Roy Rogers Collection!

While poking around in an antique shop Monday, I came across something that I thought was really cool.

A collection of Roy Rogers items!

 I thought this box held a puzzle but when I looked more closely

 I discovered that it was a vintage Roy Rogers costume. How cool is that??

There was a chalkware lamp. I thought that the lamp part might be after-market until I found a similar one on eBay.

 An autographed and framed 8x10 photo of Roy and Trigger. (Trigger's tack is gorgeous!)

And a serving tray with Dale Evans, Trigger, and Buttermilk on it.

I missed the Roy Rogers era as I was born after the TV show ended. But I had a childhood connection  which I did not realize until I was an adult. When I was a toddler, I had a bouncy horse like this one. (Photo from Google Images.)

My dad named it Buttermilk. As I got older, I remember thinking how odd that name was for a horse; now I realize that he had named my rocking horse after Dale Evans' horse. I rode Buttermilk so often that more than once a spring broke, causing me to be dumped to the ground. (But like any good rider, I got back in the saddle immediately. Well, as soon as my father fixed the broken spring, that is.)

I wonder if my Pony Pals would enjoy finding that their Grammy had gotten a Buttermilk for them to ride while they visited her for Christmas? Hmmm. Off to do a little online browsing.

Variations: Breyer's Elephant

These two oldies have been in my collection for decades. Both are old enough to have the drainboard pattern on the bottoms of their feet. Even though their body color is a fairly unremarkable grey there are some interesting differences between the two.

Elephant 1

 This boy was my first elephant and was acquired back in the 1980s when we lived in Illinois.

 He has a yellowish cast about him. Part of that may be a little yellowing over time, but he has had the yellow coloration since I bought him thirty-five plus years ago.

 The way the painters painted him gives him what looks like a dorsal stripe!

And he has that wonderful early drainboard pattern clearly visible on the bottoms of his feet. He also has a little bit of splintered material from the drainboard stuck to them as well.

His tusks show yellowing, but this may actually be due to the plastic aging over time than to the overall yellowish cast he has.

Elephant 2

I found this guy in Galesburg, Illinois in the 1990s. His glowing color and shading jumped out at me from across the room.

Even without my other one in hand to check, I knew this elephant was different from my first, and so home with me he came.

 This boy is more a charcoal color and his undercoating is more white than yellow.

 There is no shading that gives him a false dorsal stripe like Elephant #1.

But there is some drainboard patterning left on his feet. No bits of matter from the drainboard itself, though, unlike the first piece.

And his tusks are much whiter, although with a white tablecloth for a background, it is harder to see.

What is it About Those Tusks?

You can see the tusk color difference in this photo.

This photo has not been altered in any way and the lighting is the same as in all the other photos. You can really see the odd white tusks, the charcoal color, and his glow.

Like several other models I own, people have looked at Elephant 2 and declared him to be a chalky, while others say he is not. Then there are those who simply say they do not know but that there is definitely something odd about him.

I don't know myself, although I lean towards it not being a chalky. But then, just what is he? Why does he glow, enough so that I spotted him across a room chock full of antiques and other bric-a-brac all jumbled together? There is something different about him, something for which the hobby at large has not yet come up with a name or label. (For the record, Elephant 1 has had some discussion as to whether or not he is a chalky, too.)

Another Breyer mystery on my shelves to think about and research. But then, that is part of the fun of collecting.

Everything BUT a Breyer

When referring to a large amount of something, an old expression goes, "Everything but the kitchen sink." Well, I went antiquing yesterday, and that was my experience with horsey items, but those were not what I was looking for. I was looking for Breyers or Hagen Renakers to add to my collection, and I found everything but those!

The assortment of horsey things was huge and that usually bodes well when I am poking around. I have learned that if you find one horsey item, often others lurk nearby. And that held true once again. I found

 paintings and metal horses,

 vintage horsey books (I loved Quick Draw McGraw as a kid!),

 Kentucky Derby glasses,

 an old riding helmet,

 a jointed horse (that's been there for months),

 western boots,

 a mare and foal bust,

 a cheap china horse with fur mane and tail and an extra broken leg from another one (which was nowhere in sight),

 flocked dolls' horses,

 carriage horses,

 horses with big, fluffy manes and tails,

 cheap Japan horses,

 rocking horses,

 pastel colored winged unicorns (my Pony Pals would have loved these!),

and even a set of Circus Boys books from 1912! (Which I may go back and get. They would be a nice addition to my collection of circus horse related items.)

Finally, finally, I found a lone Breyer tucked away on a shelf. The same Breyer I see every time I visit this antique shop.

The vendor wants $20 for this piece, a very beat up Western Horse that is missing its saddle. It has been languishing in this booth for several years, and no doubt will be there the next time I visit this shop again.

Otherwise, no Breyers or Hagen Renakers. I found everything BUT those.

I came home empty handed.

A Winter's-Eve at the Barn

Technically it is not winter yet and won't be until December 21st. For those of us who prefer to go by meteorological seasons (like me), then winter begins in five days on December 1.

Regardless of the actual date for winter, it's here in Indiana.  The days are getting very short and the light after 4:30 PM wanes quickly.

The skies become a pale pink color from the weak sunlight and the world seems very still. 

 The horses stand at the hayrack and munch hay

or put their backsides to the chilly winds and doze. (A few of the neighbors' horses.)

No birdsong, no cicadas, and no crickets chirping. It is very still and a wonderful time to be at the barn.

Carl Sandburg wrote a poem about this time of year that I used in my classroom and has become a favorite of mine.

Splinter

The voice of the last cricket

across the first frost

is one kind of good-bye.

It is so thin a splinter of singing.

by Carl Sandburg

On these winter's-eve visits to the barn I cannot help but think of that poem as I check the horses and enjoy the stillness as the earth sinks into winter dark.

Couldn't Resist

I have wanted one of these for a long time.

Breyer History Diva called this piece "Horse of a Different Color," while it is listed as "Stubborn Horse" in other places. I have also seen the manufacturer listed as Freeman-McFarlin, but most sources agree that Walker-Renaker produced it. (Photos from Google Images - it's too dark to take photos as I write.)

The body is very matte and has a bit of a texture to it, but the mane and tail are glossed and very smooth. I love the pink, yellow, and blue flower chain!

I am most definitely not beginning another collection-within-the-collection, but if I found more of these Walker-Renakers, including the cows, I wouldn't say no!

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

It's the holiday season and so Abby says, "Cue the music!"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you "be of good cheer"
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings
And gay happy meetings when friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories
Of Christmases long, long ago

Abby would like to add a verse about candy canes because she thinks that THEY are what makes the holidays the most wonderful time of the year. 

 "I love this time of year!"

Abby's in luck; we have a candy shop that makes handmade candy canes right across the river in downtown Lafayette. McCord's has been a community staple for candy, lunches, and getting a soda from a real, old fashioned soda fountain for over 100 years.

They make handmade candy canes by the thousands and sell them across the world during the holidays.

I'm local so I can go downtown and buy them there.  

Or I can buy them at local food markets, too. There is a marked difference in taste between a McCord's candy cane and the mass marketed versions that appear during the holidays.

 I usually buy some for my children and their families. Abby gets a few, too.

Abby eats them year round so I buy boxes and boxes of them when candy canes go on sale after Christmas.

They always make her very happy. (Corinne and me with a very content Abby.)

I agree, Abby; it IS the most wonderful time of the year!

Happy Birthday, JAH Girl!

Breyer used to produce a bi-monthly magazine called Just About Horses, or more commonly called, JAH. Now it is an only an annual and, in my opinion,  is not nearly as nice or informative about the hobby as the bi-monthly magazine was.

Our daughter, Jessica, celebrated a birthday yesterday, Thanksgiving day. She was actually born on Thanksgiving - an interesting day to be in the hospital! (Craig brought me turkey and pie from home to eat in my hospital bed after her birth.)

Jessica is the only member of my family who has ever appeared in JAH.

She's the girl in the black tee in the upper right hand photo. She was showing in the novice division of the show I held back in the 1990s, Lincoln Land Live. (We lived in Illinois at the time, hence the show's name.)

The issue with Jessica's photo.

She no longer shows or collects any more, but her daughter Cambria is part of Grammy's Pony Pal brigade.

Happy Birthday to my JAH girl! I may send you a Breyer horse in honor of the occasion. (No hurt feelings if you pass it on to Cambria!)