Sweet Rarest Of The Rare And Earliest Of The Early Middle Brother Steiff Dally Dalmatian Puppy Dog All ID

OH MY! Where do I begin? I am the first to admit that Dally has some condition issues, but he is so rare and SO SWEET! The fact that his white background has turned to beige is not so unusual to find on an early Dally, but the evidence of kissing by adoring moths, 😉 to the degree he has experienced that adoration, is admittedly one of the worst cases I have seen (in person, although certainly not online). Although the moth kisses cover Dally’s entire body, I am showing you the worst expanse of moth involvement, on his lower right back leading to the top of his tail, in the enlargement of that area in my second composite image.

I am not put off by either condition issue, because I believe Dally has some redeeming characteristics; his sweetness is high on that list, but there are others. First is his age, which can be traced to 1953, the beginning of his series (which ended in 1958). In fact, based on Dally’s chest tag, he must be among the very first Dallys to leave Giengen. His tag has his name printed in blue, which is consistent with chest tags made in 1953 and later. However, the tag still has the angular shape of the bear’s head, which is a holdover from early editions of Steiff animals and is usually found with red printing.

Speaking of his tag, another feature that adds to his collection worthiness is the fact that his tag is just one of the three original pieces of ID that Dally retains. If my records are correct, I believe I have never before sold a 17-centimeter Dally with all ID. That 17-cm catalogued size is what the ”17” in Dally’s article number, 3317, denotes. The numbers on his flag are faded, especially the last three, but they are absolutely legible. Dally is slightly smaller, measuring 16 centimeters high to the top of his sweet swivel head, about 6 1/4 inches.

It is interesting—and I assure you, not at all suspicious to me, even with my hang-ups with Steiff ID fraud—that his flag and button, which are in the correct position on the underside of his left ear, were fastened with OPPOSITE face of the flag facing out. Flags like Dally’s that stick out from the underside of ears (and birds’ wings) are meant to be able to inform the viewer about that critter’s identification specifics. Dally’s flag, as it emerges from under his ear, shows you his fabric content, keeping his article number out of view until you look at the other side.

In addition to his complete set of IDs, Dally retains his original red leather collar. The collar shows some wear, but nothing about it suggests any imminent danger of its coming apart. This is all the more so, since you would not have any reason to unbuckle and re-buckle the collar; it will stay just as it is now for as long as Dally exists—which should be for the indefinite future, since he will, I assume, live out his retirement in the vitrine of an adult collector.

The mention of color with regard to Dally’s collar, reminds me of two other color features to point out—both of which should be obvious from my pictures. Although his background has darkened to beige, his black Dalmatian spots appear to be as dark as ever, and because of that, his coloring is not as bad as it would be if the spots had faded. Beige is not white, but the contrast is still wonderful.

Also visible in my pictures is the wonderful airbrushing—probably not very different from what it was 70 years ago—on both halves of Dally’s velveteen palate. Not only is the rose-colored airbrushing strong but the ripe-cantaloupe color of the underlying velveteen is also beautiful, with hardly any evidence of darkening or soiling that these areas on older animals typically exhibit.

Yes, I have to end with mention of one final condition “detraction,” which, as always, plays very little role, if at all, in my evaluation of a Steiff animal. I refer, of course, to Dally’s inoperative squeaker. Dally’s silence will have absolutely no effect on his sweet (and, I must say, “handsome!”) 🙂 display presentation.

I can’t think of anything else, but please write if you have any questions. Dally is a really special and rare doggie, and he will delight his new owner, whether he joins a collection of Dalmatians or a Steiff collection, and whether he will take up residence with you or will delight that special someone you want to surprise. 🙂

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT DALLY 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.