my door, and you will be too if you are his lucky new owner.

I am getting ahead of myself. 🙂 Let me tell you about Petsy. He is very rare, having been made in each of three sizes (this is the smallest) only from 1970 to 1974. He was made in three colors; the others were gold and caramel. Pfeiffer calls this Petsy “light beige,” and although he looks exactly that color in Pfeiffer’s book, this Petsy is a VERY light yellow. I tried to have that color come across in my pictures—and to have the images consistent with one another, and I think I was successful. Of course, I have no idea how Petsy looks on your monitor.

Petsy is covered with Dralon, and, in fact, Pfeiffer names him “Dralon Teddy Petsy.” To me that sounds like too much information for a name; it would be like saying a bear was a “Mohair Original Teddy.” 🙂

I want to say something more Petsy’s dating. Although he was made from 1970 to 1974, you know he was made no later than the first two years of that series. Starting in 1972, Petsy would not have had a bear-head chest tag. I think I can date him even more precisely—to 1970, the first year of his production. I say that because his flag is anchored by a raised script button. Starting in 1969, Steiff used the “lentil” button with incised script. I am guessing that Petsy must have been one of the very first of his series, since it is likely that there were some of the older buttons still at the factory, and Steiff wanted to use them up. In any case, you know he was early in the series because of his chest tag.

Petsy is in near mint condition. I am including the “near” because his flag is faded and the end with the price section has been partially cut off. Petsy’s article number is 0240/24. The first two digits of that number are the most faded, but the others are faded too. Notwithstanding that, his number is totally legible. The “24” in his number denotes his catalogue size in centimeters, measured to the top of his head. He actually measures 22 cm, about 8 1/2 inches. Unless you have a stand (and I don’t) you will most likely want to display Petsy seated. With great difficulty, I did get him to stand in my pictures, but he was not willing to stay in each pose very long. The bottoms of his feet are quite rounded, not conducive to holding a standing pose. By the way, although the fabric covering the soles of Petsy’s feet is cut shorter than his body fur, I believe it is also Dralon.

Another factor in getting Petsy to pose the way I wanted him was the fact that his joints, including his head, are very stiff and tight. That fits right in with his near mint condition; I don’t think he was handled very much and went right from the store shelf to the owner’s vitrine where he was displayed in a seated position.

Coming to the final detail, I believe Petsy’s ribbon is original; at least it matches the ribbons in Pfeiffer’s pictures of two of the three Dralon Petsys; the caramel bear has a blue ribbon, and, of course, I don’t know whether it was original. In any case, Petsy’s ribbon is not at all faded and has only minimal fraying. My only question arises from the fact that his ribbon is not tacked to chest. As I said, I have never seen this Petsy before, so I have nothing to compare him to.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have a question. Teddy would make a fantastic addition to your hug, or to the hug of the lucky person who receives him as your gift.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT PETSY 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.