The Velveteen Rabbit is one of my kryptonites (as are Budweiser Clydesdale ads and It’s a Wonderful Life). It reduces me to a
teary blob. If you are unfamiliar with the plot, oh well. There will be no spoilers here. All I’ll say is that the title rabbit is a stuffed animal who is very, very well loved. I myself have well loved rabbit named Hoppy, who is safely stored in my closet as he is crunchy and fragile, with missing fur and only a tiny bit of pink flannel that is still fuzzy inside his ears. All of this made me think about how pure the love is for a favorite stuffed animal, and how a Vintage Unscripted tribute to vintage plush lovies was well overdue.
Many people would not consider stuffed animals with multiple repairs, patchy fur and perhaps missing bits a highly marketable commodity. The value, many people might think, is in the eyes of the person who loved and was comforted by that critter. Those people are wrong. Vintage plush lovies aren’t a McCoy pottery or first editions of a favorite author level collectible. But there are people who happily make room in their homes and their hearts for second hand friends. The market is small but righteous. We went looking for examples. It wasn’t easy to choose, but here are some gems.
Most of us would not consider being called “derpy and sad” a compliment, but in the case of this koala ($75), it is not only true but it is endearing. Loved down to its leather skin and wearing a 1950s dog tag, it really is, as Matti from OldBeaverAntiques says, “a beautiful beast.”
Fill your soft heart with these too much not to love shabby dog twosome ($46) from the 1940s. Perry of GallimaufryMerc rightfully describes all the mends and flaws because that’s what we vintage sellers do. If this was a metal sculpture, we would call those flaws a perfect patina, so I suggest we do that for these guys.
Peggy of CrownWillow describes this old panda ($20) as “tattered and worn” and she is not wrong. But with his missing eye and exposed stitching, he is also aesthetically delightful. Imagine him with a beautiful bow tie and perhaps even a monocle. Oh the things he has seen and the places he has been.
These guys have stood the test of time and though they may not be as swank and bright as they were when they were first brought home, love has given them a personality that only real vintage plush lovies can earn. There are lots of vintage stuffed animals available that are still clean and bright, but in some ways, it’s sad that no one has ever loved them as much as someone loved these guys.
If you need more well loved plush pals but don’t have the space for a whole shabby zoo, either of these two books will suffice and warm the cockles of the crustiest heart.
Much Loved by photographer Mark Nixon and Dirty Wow Wow and other love stories by Cheryl and Jeffrey Katz with photography by Hornick/Rivlin are both filled with portraits of vintage plush lovies that make them as alive as we all know they are.
