Rare Steiff Wool Miniature PomPom Dove Pigeon Taube Bird All ID

This rare Steiff wool miniature pompom bird is really cool, and she is very good condition. I should say NOW she is in very good condition, because I definitely had a hand in that (literally).

When Taube arrived, she looked beautiful, with nice colors (even a touch of rose-colored airbrushing at the top of her felt beak), and her white is as bright as it must have been the day she left Giengen. Her wool is tight; her flag is darkly printed, and her feet were still combined as one unit, not separated as they often are. In other words, she seemed to have all the qualities that would make me want to say she was “near mint” or at least “excellent”—except one. She absolutely could not stand!

Given her tight wool, this made no sense to me. When a pompom bird’s wool has separated and pulled apart, there is nothing to provide friction with the horizontal part of the upside down internal “U” structure that comprises its legs; the basic mechanism is the same for metal and plastic legs, with the plastic ones affording somewhat less variability in posing options. However, Taube had NO posing options!

Even with the tightest wool, there has to be some kind of internal connection to the bird’s body, keeping the structure in place. There are (supposed to be) tiny stitches at each corner of the “U” securing that side of the leg structure to the body. Taube seemed to be missing these stitches, which, as I say, is curious in light of the rest of her condition. I don’t know if she left Giengen without them, or she suffered some kind of trauma at the hands (too enthusiastic, perhaps) of her original owner.

Compounding the stitching issue, and perhaps the main problem, is the fact that the “U” structure was not placed deep enough into Taube’s body—where it would have been surrounded by more wool, which would have provided more substance to support her legs. I would call that a “birth” or “hatching” defect, since the person who put Taube together did not insert her legs properly. My tiny stitches are partly visible on Taube’s underside if you look closely (see my next to last image). Of course, her underside is not visible when she stands on display.

I was partially successful in making it possible for Taube to stand, but not with the ability to vary her pose from absolutely erect. Plastic-legged wool miniature birds never have the posing versatility that their wire-legged earlier relatives have, but they ordinarily have some posing options. Taube just wants to show off her good posture. 😉 However, as you can see, Taube is not totally devoid of posing options; you can vary her pose in another way; Taube has a swivel head.

With her “medical” issues accounted for, I will tell you about Taube’s history. Her article number, 1506,40 (the “0” is about half frayed away), was used on two series of Taube. I am not certain the information in Pfeiffer is correct as far as the precise dates for each series. His dates make it seem as if there were a one-year hiatus between the two series, but, given that they have the same article number, I think it is more likely that the “missing” year, 1964, was the end of the earlier series, and, as Pfeiffer says, 1959 was the first year of that series. Pfeiffer’s own comment about Taube having plastic legs from 1964, seems to be an acknowledgement that Taube was, indeed, produced in 1964. The later 1506,40 series was produced from 1965 to 1967.

Something else that Pfeiffer says does not make sense. When he is noting the beginning of the use of plastic for the legs is 1964, he also says, that Taube’s beak was plastic starting at the same time. Clearly, that can’t be right, since this Taube has plastic legs and a FELT beak. I believe, therefore, that she was made at the very end of the first series, in 1964, when plastic was first used for her legs, but she still had the early-style beak.

The “06” in Taube’s article number denotes her height in centimeters, and she is fairly close to the catalogue, or about 2 3/8 inches to the top of her head. Obviously, you want to have enough vertical clearance for her tail, so you should plan on at least 3 inches. Since even that measurement is tiny, I am sure that you will not have a problem finding a place to display this beautiful bird. 🙂

It always amazes me how Steiff can make a realistic and recognizable version of an animal with little more than a couple of wool pompoms and a little felt. This one should be in every serious Steiff bird and/or wool miniature collection.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TAUBE 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.