Yesterday I stumbled onto a surprise on eBay.
Listed as being made by Freeman Leidy, the piece looks like Cinderella's coach and horses.
Those eyelashes sure looked like Freeman Leidy work. Compare the eyelashes here on a Head Down purple/green circus horse with those on the pair below.
The wagon wheels clinched it for me - the similarity was so strong, they had to be by Freeman Leidy.
I decided to take a closer look. There are tons of coaches and horses to be found, but I had never seen this piece among them.
The piece was signed Freeman Leidy, and the signature appeared old and authentic with the crazing fractures running though it. That signature confirmed that it was indeed a Freeman Leidy piece.
The horses' bodies and legs seem to be a merging of the Head Up/Head Down ponies.
Almost like they took elements of both pieces to create the Cinderella's horses. Or perhaps the Cinderella's horses are the original mold that was turned into two different molds to give us the pair of circus horses. (A chicken or the egg question!)
The top came off the coach and like the circus wagons, the inside was hollow, too.
But surely that coach wasn't a planter, not with those windows that would spill out the dirt and have roots protruding.
But then, maybe the windows were to allow foliage to come through them. Who knows?
I am really on the fence about this set. I am now watching it on eBay, but the price point is higher than I'd like to pay. Still, as a collector of Freeman Leidys, I'd love to have this piece.
But I also have to think ahead - not many people actively seek for Freeman Leidys and down the road, I don't think that Pony Pal Mila is going to ask for this set, if you know what I mean. (Haha!) While it just takes one buyer for a piece, finding that buyer can be tough, especially when the item for sale is only sought out by a few.
I'm not sure I want to risk that much money but I am thinking about it.
A couple of other things:
~ In case you missed it, last night I posted a blog entry about a Go Fund Me to help blogger Jennifer Buxton pay the expenses her mare, Olive, incurred after an emergency colic surgery. Scroll down to see the full post, but the link is https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jennifer-with-olives-recovery
~ I finally decided what the June give away would be. I need to get some photos of it and it should be posted Monday.
Stay 'tooned!
Few things are more fun than finding a matching piece you didn't know about for your collection! And what a beauty. Your knowledge of Freeman-Leidy, Lynn, is really turning up useful. Yeah it's a tough question whether to plump. Until you decide, it's nice to have so many good pictures.
ReplyDeleteI think these wagons would make really good card and letter holders.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat set Lynn!! You didn't mention the asking price, but given the rarity of these pieces, I think you should go for it!
ReplyDeleteYou are becoming the authority on these pieces seeing as there's so little information known about them! It would be nice if down the road maybe an IDY-FREEMAN LEIDY's site could be established for other collectors who might not know to check your blog for pieces they may have and/or come across!! Please let us know what you decide to do!
Wow!! Just saw this about Jennifer B. and Olive on Facebook!(Now here and on her blog!) This certainly seems to be a rough year for her(and You!! I certainly hope you are feeling somewhat better and your tests yields some answers!!)
ReplyDeleteIn any case, my prayers are with you and her both (and Olive!! I'm glad she came through surgery okay!) As soon as I get paid again, I plan to contribute to her GoFundMe page! May GOD bless you both!!