The Palomino Project: What Experts Say (Part 1)

I asked five hobby experts if they were willing to share information with me about Breyer's early palomino coloring, and four of the five agreed.  I'll share what two of them said today, and then two tomorrow. 

Kirsten Wellman (from a conversation 6/4/22)

Kirsten is a long time collector and hobbyist who writes the blog, Model Horse Collectibility. She is known for doing thorough research on any model horse topic she tackles and is well respected within the model horse hobby. 

Hi, Lynn, That's an interesting subject to tackle! I personally have never heard of that theory. I kind of wonder if someone passed along a garbled version of the fact that some of the early palomino (and brown) Hartlands could fade or turn green.

In my experience of 40-ish years collecting, the vast majority of Breyer paint jobs have been stable and kept their true color if kept in a reasonable environment. Some colors may fade a bit if exposed to prolonged sun exposure (or heat) like the modern clearware models or the pinking on feet, ears, and noses. But I've never run into an issue with vintage palominos. I have about a dozen sets of palomino Family Arabs, and they're all different shades -- caramel, honey, medium, dark, light, etc -- and they've been unchanged colorwise in all the years I've had them. (30+)

With that in mind, I am rather skeptical of the theory. My observation over the years has been that the more orange palominos are late run variations, and I have really only observed it with some 5-Gaiters and pinto Shetlands. The brown pinto WH and WP get sort of close, but they're generally more chestnut than orange. Breyer's palominos were ALL over the place in terms of color in the 1960s -- the brown pinto Western Ponies for example varied from pale palomino to true chestnut.

But without some evidence of early, unchanged orange models that match that shade the late palomino 5-Gaiters come in, I'm inclined to think that the orange color was a deliberate choice at that time for Breyer, not that all previous palomino 5-Gaiters faded and for some reason a few from around 1971 did not. 

Kelly Korber-Weimer   (from a conversation 6/5/22)

Kelly's main focus in the hobby is collectibility. In 2007, she co-authored the Breyer Animal Collectors Guide, 5th edition and is a regular contributor to Vintage Point articles in JAH. Last year she co-hosted Archive Room segments during virtual BreyerFest.

Hi Lynn! I've heard conflicting things too (from the same sources you've cited above.) My own pally 5G is caramel with faded pinking, but he is caramel all over. My hunch is that they were released in color variations and that the caramel is not faded. My hunch also doesn't have great evidence other than the "bile green" palomino Hartlands did not fade evenly. Comparing two factories is bad data but I'd expect some uneven fading if that was the case. I'm team "color variation" until shown evidence of uneven fading.

Kelly Keracher has a bright orange 5G that came out of storage (from the Francis collection of models) with a minty blue ribbon sticker, so we can at least place the bright orange fellows around the time of sticker models.

I think about this quite often. Thanks for reaching out!

That's it for today - tomorrow we will hear from two more.

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

The Palomino Project: Researching

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

As I moved into the research portion of the Palomino Project, Nancy Atkinson Young's books were a natural place to start. They are from the 1990s, but that doesn't mean the information in them is outdated and not usable. It does mean, though, that you need to be aware that there could be later additions or corrections to the information contained within them.

I looked up the Family Arabs, the Five Gaiter, Western Horse, and the Fighting Stallion in the third, fourth, and fifth editions. Across all three Nancy wrote that the light tan/carmel colors were the early ones with the orange shade occurring in later years.  And, she specifically wrote in the third edition concerning the FAS, "Later matte models are darker palomino, often a bright orange shade." (p. 37, third edition.)

Next, I pulled out Breyer Animals Collectors Guide. I did not anticipate finding anything - the book's purpose is to be an identification and sales guide, not a tracing of molds, colors, stamps, and more like Nancy's books. (Fun to read, though, and VERY distracting! LOL)

Still, when you are researching something, you find surprises in the least likely places and I want to be thorough in my research.

The same applied to Marney's book - it is full of information, much of which has changed as new information has come to light over time, but it did not have any information on Breyer's early palomino color.

Aside from the affirmation across Nancy Young's books that the carmel/tan palomino came first with the orange palomino following later, I did not find other useful information in any of the the books.

Finished with the books I had to hand, I went online and searched through blogs that I thought might have information about Breyer's colors. Kirsten Wellman's blog, Model Horse Collectibility, was a logical choice to use. 

Kirsten spends a lot of time doing in-depth research and then sharing what she has learned with her readers. That kind of research takes time, but it so worth the wait from one post to the next - her accuracy is spot on. She is an excellent source for reliable information.

Andrea Gurdon's blog, Breyer History Diva, specifically focuses on Breyers and she publishes a new entry about every third or fourth day. Her posts not only include some aspect about model horses, but snippets from her personal life as well as.

She also generously authors a free annual for hobbyists, The Morning Glory Sampler, that you can get at BreyerFest or clink on the link in her blog to download. Andrea and I met and chatted during the Indy Blooms show and then one of our group members invited her to join us for dinner afterwards, and I had a chance to get to know her a little better then.
 

Teresa Rogers (one of THE nicest people in the hobby) keeps a blog that I also checked for information.

The Model Horse History Project is just what it sounds like - a place to learn more about our hobby's roots. Teresa's focus tends more toward Hagen Renakers than Breyers and she is also a wealth of knowledge about our roots, especially in California. Like Kirsten, her posts are throughly researched and well written, with new posts appearing sporadically as a result.

Nothing pertained to my questions in Kirsten's and Teresa's blogs, although Kirsten does talk about color changes that are specific to Hartlands. I may return to that and see how that could compare to the theory that something similar happened to Breyer's palominos. 

Andrea's blog, though, contained at least four entries where she spoke about the palomino color shift (she refers to it as, "fugitive," which means "color changing over time from the original.") I'll share more about what she's written about the topic soon although I'm hoping to interview her in person.

Three other Breyer experts have shared their thoughts about the possible palomino color shifting and tomorrow I will share their thoughts. 

Stay 'tooned!

References for today's post. 

Books

Browell, Korber-Weimer, and Kesicki; 5th edition

Walerius, 1991 edition

Young, 3rd edition, pp. 33, 30, 37, 41

Young, 4th edition, pp. 22, 159, 161, 162, 163-164, 165

Young, 5th edition, pp. 200, 201

Blogs

Breyer History Diva, Jul. 29, 2013, Feb. 24, 2014, Nov. 21, 2014, Nov.24, 2014

Model Horse Collectibility

The Model Horse History Project 

The Palomino Project: Beginnings

 My head is spinning from all the research I have been doing, but I am ready to start writing about my findings.

First, to back up a bit, the Palomino Project began while I was sharing here on the blog about my "burnished gold" palominos. I'd pulled seventeen palominos off the shelves and was looking at that lovely carmel color so many early Breyer palominos sport.

And then I remembered something I'd read once, a theory that stated that Breyer's original palomino color was very orange and then faded with time, becoming lighter, even a lemony yellow. 

But that was not my experience. I'd had many of these models since their original release and purchase, including three that went clear back into the 1960s and were from my original carpet herd. 

While the manes and tails were a creamier color now, the coat was still the same beautiful carmel that they'd been decades ago. Puzzled, I did some rudimentary research and found nothing. Hmmm. 

I decided I would dust off my teacher/researcher chops - I did a lot of research and writing in my teaching career; surely I could find out more about this theory and any documentation for it if I dug deeper.

A research project begins with a question or two that you wish to study and mine is,

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

After you have your research question, you need to organize and figure out what you need for the project and how to approach it. For me, that starts as an outline - I like to know where I am going and then plug in the tools and strategies necessary to getting me there. (Photo from Sande Schneider.)

The outline for The Palomino Project starts with this important caveat:

BE KIND AT ALL TIMES.

It's easy when you are doing research to get so caught up in the data that you forget there are human beings behind that data. Humans who have feelings, who have invested their own time and research into what they share with you.

So to be very clear, my goal is to treat folks with differing opinions or data with respect and kindness at all times. I'm interested in knowledge and an accurate portrayal of Breyer history, not who wins any sort of debate.

The rest of the outline looks like this.

Outline

1) Question(s) and possible hypothesis

2) Sources to use (people, books, blogs, etc)

3) Personal observations on non changing palominos within my collection from the 1960s

4) Examination of an orange palomino FAF in my collection

5) Findings from books, articles, internet

6) Interviews with knowledgable hobby historians (I contacted 5 and asked to interview them)

7) Examine early results; adjust or change question/hypothesis if needed

8) Do comparisons to other Breyer animals in similar colors from same time period as orange color

9) Draw up conclusions, write down any new equations or tangents to be addressed later, assess results.

10) Share findings.

I'm enjoying digging into the topic and chatting with some really knowledgable ladies. More tomorrow, so stay 'tooned!

Go here for a list of those research papers I wrote and published; I'm pleased to say that The Emotional Labour of Caring in Teaching has been cited or quoted over 400 times in research papers worldwide. And "labor" is spelled that way because it was originally published in Teaching and Teacher Education, a British education journal. (You don't argue about spelling with the editor who wants to publish you. LOL)

A Happy (Trails) Find

I continue to feel better (although no frisbee playing in the park with Pepper yet) and so yesterday I had a chance to get some research done on the question as to whether or not Breyer's early palomino coloring shifted from orangey to lemon yellow. 

In preparation for writing about it, I reached out to several hobby historians and asked them if they would be willing to share their thoughts on the theory. One responded right away and sent me six or seven emails of information to look at and consider.

Corresponding with her was fun, but my afternoon got even better when Liz Cory texted me these two pictures.

She'd found a dinnerware set called Happy Trails at Goodwill!

"It reminded me of your show and I thought you might want these," she said. (Of course, by now we were FaceTiming so I could take a better look at everything.)

You bet I wanted them.

I only took one of the pie plates; while I make a lot of pies for my family, I already have seven or eight.

All the plates came home with Liz, too.

The two pieces I am most excited to see in person are this footed fruit bowl and the pitcher. I can see that pitcher filled with wildflowers sitting on my kitchen table in late summer.

These will be super nice when I hold Happy Trails next June in 2023 or when model friends pass through and stay over at Horsiemama's Hotel again. 

Thanks, Liz! I can't wait to see these in person! 

The Palomino Project

I'm still sick but I have more energy and have begun doing research on Breyer's palominos. Specifically, I want to look into the theory that Breyer's palomino color "shifts" and lightens up into a lemon yellow over time. That theory floats around the hobby occasionally and there are strong proponents on both sides as to whether or not the color changed.

Photo of a lemon yellow Family Arabian Mare from Identify Your Breyer.

I'm tracing the origin of that theory and how it came about through early hobby ephemera such as Marney's book and talking to some very knowledgeable Breyer hobby historians.

I have three versions of Nancy Atkinson Young's book including her first which came unbound and in a binder. (And signed!)

As Nancy did her research, she uncovered new information and was sent corrections by hobbyists who read her books and could shed light on things she'd mentioned or questioned.

So, to be clear, the question I am researching is, Did Breyer's palomino color shift into lemon yellow or is that lemon yellow a shade that Breyer deliberately produced?

My personal experience says it was the latter - that it was a specific color but on the other hand, Breyer does have a history of color fading with its reds so there is a precedent.

I'm really enjoying doing the research and hope to publish some of wha I am finding soon.

Stay 'tooned!

Random Pics

I'm still really sick, but I've started on paxlovid and hope to be getting better soon.  I'm not up to doing much research-based writing at the moment, so enjoy these recent pics that were taken before I crashed with COVID.

Two Socks is supplementing her milk diet with some grazing now.

Hokey is jet black in the spring. Isn't he gorgeous?

Like Abby, Dolly has random spots that come and go. This one is under her mane.

It's graduation season and I have been invited to celebrate with several former students.

I went to Niko's graduation party last Friday night. I checked CDC guidelines as to when you begin to be contagious, and it says two days before symptoms begin. Mine started Tuesday, so Niko should be okay, but I plan to let her know anyway.

That's all I've got in me today, folks. Hopefully soon I will feel up to more. In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me!

Sick

Despite being vaccinated and boostered, I have Covid. Sorry folks, but this has knocked me flat and I am not up to sitting at my desk and writing. Maybe tomorrow. Wow - this is a nasty bug.