This utterly fabulous old boy dates to c.1910 and stands a massive 28 inches tall.  

'King' is in wonderful condition with some thinning and minor bald patches, but I would say 95% of his soft golden mohair remains. He is very densely filled with wood wool but this has softened at the neck, giving him such a charming head tilt. There is a non working growler in his tum and he has the most amazing hump!

As with lots of these big Steiff boys his ankles split many years ago, but they have been very nicely repaired and are extremely strong....as indeed he is generally. The felt pads are almost totally original with some minor inserts and there are four claws to each paw apart from the right foot, where one has broken.  

'King' has such a wonderful intense expression with the biggest boot button eyes and original stitched nose. He has lost his smile....but somehow you know he is smiling anyway. There is a tiny area of wear to the top of his snout and a small insert, the size of a fingernail to one side. Unfortunately the old boy left his button somewhere on his travels. You can read about his background in an email that was sent from his owner to the original purchaser a while ago.