June 24-26 2016 Premier Toys, Dolls, Marbles & Figural Cast Iron
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/25/2016
Steiff has a century-plus long tradition of creating exciting and eye catching displays to help show off their toys in store windows. These merchandisers are also created entirely by hand in the company’s design and manufacturing facilities in Giengen, Germany. Here we have a fantastic example of the company’s “Noah’s Ark” display. This is one of the most beloved and sought after display units of its type, given its animal-centric theme and extremely photogenic properties. This display was made for a few years only in the early to mid-1950’s. The ark is made from light wood, paper mache, burlap, fabrics, faux moss, and cardboard, among other materials. It is beautifully and elaborately painted and detailed from end to end; the removable hut on the deck is absolutely charming, well designed, and particularly eye catching. The ark includes the boat, hut, ramp, and two palm trees. These trees are not original to the display, but the display originally did come with with two very similar palm trees. The set also includes its original cardboard shipping boxes, which include “Loucap” labels. Loucap was one of two Steiff distributors in the USA in the early 1950’s. Condition: As noted. In clean, very good to excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of long-time Steiff archivist Dick Franz.