Sweet Early Series Big Brother Steiff Wild Boar All ID Near Mint

This handsome and sweet-looking guy is a wild boar “Wildschwein” in German. To the extent that he does look sweet, he is different from his much more serious looking HUGE cousin (not in the same family line) elsewhere in my shop.

Although in comparison to his cousin, Boar looks somewhat puny, he is actually the biggest brother of the three in his immediate family (and to make things even more confusing, these two mohair wild boars also have a tiny velveteen cousin in still another section of the family)!

OK, I did not mean to make things complicated. In fact, this is going to be one of the least complicated and involved descriptions of the thousands I have written. I have VERY FEW and minor things to point out to you about this Steiff collector’s prize. He is among the closest to mint of all the “near mint” animals I have helped find new homes.

Instead of telling you all the ways in which Boar is fantastic, which I hope you will see for yourself, I will tell you that if you have a question about him, and you would like the answer to be “yes,” it will, and if you would like the answer to be “no” it will too. I will give you two examples: If the question is “does he have any wear or moth damage?” the answer will be “no.” And a question whose answer cannot be learned from looking at all his pictures is “does he have a working squeaker?” And the answer to that will be YES!

Only one of my two nitpicks is a “problem” that Boar (probably) acquired after he left the factory, and that is his curled and slightly less than crisp flag. His article number, 1320,03, is dark and legible, however. The other nitpick is for something that Boar acquired at the factory, which is his crookedly-attached chest tag. The tag starts out in the middle of his chest, but the short double attachment strings pull the tag over to his right (left as you face him). The tag, however, is crisp, with not a hint of the string pulling up from the hole.

Back to Boar’s article number, the “20” indicates his catalogued size in centimeters, and as with the “Halloween” cats and the bison, I believe that measurement is to be taken to the highest point on his back. Boar is a tiny bit less than that, at about 19.5 cm, or 7 3/4 inches high. Of course, you want to leave room for his ears, so you should allow for a vertical display space of 9 inches. I say that number because you don’t want him to look cramped.

Four last things I will mention are not condition items, but information about Boar’s construction. His beautiful blue eyes are glass; his tusks are plastic; the end of his snout is felt, and his cute squiggly tail is chenille.

By the way, Boar was made in two series with this same article number; those series spanned the years 1961 to 1967. There is no question that Boar is from the earlier series, last made in 1964. I know that because of his glass eyes and his raised script button with skinny letters.

Although Boar’s being covered with mohair is not a construction item per se, his mohair coverage is special, with a bristly feel (He is not exactly what I would call “huggable.”) That sharpness comes from the gluing together of several strands of mohair, and this allows you to peek through a tiny bit to see the tweed-like base fabric. But, as I said earlier, Boar’s mohair is full.

Boar’s face and the tan insides of his ears are covered with the typical close-cut mohair you see on most Steiff animals. Notice, by the way, the gorgeous dark brown airbrushing on top of the tan. I know, I told said you could see all his wonderful features yourself, just from looking at my pictures, but I couldn’t resist pointing out the airbrushing. 😉

I can’t think of anything else to tell you, but please write if you have a question.

Boar is one magnificent animal with lots of presence. His 20-centimeter size does not begin to convey what his actual presentation is like. I hope I have shown you that he is one big beautiful brute, who will delight either you, or, if you can part with him once he arrives, the lucky recipient of your generosity.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT BOAR 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.