Sweet Big Brother Steiff Foxy Wire Haired Fox Terrier Puppy Dog 2 IDs

Foxy is fourth down from the largest of the 11 sizes Steiff made of this fox terrier design. He joins his smaller brother in my shop.

Foxy with this article number was made in two series, from 1959 to 1962, followed by a hiatus of three years (I am going by what Pfeiffer says), and again from 1966 to 1977. Foxy’s glass eyes and early-style raised script button with skinny letters would ordinarily make it almost a certainty that he is from the earlier series. The one thing that causes me a little doubt is his vinyl collar; I would have expected his collar to be leather. I guess his precise date within those eight years is not really important; his “book value” is the same for both series.

The “28” in Foxy’s article number indicates his catalogued size in centimeters, measured to the top of his head. He is precisely in accord with the catalogue at 11 inches tall.

Foxy is in very good-plus condition, and I mean absolutely, not “for his age.” He has some minor issues, each one of which, by itself, would still have allowed me to feel comfortable saying his condition was “excellent” Trying to be so precise is kind of silly, and you can decide for yourself, based on what you see and what you read here. In any case, if you are a Steiff doggie fan, you would be very happy to have him in your collection.

Foxy’s coloring is nice, but it has two minor defects. First, his colors, while very close to the way they were when he left Giengen, maybe over 60 years ago—have changed a bit. I would now call the white “ecru” and note that his non-white parts are ever-so-slightly faded. The most noticeable fading is the once-orange colors surrounding his eyes. Those areas were always subtly colored, and now they are just a bit more subtle. Unless you have another Foxy for comparison, you don’t notice anything lacking. Foxy’s black areas were dark enough for me to use a blue background in my pictures. If I had used my typical black background, it would have partially swallowed him up. In general, I would say that Foxy’s coloring is great—including his retention of rose-colored-accents above his floss nose and below the line of floss that depicts his mouth.

The other reason for my conservatism is the very slight thinning in some areas of Foxy’s mohair. The most noticeable lack you see is around his nose (but notice how nice the black stitching is). As a matter of fact, the long mohair coverage on Foxy’s face and forehead, is BETTER than on many I have seen. In addition to the wear right around his nose, there his wear at the tip of Foxy’s tail.

Speaking of his tail, even though I am supposed to be telling you about defects, this is a good place to note that Foxy’s tail is perky and upright, something you don’t always see on animals—not just dogs—with this kind of tail.

To be absolutely accurate, I will tell you that there is slight “play” at the juncture of Foxy’s tail with his behind, which is only perceptible by touch, not by sight. That means you could “wag” it a bit from side to side. But, as I’ve said, his tail is perky and erect. I am sure you have seen other Steiff animals with supposed-to-be upright tails that are bent and “broken,” sometimes actually hanging down and touching their behinds. Because I don’t do repairs that would only minimally, if at all, improve an animal’s appearance, so that the benefit of the repair would not outweigh the risk of damage, Foxy was a clear case of “leave him be.”

Finally, I come to the condition issue that is almost always at the end of my descriptions, and that is the fact that Foxy no longer “barks.” An animal’s retention of a working “voice” mechanism is at the bottom my typical hierarchy of nitpicks because it has no visual impact on his display appeal. When admiring Foxy as he sweetly looks back at you from your vitrine, you would not know whether he barked or not! I guess, since he is silent, it doesn’t really matter, but an interesting tidbit of information is the fact that Foxy has two side squeakers, not the single one you typically find in an animal’s belly.

I think I have covered everything you might want to know, but please write if you still have a question. If you are a Steiff doggie fan and/or a fan of terriers—or you know someone who is—this sweet, rare gem should join your (or your loved one’s) collection.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT FOXY 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.