The Beswick Appaloosa was a grail for me from the first time I saw it in Horse & Rider Magazine in October, 1970.
I was already a collector, and that article showed me that there were other collectors out there like me. I'd had no idea! I joined Ellen Hitchins' and Simone Smiljanic's IMPHSA immediately and never looked back. (International Model Photo Horse Showers Association)
It took me fifty years to get a Beswick Appaloosa, and when I did, it was from "hobby founding mother" Simone Smiljanic.
Over all those years she had become a friend, and I was delighted to have one of her most cherished pieces. Her health was in decline at the time, and she passed away in October, 2021.
In the 1990s I had found the Royal Doulton version of the Appaloosa and bought it.
When it arrived, I was disappointed in the paint job - the Beswick version was so much cleaner and prettier. So, I continued looking.
I am not sorry to have both versions, though.
And both are on my "never sell" list. (Maybe I should hope that Mila wants them, right?)
The Beswick stamp and the Royal Doulton stamp on their bellies.
China collector Lois Bennington sold me another of my Beswicks. It's a Thelwell, too.
Kick Start!
Sorry for the poor photo quality of its underside but you can clearly see "John Beswick England" on it.
There is a series of these Beswick Thelwell pieces, but this is the only one I have.
I've had these next two Beswick foals for a very long time.
The bay is named Desperaux and has been in my collection for several decades. I got him before there was an internet and we had to buy models from each other via snail mail.
Because you could not just go to eBay and look for a certain piece, Beswicks and other models were harder to add to your collection than they are today. I still remember the thrill I felt at finally owning a Beswick.
Nauvoo is a 1961 version of Beswick's Large Stretched Foal. I found him in an antique shop in Nauvoo, Illinois and named him after the town.
I don't know any more about either foal's Beswick histories, and my Beswick book is in a place that is difficult for me to access right now. Maybe later I will get it out and do some research.
I thought I had a few more Beswicks, but after a peek in the china cabinets, I don't see any more. So, one of my smaller collections within my collection, but also one containing one of my most sought after and loved pieces.
It's been so long since I've seen that Horse & Rider article, this might as well be my first time reading it. I never saw it originally and didn't enter the hobby until 8 years later, but I heard about it as one hears about a founding document or a Constitution. The line "even have buckles that actually fasten" makes me chuckle. I do wonder who made Simone's saddle. // Am I crazy to like the Royal Doulton appaloosa better? I have a Beswick book tucked away somewhere too.
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