Steiff Tiger Wild Cat Hand Puppet Gorgeous Coloring 2 IDs

Here is the puppet form of one of my favorite Steiff wild cats. He has his button and flag, which is partially faded but legible, showing article number, 0317,00. That number, Tiger’s glass eyes, cardboard finger tube, and early-style raised script button with skinny letters, supply ample evidence for his being the earlier of the two tiger puppet series made with that number. His production dates were 1959 to 1963.

Tiger is in very good condition, and some people might even make the stronger claim that he is excellent. I tend to be a bit more conservative than average, but I will point out that my assessment of condition is made on an absolute basis, not “for his age,” whatever that is supposed to mean. You can find pristine antique Steiff animals as well as those made only 10 years ago who look terrible. If you want to bring age into the discussion you can say that Tiger’s condition is very good DESPITE his age.

I am showing you two of Tiger’s minimal detractions in my second image. He has a slight amount of wear under his chin, and there are two small and REALLY light stains at the bottom of his front side—well, one is on the front side and the other is just over the seam that separates his front from his back. I tried to make an enlarged picture of that area, but it just looks ridiculous! The larger of the two stains—on his front—is MUCH smaller than a pencil eraser, and the other one is truly inconsequential.

This is really nitpicking, but I will tell you that Tiger has a slight amount of thinning in his right sideburn. Actually, the thinning is not in the sideburn itself, but rather along the seams that surround it on either side—one starting directly under his ear and the other separating the sideburn from his orange and black face. I have brushed it in a way that pretty much camouflages the wear, as you can see closeup in my fourth image.

Other than that, Tiger’s coloring is very nice. His orange and black are vivid, showing no apparent fading, and his chest is probably only a tiny bit darker than it was 60-ish years ago when he left Giengen. Finally, he has all 12 of his original whiskers—six on each side of his face.

Although Tiger’s life in “retirement” may be an easy one, I thought you would like to see some of the moods and feelings he can express. However you want to display or use him to entertain someone young (or old!), I am sure he has many additional decades of pleasure to give.

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have any questions. Whether your thing is tigers or puppets, this wonderful piece of Steiff history will do your collection proud. If you can bear to give him up when he arrives, the Steiff (or puppet) collector in your life will be absolutely delighted. And while you are in my shop, please check out the many other Steiff critters I have in puppet form.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT TIGER 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 JANUARY, 2023.