Lions & Tigers

The Schoenhut Lions There are at least seven designs for Humpty Dumpty circus lions. Four have glass eyes and three have painted eyes. Lions were first produced in 1906.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Andy Yaffee Open mouth, glass eyes, cloth mane The first lion design, introduced in 1906, is characterized mainly by his furry cloth mane. He was made with glass eyes, a cord tail, leather ears, and an open mouth with painted teeth. This lion features a carved area on both sides of his tail simulating muscles, I suppose. This feature does not appear on any other lion bodies. Underneath the mane is a full ball joint but the mohair mane inhibits articulation of the head. This design is shown in some Teddy Roosevelt ads. Keller Style I - Scarce Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Norman Cole Body color shades can vary from medium to dark brown. This one was painted with a buffalo color.	Photo by Judith Lile Carved head, Glass eyes, leather ears, round mane This lion design may have been the second produced. This is probably the rarest lion. He has leather ears, a simple round mane design, and a cord tail. Very Rare Photo by Judith Lile
Photo Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Carved head, glass eyes, leather ears, carved mane The second lion design was probably introduced with the company's Teddy Roosevelt set in 1909. This design is shown in some Teddy Roosevelt ads. Its mane was made with hand guided machine-tools. The regular striations from this work is evident on the shoulder and head. Some examples have hand carved lines in the head striations to suggest a flowing mane. A cord tail, glass eyes, and leather ears also characterize this rare and charming style. Keller Style II - Very Rare Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Photo courtesy of Fred Keller Notice the difference in size between these two carved-head lion designs.	Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Carved head, glass eyes, carved ears, carved mane Next, Schoenhut changed the head and shoulder to a more life-like design. The machine striations of the second design were eliminated in favor of deeply carved lines in the mane. The ears were also carved. Both cord and twisted twine tails have been seen. Since these lions has a lot of hand-work, a lot of variation is evident from sample to sample. This is a rare and desirable lion style. Keller Style III - Rare Photo by Jim Sneed form the collection of Jim Sneed
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Painted eyes All painted eyes, regular size lions have slightly open mouths. Manes are painted either a light or dark brown. Keller Style I - Scarce Photo by Judith Lile Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed In the late 1920s, Schoenhut produced a few of their most popular animals and actors with colorful boxes. They must not have produced them for long as these are scarce today. We have found boxes for the DE Bear, DE White Horse, PE Lion (shown above), Ringmaster and the Hobo. Certainly others were boxed.	Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner Reduced size, closed mouth The reduced size lion began its life in the 1920s. It came in two forms - the closed mouth version shown here and the open mouth version shown below. Manes can be light or dark brown. Photo courtesy of Bertoia Auctions. Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Deborah Wesler
Photo courtesy of Mike Barton Reduced size, open mouth The open mouth reduced lion on the left is very similar to the regular size PE lion on the right.