He had first arrived in England in 1895 as a character in The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls, a storybook illustrated by Florence Kate Upton whose mother Bertha Upton had written the accompanying verse. Golly was portrayed as a gallant and loveable black 'gnome' who accompanied his friends, the two Dutch dolls, on their travels to far-off lands.
Twelve books and 14 years later our hero had experienced many adventures and had been embraced as a national treasure.
At around this time, a small toy company called Steiff was enjoying some small success producing stuffed felt toys in Giengen, Germany including a series of jointed animals based on drawings made at Stuttgart Zoo. Quick to pick up on current trends, Margaret Steiff had received a major commission to send her plush bears to America in 1904 and in 1905 had sold Britons a rendition of a popular character called Peter Rabbit.
In 1908 the Steiff Company put into production a portly version of golly made in the fashion of other Steiff felt character dolls. An instant favourite in the nursery, the German Golly would soon be imitated by other companies such as Schuco, Herman, Deans, Chad Valley and Merrythought.
And thus he would remain before the charming and chivalrous fellow received something of a character assassination in the hands of a number of children's authors. Famously Enid Blyton contributed to an unkind and unsightly makeover that turned the happy black gnome into the bad guy. Unease was felt at the racist undertones and the production of all items related to Golly was phased out during the 1960s.
But, although Golly is unlikely to be repackaged to today's children, he has certainly plenty of respect from adult collectors who remember him as a child or value his role in 20th century cultural heritage.
Very few of the original Steiff models have survived but one turned up at the Vectis salerooms of Stockton-on-Tees on March 16.
This rarity was discovered in a London house clearance wrapped in layers of brown paper and tied up with string. Standing 11in (28cm), he is fully jointed, made mostly from felt and wears black leather shoes and miniature brass jacket buttons. "This is one of the rarest Golly's ever to come up for auction," said Vectis doll and teddy bear expert Kathy Taylor. "We believe it probably dates from around 1913. They have occasionally come up for sale before over the last 80 years but never in such exceptional condition." Estimated at £4000-£6000, he was eventually bought by a private collector for £4500 (plus 15 per cent premium).
