ChowTales

  • HOME
  • BREED HISTORY
    • HISTORY OF THE CHOW OVERVIEW
    • WHY DID CHOWS CHANGE
    • 1865-1930 HISTORY TIMELINE
    • EARLY CHINA IMPORTS
    • SMOOTH CHOW HISTORY
    • SITE REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
  • STRUCTURE & GAIT
    • CHOW GAIT VIDEO – NEW
    • CHOW STANDARDS HISTORY
    • STRUCTURE AND STANDARD
  • SHOW & BREEDING
    • TOP CHOW TIME CAPSULES
    • TOP BREEDERS-KENNELS
    • NATIONAL SPECIALTY SHOWCASE 1920-1950
    • NATIONAL & WESTMINSTER
    • ANTIQUE PEDIGREES
    • EARLY STUD BOOK ENTRIES
    • DOG SHOW SCENE
    • INTERNATIONAL
  • HISTORIC ARTICLES
    • NEWS & MAGAZINE ARTICLES
    • THE CHOW-HUMAN BOND
    • SANDRA MILLER COLLECTION
    • CHRIS CLUCAS COLLECTION
  • CELEBRITIES
  • PHOTOS
    • PHOTO COLLECTIONS
    • PHOTO RESTORATION PROJECTS
  • COLLECTIBLES
    • CHOWS IN FILM
    • ART & PAINTINGS
    • CHOW LITERATURE
    • MAGAZINE COVERS
    • CHOWS IN ADS
    • CURIOSITIES
    • CHOW EPHEMERA
    • CHOW BRIC A BRAC
You are here: Home / CELEBRITY CHOWS / 1930’S THE STEIFF CHOW TOY STORY- Veedol and the Graf Zeppelin-NEW rare additions

1930’S THE STEIFF CHOW TOY STORY- Veedol and the Graf Zeppelin-NEW rare additions

1930S GIRL STEIFF COLLAGE

A 1930s chow photo sets me off on an incredible journey to track down his origin. The path leads to a little chow puppy named Vee Dol ,the Graf Zeppelin, and the famous Steiff toy factory of Germany

~Sandra Miller

Every once in a while one of the photos in my collection stops me in my tracks

and I can’t get my mind off of it until I find out more about the subjects. This

beauty is no exception ! Immediately of course I recognize this mohair chow toy as circa

1920’s-30’s mainly because the shoes on the subjects date the image. My years in antique

doll costuming helped with that!!!


ABOVE: from the Steiff USA website. In 1904 Franz Steiff, Margarete’s nephew was looking for a way to protect Steiff products from imitation. His great idea later became the epitome of quality and handiwork: a metal button in the ear as a protection label. Initially engraved with an elephant motive, the metal button soon wore the trademark and therefore became inseparable with the brand.

So off on a search I go, to find out if it is from the famous German toy company

called Steiff. The signature gold button and tag in the ear is what you look for

first on all Steiff toys, but many that were being played with had lost their tags

over time. ! What came next in my research just dragged me in deeper. Whoever said

history is boring didn’t relate it to chows and dolls!

 


Screen Shot 2014-02-04 at 8.19.15 PM

__________________2309431

Screen Shot 2014-02-04 at 8.19.31 PM
Screen Shot 2014-02-04 at 8.19.46 PM

“He has been showered with affection from all sides ever since he was adoped as the Zeppelin mascot on the West East flight of the LZ127. His virtue was certainly the reason he was chosen and envied by all the world”

From the Steiff catalog description of “Brownie”/Veedol
Screen Shot 2014-02-04 at 8.20.02 PM

ABOVE: Rare Chocolate Steiff Chow “Brownie” with his original bow- 91/2″ x 3″ Sold at Morphy Auctions
Circa 1930s from Shirley Temples collection – Theriaualts Auctions
Above is an old Steiff catalog (1928-1932) featuring the Chow “Brownie, standing and on wheels
ABOVE is the rare wheeled pull toy version of “Brownie” in a Steiff catalog circa 1928-1932

CLICK TO VIEW MY VIRTUAL STEIFF CHOW COLLECTION

UPDATE 2017:  4 years after writing this original article (2013) I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to purchase this treasure below.

Veedol looks to be maybe 5-8  months old at this point and still being advertised as the Graf Zeppelin mascot.   What a life this young chow had as well as such a legacy to the Steiff company menagerie!

FROM THE MERCHANT I PURCHASED ABOVE PHOTO  

“This is an original real glossy photo (not a printed lithograph photo) taken from Zeppelin–Weltfahrten which was a rare album sold in Germany in the early 1930’s. Germans would collect the individual real photos and mount them in their albums with history. The album this photo came in was falling apart with a tattered cover and loose pages.”

Save

Save

UPDATE 2022: 9 years after writing this original article I had the amazing luck to happen into an auction offering what I believe to be 3 original press photos of Vee Dol as he embarked upon his dirigible maiden voyage.

ChowTales curator Sandra Miller
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 1928-Veedol-original-photos-collage-900x900.jpg

The photos above are all originals in a large 6×9 format. Each image had writing in pencil on the backs detailing who was in the photos. The only one where I couldn’t track down the men’s names was the group of 4. I am pretty certain they are the mechanics who donated the puppy to the crew.

ABOVE: This photo matches up with the original images I purchased

Save

A LOFTY NAME FOR A 4 WEEK OLD CHOW

This news clipping to the left is the main piece of information I found which leads me to believe that the original images mentioned above could be authentic press photos, taken by a professional photographer on the occasion of the Graf Zeppelin’s return flight to Germany.



The text in the news article matches up almost exactly to the pencil-written notations on the back of the images.

When I received the images it was the first time I had been made aware that the kennel the puppy was from called Long Acre Kennels at Toms River NJ. Even the birthday of the puppy was cited. September 18, 1928

Also, another revelation was the spelling of the puppy’s “call” name which states VEE DOL (exactly as on the photos). Two articles refer to the puppy as “Vee”. All other articles spelled it as one word VEEDOL like the oil company the pup was named after.

And finally, the registered name. A lofty and grand name for a high-flying 4-week old chow

Vee Dol von Graf Zeppelin

Save


Bon Voyage Veedol – A true ambassador to the Chow breed

SO BON VOYAGE VEE DOL… I AM HONORED & PLEASED TO HAVE MET YOU THROUGH MY CHOWTALES RESEARCH!

Chow for Now-Sandra

We may never know for sure if that stuffed chow in the first photo was truly a Steiff,

but two things you can be certain of. That chow stuffy was dearly loved by his little girl, AND

you can be sure the passengers on the Graf Zeppelin were thoroughly

entertained by the chow puppy antics of Vee Dol. Talk about socializing!!.!

Vee Dol was a true ambassador for our breed and a trailblazer for the earliest popularity of Chows in America. This is a piece of breed history that will forever be held safe and sacred in the ChowTales Archives

Save

Save

Save

Save

More archived posts you might enjoy:

1901 TIME CAPSULE - CH. RED CRAZE
1915 PORTRAIT of Everett Grimes with a chow - San ...
1916 Charlie Chaplin - Chow tracks down silent mov...
Photo Restoration - Early 20th Century Woman with ...

I do my best to be as accurate as possible in my research, however many times written history finds a way to "morph" over time. I love your comments and appreciate all feedback, additions and corrections my readers have to offer to help make this a well rounded and accurate archive.

All research, images and content in this website are Copyright © 2011-2022 Sandra Miller at ChowTales.com except where noted. Use of materials from this site for educational purposes may be obtained by contacting Sandra Miller by email studio at sandramiller.com


Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Click here to sign-up

Archive FAQ

Click here for FAQ

CONTACT THE CURATOR

[email protected]

Recent Comments

  • Kayley on 1865-1930 HISTORY TIMELINE- Earliest Chows and Breeders of England and America
  • Susan Lozano on RESTORATION- 1920s dapper man with his chow
  • Terri Morrell on HUTCHINSON’S DOG ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE 19 PGS
  • VIOLET NG on 1935 WORLDS OLDEST CHOW
ChowTales on Facebook

SEARCH BY KEYWORDS

SEARCH BY CATEGORY

SEARCH BY MONTH

© 2023 Sandra Miller