Contest Entry: Stieff Duck

[magscanner.livejournal.com]

Ad for Stieff Toys, a waddling duck on eccentric wheels. Published in the January, 1915 issue of the LADIES' HOME JOURNAL. This would probably be worth a bundle today on "Antiques Road Show." Margarete Stieff & Co., inventors of the "Teddy-Bear."



Click to enlarge.

Original magazineart.org page.

Comments

[1girl.livejournal.com]

What quality, exactly, makes wheels eccentric? Those look like pretty normal wheels to me.

[koboldmaki.livejournal.com]

The "bar" between the wheels is not in the centre of the wheel (it's not centric, so to speak), but closer to the edge, and in a diagonal, and so makes the duck wobble.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Oh! I love Steiff animals! I had one as a kid (which you can see in my icon), and I still have her somewhere. I also just found an identical, like-new, version on eBay.

[benbenberi.livejournal.com]

Steiff animals are the best! And they last. My little Steiff teddy is still sitting in my office, keeping watch - they're Serious bears, y'know - and my bedroom holds a kangaroo (big kanga, little roo) that was as tall as I was when I got it (about knee-high now).

yes

[pimpmytardis.livejournal.com]

Cute!

[faceless-wonder.livejournal.com]

...evidence that there was, in fact, duckrolling -- before the internet even existed.

yes!

[randomneses.livejournal.com]

This is really presh. I want one!

yes

[willowind76.livejournal.com]

I'm to tired to write a comment, so...yes

Yes

[lovelier.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know what "The 'Button-in-the-Ear'" refers to? It seems to be a nickname for the company, but why? Did their teddy bears etc have buttons in their ears?

I kind of want one, though. Cute!

Re: Yes

[amyangel96.livejournal.com]

They have a little logo tag in the form of a metal button in their ears, I think. At least on the ones that have ears, no idea where the duck would have it!