Rare Sweet 17 CM Steiff Black Cat US-Zone Flag For Halloween And All Year Round 1950-1955 Only!

This Steiff tomcat (“Kater” in German) is the one (out of five sizes) you almost never see, and I am thrilled to offer him to you. Having the opportunity to adopt a (so-called) “Halloween cat” is, of course, a treat this time of year, but every time you admire Tom in your vitrine—even next April—you will be happy you own him.

Tom retains only a sizable remnant of his US-Zone flag, but even if he had no ID at all, you would know who he is, based on his size. Tom’s article number (the only one he ever had) is 7317, in which the “17” indicates his catalogued size in centimeters, measured to the top of his hump. He is actually a tiny bit bigger than that, measuring about 17.5 cm, or 6 7/8 inches high. Of course, you want to give him ample display space, so he won’t feel cramped. Since Tom measures about 10 1/2 inches to the top of his bushy tail, I think you will want at least a foot to show him off.

Besides his size, a notable feature of this Tom is the red embroidery floss sewn into his paws to suggest toe separations. Only he and his largest brother (the 22-cm size) have those red stitches.

Tom was made only from 1950 to 1955—the shortest duration of anyone in his family. Unlike his brothers, who were made in several series, even the FIRST series of any of his earliest brothers was made until 1958. And, of course, they were made in other series that lasted well into the 1970s for all but his tiniest brother. Even that brother was made until 1966.

Tom is in very good condition, with glossy black mohair with just a touch of overall thinning. You hardly notice that because his background fabric is the same black color as his mohair. Sometimes you see one of these guys with underlying fabric that has somehow faded, even though their black mohair is very dark. I have never been able to figure out how that happens, and when it does, it makes lighting them for a nice display somewhat of a challenge. Happily, though, you don’t have to worry about that. Tom has a touch more wear on his face than on the rest of his body, but you see that only when the light falls directly on his face. It is quite possible to display him in a way that makes his coverage look uniform.

Speaking about Tom’s blackness, I am happy to tell you (and you can see for yourself) that Tom’s velveteen ears are as black as the rest of him; they are neither worn nor faded, unlike what you often see on these cats, even when their mohair is black.

Tom has most of his original whiskers, including 6 on each side of his nose. I think he had 4 in front of each ear, but only those on his left side remain. Yes, Tom once had a ribbon, and I decided not to try to replace it. Sometimes I have vintage ribbon on hand, and I would gladly have used some if I had any, but I do not have any. I would have needed to buy some, and since I already paid a lot for him, I figured I would leave that final touch to his new owner.

I believe Tom has lots of nice things going for him, not the least of which is his wonderful sweet expression, and I think that whoever his lucky new guardian turns out to be—whether it is you, the reader, or the lucky recipient of your gift, they will be very happy to have adopted him. And although it is great that Tom would be in his new home for this coming Halloween, he is a wonderful cat to enjoy
every other day of the year too.

By the way, I have been playing along with Steiff’s “Kater” nomenclature, which makes Tom by definition a “him.” I don’t see anything particularly male about him, and if you have a black female cat for whom you would like a mohair representation, I could have called this cat “Thomasina” throughout this description and used the pronouns “she” and “her” in all the places I said “he” or him.” Therefore, please do not be deterred by Steiff’s categorization!

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TOM (OR THOMASINA) 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.