Ladenburger Spielzeugauktions 367-lot Steiff Special Auction held Nov. 6 attracted buyers from every continent and generated strong results from start to finish. Prices noted include the companys buyers premium and are converted from Euro to U.S. dollar. Early turn-of-the-20th-century teddy bears were many of the top lots. A large and appealing brass center seamed mohair cub realized $36,341.60. This handsome, turn-of-the-20th-century example was fully jointed and measured 20 inches standing. The period features included black shoe button eyes and a prominent back hump and it retained its long trailing F ear button as its Steiff ID. An unusual white mohair bear, ca. 1905, sold for $23,761.82. This 16-inch-tall showstopper was softly stuffed and retained an early prized blank button. It was detailed with black shoe button eyes, a brown embroidered nose and mouth, and a very fuzzy muzzle. Bears from this era usually have shaved muzzles. A rare 16-inch-tall white mohair Dicky bear with all IDs sold for $20,966.31. This example from ca. 1930 had stenciled velvet paw pads and pink airbrushed facial highlights. The only other white Dicky bear with a chest tag which the auction company knows exists is in the Steiff archives in Giengen, Germany. A fully jointed, handpainted velvet Bonzo cartoon dog with IDs and its original Steiff archive tag realized $46,125.54. This 9-inch-tall example from 1927 mirrored his namesake with black and blue glass eyes, a red leather collar, and a red felt tongue. Bonzo was a figure by the English author G. E. Studdy, who personally marketed the success of his character. Steiff wanted to produce Bonzo through a licensing agreement, but Studdy selected the firm Chad Valley instead. This Bonzo is one of only 115 produced by Steiff. An early 1930s era white begging Putzi cartoon character sold for $12,300.24. A rarity in excellent condition with its Steiff button, legible ear tag, and named chest tag came alive with a felt tongue and a black glass button nose and eyes. This Putzi was only one of 2,542 examples produced by Steiff. A ca. 1929-30 Pupp-Bully Bulldog doll realized $9,504.73. This hybrid rarity, with a dogs head and a humanly scaled body, is jointed three ways. It wore a striped shirt, orange tie, blue shorts, blue shoes, a leather belt, and tan felt gloves. The Pupp-Bully was in excellent original condition without playwear, retained his Steiff archive tag, and was one of only 20 examples produced by Steiff. Likely a one-of-a-kind sample prototype miniature rabbit from the 1960s made $2,096.63. This fully jointed, 9-inch-tall example was in as new condition with all IDs and had the same pattern as the companys legacy, standard line 43 and 60 cm Lulac style long limbed rabbits. Steiffs beloved pre-war dogs and cats also made headlines in this sale. An 8-inch-tall sitting cat with distinctive mottled mohair sold for $6,150.12. The cat featured green and black slit pupil eyes, a pink embroidered nose and mouth, and red claws. The 1930s era example with IDs was from the collection of German Steiff experts Edith and Johan Koskinen. A petitely proportioned standing Charly the King Charles Spaniel sold for $4,752.36. This ca. 1928 example measured 3 inches tall and was made from white and brown tipped mohair and white felt. Charly retained all of the IDs including button, cloth tag, and named, metal-rimmed chest tag. Pre-war apes and primates were another strong category. An extremely rare and fully jointed white mohair monkey realized $9,784.28. Produced at the turn of the 20th century, this 19-inch-tall example had black shoe button eyes, a felt face, ears, hands, and feet and retained its original blank Steiff button. An unusual orange mohair Mimocculo baby orangutan brought $7,967.20. This early 1930s-era fully jointed primate novelty featured lifelike rolling glass eyeballs that were activated by pulling or twisting its felt ears. This auction came full circle with antique button-in-ear dolls, novelties, and other animals. A 4-inch-tall sitting velvet and mohair squirrel from ca. 1905-06 went for $5,730.79. It was detailed with black shoe button eyes and brown painted contouring and held a red pompom as a nut between the two front paws. According to Pia Fast Seidel of Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion, I am truly delighted with the results of this amazing sale. It is the largest and most successful Steiff exclusive auction we have ever held. This event featured museum-quality collections from the U.S. and Europe from consignors who recognized Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion as the premier auction house in the world for buying and selling fine Steiff rarities. We were also excited to see that this sale caught the eye of many new bidders from North America as we look to build our visibility, business, and customer base in the States and Canada. Ladenburger Spielzeugauktion GmbH, founded in 1989, is headquartered in the ancient Roman city of Ladenburg, Germany, with a satellite office in Switzerland. For more information, visit www.spielzeugauktion.de.