Clock One - The Hartland Victor Clock

There are two clocks in my collection, and I am thrilled to have both of them. I've been wandering antique and thrift shops for years, but only twice have I seen clocks. And I bought both of them.

I keep them on the top of the shelf directly across from my desk - all I need to do to see them is to glance up. 

Beneath them are small congas of Breyer's Western Horse and Western Prancing Horse. Torpedo, the palomino WH on the far right and Dappled Dude, the Appaloosa WPH are from my carpet herd. (I know Dappled Dude isn't dappled, but hey, I was in 4th grade and named him after my favorite horse at Girl Scout Camp. I'm not changing it now!)

The clock is a Hartland piece and is known as "Victor over Clock" or "VOC." Other Hartland clocks had the horse next to the clock. Victor was the name of this particular Hartland horse.

I almost missed this piece, walking right past it as I was leaving the antique shop. I happened to glance up and to the right as I grabbed the door handle, and there he was, slightly hidden up on a high and very crowded shelf next to the door.

Immediately I turned around and walked over to the cash register, asking to see it. (And trying to hide my growing excitement - never had I found a clock before and oh my goodness, I'd almost missed it!)

I don't remember the clock being marked with a price. Several people were behind the counter so I asked them. I remember there was a bit of discussion and then I was told what they wanted for it. 

That price squeaked right at the upper limit of what I would normally pay for a model. Still, it was a clock, something I'd never found before and knew was rare, so I didn't even bargain for a better price, passed over payment, and took my new-to-me clock home. 

Initially I thought it was a Breyer but there were clues that I'd actually found a Hartland clock, not a Breyer one.

An alabaster Breyer Western Horse clock. Picture from Identify Your Breyer.

The wavy tail is a Hartland identifier as are diamond shaped (Hartland) versus rounded (Breyer) shapes on the cheek pieces and breastplate. The saddles have some differences, too.

My friend Sande is an expert on the Breyer Western Horse and knows both the Hartland and Breyer versions well. I sent her pictures of my new clock, and she helped confirm that I'd actually found a Hartland clock, not a Breyer.

Either version was fine with me - I was thrilled to finally have a clock in my collection.

Tomorrow I will share about my other clock. It was the find of a lifetime for me.

Stay 'tooned.

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Don't forget the November Give Away! It was prompted by a man at the Feast who showed me the most unusual  driver's license I'd ever seen.

To enter this month's give away, you must guess what that man was licensed to drive.

Enter by commenting on a blog post posted between Friday, November 8 to this Sunday, November 10 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You may enter once per blog post, and you may change your answer from comment to comment. (Please put your name, a nickname, or initials on your comment for me to put on the spin to win spinner.)

I will spin to win twice - once for the correct answers, and then once for those that were not. Prizes will be announced in an upcoming blog post.

Good luck!