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 They are from the 1990s, but that doesn't mean the information in them is outdated and not usable.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)
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.
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
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