Wagner Labels

The Wagner workshop used a number of labels over the years. The information below comes directly from the Wagner family in correspondence I enjoyed with them for a brief time about a decade ago, when they kindly answered some of my questions that I'd stored up since I was a child.

A Wagner animal typically wears a paper label on its belly, if it's a four-legged standing animal, or simply on its underside if it's molded in a seated position. The dressed animals that stand up on two legs typically have the label adhering to the back of the head. The label can be used to date, approximately, when a figure was made.

Label 1
       Label 1, popularly known as "the monkey-head label," was
       used from 1951 to 1965, when Wagner produced animals
       for the Max Carl toy company in Coburg.











Labels 2 and 3: From 1966 to 1983, animals bore either a round or oval label that read "Handwork Künstlerschutz West-Germany" as well as a stylized F.W.


Label 2
Label 3













Label 4
 Label 4: From 1983 to 1990, the round label disappeared and the wording was changed to read simply "Wagner Handwork West-Germany."

Labels 5 and 6: Upon German reunification, the label was changed again, this time to read "Wagner Handwork Germany," and a larger oval label with a broad red border was put into service as well. These two labels were in use from 1990 until the company's closing in 1998.


Label 5
Label 6













Any other labels that you see would be markers of a different company, such as ones that say nothing more than "U.S. Zone East Germany" or the blue-and-white labels that read "Original Fur Toys."

I have not seen any indication that Wagner ever made these fur toys, though you will often see eBay sellers claiming that these animals are Kunstlerschutz, when actually many German workshops made composition and fur animals (among them the ever-popular "putz stick-leg sheep"). Which doesn't make them poor collectibles--lots of Wagner collectors add non-Wagner German animals to their collections, including me!--but still, truth in advertising is still a virtue.

33 comments:

  1. I began collecting these animals in the early 1970's after my grandmother gave me my first one, a camel. My sister and I both added more to our collection purchased mostly at a local shop in Scarsdale New York.
    I still have my collection.

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  2. Thanks for posting all this info on these precious animals. I loved them as a kid. And still do!

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  3. Thank you for all your hard work putting this together! It is very much appreciated by those of us that love these little flocked critters as kids AND adults!!

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  4. Thank you very much for this wonderful website--it has been so helpful for tracking down my little critters!

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  5. I had so many of these when I was little! Mine were mostly the animals dressed up in clothes. I had a ferris wheel, a car, a ballet school, and a playground for them, all made by Kunstlerschutz. My Mom bought them for me at FAO Schwarz in the late 60s, early 70s. Wish there were more pics on the internet of these great little toys.

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    1. Wow, you had a great collection! I don't think I've ever seen the Ferris wheel. As for pics I always have the intention of putting more up here on my website, but life and work and such seem to preclude getting that done :)

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  6. I just stumbled upon this amazing site..this has been a huge help trying to identify my little critters and the years they were produced...It must have taken you ages to put this all together..thank you so much!

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    1. Thanks! Sorry, just seeing this post now! It did take a long time, but it was fun researching it.

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  7. Hi, I was wondering if you could help me. I have a bear that is produced by this company that in bought in the 1980's. His little nose fell off and was lost. Do you know of a way that I can find a replacement nose for him? Thanks.

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    1. Lost noses, lost antlers, lost ears...yep, these little animals certainly know how to fall apart! I wish I knew where the Wagners ordered all the bits and pieces. Way back in time they kindly sent me some spare parts to fix some animals, but they've been shuttered for more than a decade now. I have a couple of suggestions:
      1. Buy another Wagner on ebay that is cheap because it's an absolute mess, steal its nose and use to glue on your bear's face.
      2. If you know anyone who makes stuff out of Sculpy or Fimo clay, which you can bake in the oven, you can have them make a little nose that way.
      3. Check out etsy...see if anyone makes body parts for gluing on to, say, felted animals (needle-felting artists often make body parts to glue on their creations).

      I'm curious to see if my last suggestion is workable so am going to Etsy myself to check that out.

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  8. I have a collection my grandmother brought over for me in the mid-60's (lion, camel, elephant, giraffe, fox, bear, and squirrel). The flocking is worn pretty thin on most of them and the camel has a cracked leg, but they are otherwise in pretty decent shape. I am lightening my load of material goods, and wondering if anyone out there would like to give them a good home? I'd love to see them go to someone who would enjoy and appreciate them!

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  9. Hello Katie,
    I'm interested in your collection. I recently started to collect myself, and I am already in love withe these sweet animals. I'm sure I would give them a good home!
    If you're interested, please let me know at Salty.c1@hotmail.com
    Greetings,
    Christina, from Antwerp - Belgium

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  10. Wow what a great site! My Mom recently came across two mint full sets, a school house and a playground. They both have 5 or 6 bears, along with all of the accessories. She thinks that she bought them at Sears in the late 60s. She's got to go into a home unfortunately, And needs to downsize. I have a feeling they are worth a lot of money, but does anyone know somewhere that could evaluate them? I have a number of pictures of them. Any advice would help. Thank you - Tom - Providence, RI

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    1. I'm so sorry this comment never got posted. Blogger doesn't do a very good job of alerting me when I've got comments to moderate...anyway, I hope that you have found the info you needed. Ebay is about the only place I know of where you can get an idea of prices, but so many things are wildly overpriced there, so I don't know what to suggest. (Your mom probably got them at F.A.O. Schwartz...that's where my om did, in the late 60s...and being a young child then, and poring over the Sears Wish Book, I know they didn't carry these playsets :)

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  11. Hi, similar to last request really. We have recently been given a set of these furry creatures from house clearance of grandparents. They spent several years in Germany in the 60's, the figures have the "monkey head" label, and I would like to know what to do with them. Can I send more details/photos to anyone interested? Set includes: squirrel with tail & pine cone, fox with tail, hare, wild boar, cow, pink pig, Stag & Doe with antlers, baby deer, and a fawn with white spots - 10 pieces. Thanks, Sarah, UK

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  12. I am looking for info on a wooden folding ship case I believe made for the Wagner Animals. Does anyone have a list of the playsets created from the 40's to 60's for these animals/ It is full of furniture and has some sailor bears too.

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    1. Hello! I'm sure my late reply will be useless to you (thanks a lot, Blogger, for never telling me I have comments to moderate...oy!). I don't have a complete list but I do have a fairly complete one: there was a Mouse Playground Set, a Mouse House, a Doggy Resort, a Horse Stable, a Ski Lodge and Lift, a Bear Hotel, a Bear Schoolhouse, a Cat Touring Car, a Mouse Wedding Carriage, and I've seen a lot of sailor bears so I guess the ship would be one of those. I know that Wagner made the animals but other companies made the wooden pieces, so either FAO Schwartz commissioned the pieces separately to assemble playsets, or some other company did and then they sold them.

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  13. I found a hedgehog in a box of ornaments at my local thrift shop. I was charged 50 cents for the adorable little ornament hanging on my Christmas tree. Thanks for the interesting and helpful information

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    1. Lucky you! Nice find! Ebay prices for these little guys are absurd now. Merry Christmas!

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  14. Found a dozen of them in a bag at a thrift shop last year but they only made it on to my tree this year. They are so cute, would like to post and see other pictures. Thanks for the website; it is fun finding things and being able to look up history.

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    1. So sorry not to reply in a remotely timely fashion..just seeing this now, more than a year later! Wish I had time to update this blog more. How lucky of you to find these at a thrift shop!

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  15. LOVE this site! I would be so grateful for any tips on how you can clean the flocking without damaging. I thought perhaps a little woolite solution on a slightly damp sponge but you know the doctor's credo, first do no harm!

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    1. An excellent question! (Just don't do what I did as a kid and put Tame creme rinse on a white horse (leaving a pink blotch and removing her tail in the process...!) I think it's wise to be very leery of putting anything wet or even damp near these guys...it's so easy for the flocking to come off. And the material underneath is a composite that includes paper and other materials prone to mold and falling apart. I would try doing a lint-removal thing, if it's that it's dusty--you know, roll some tape sticky-side-out around a finger and dab at the little animal. As for actual stains, I have not yet tried to clean up an animal that was badly stained. Personally, since I'm not planning on selling my animals, and thus don't mind causing their "original" status by cleaning or fixing them (which wouldn't be seen as an improvement by some folks; you know, how some items with damaged paint are worth more left that way, rather than being 'improved' by a fresh paint job), when I've had white animals that are badly stained, I've actually dabbed on some white glue and applied white flocking over the spot. I've entirely reflocked some stained or "mangy" (lost flocking!) critters this way. Other animals sometimes I don't bother to fix because the stains seem more to be part of their "I've been handled because I was played with as a toy" history. It really depends. (It's kind of fun to have an absolute disaster animal and totally fix it up as you wish without regard to preserving its original integrity.)

      I hope this rambling insight helps. If ever I stumble on a way to clean them properly of stains, I will add that info here!

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    2. I just cleaned up a little black horse with a pair of sharp tweezers. Easy to remove tiny fibers and lint with them. He was covered in fuzz, and is now looking quite spiffy.
      I have a white horse on the way. It shows a lot of yellowing in the photos. I read somewhere about using talcum powder for whitening these guys. Worth a try.

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  16. Hello, my mum has an elephant toy with a monkey face label with M40 on it plus a deer with a monkey face label with M25 on the label. Could anyone please give me a clue as to find more information about these including value. Many thanks Maria

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    1. Hello! Sorry, I never saw your original comment here, my silly system never alerted me. Those toys were made by Wagner before they were Wagner, as I understand it. The monkey face label belonged to a company called Max Carl (MC for short). MC made a lot of other toys. You'll often see these flocked animals with the monkey label called MC Originals. I think the monkey face comes from that clapping-cymbals monkey wind-up toy that is such an age-old icon of silliness. As for value...anybody's guess...go on eBay or Etsy and you'll see crazy-high prices but nobody buying at those prices! Good luck!

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  17. I have a wind up walking bunny with M12 on it. Original monkey face tag on his ear.

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    1. Hi, Sorry, system never alerted me to your comment! I'm just nearly a year late replying :( Anyway, yeah, Max Carl made a lot of windup toys! I have a donkey and once had a dalmatian dog and a reindeer.

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  18. I have my dear departed sister's mouse wedding carriage from FAO Schwartz ca.1969. It has all the stickers and is in excellent condition. What is its current value? Thank you.

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    1. Good morning! Ah, I have that too...same era...but I played with mine so the horses are pretty messy and all the reins are gone! Still love it, though. How fun that you have one in excellent condition. I'm afraid I don't have any value information to share. I used to have a sense of the value of these things but they suddenly shot up in price on eBay and sit there at a high price for ages, so I can't make any sense of the value or market anymore. Sorry!

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  19. Do you know of anywhere to find flocking I’ve never know how to search for it or even what it truly was. I thought maybe wool but cotton like you mentioned makes more sense! Thanks so much for this site love the info

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    1. Hello! It's basically lint :D Little specks of cotton fibers! I have a small supply and bought it on Etsy. If you search for "flocking" on Etsy you will find suppliers (I just took a quick look and found a few on there). I imagine such a search with a few keywords will find places outside of Etsy, too. I have repaired and reflocked some battered animals, but I've never figured out--even with using a flocking applicator to 'blow' the flocking on--how to get a soft, smooth coat. I'm probably using a rubbishy type of glue. Haven't had time to perfect it yet. Good luck!

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