Curious and Curiouser - The Freeman Leidy Set

"Curious and curiouser," as Alice said in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I still am thinking about that set of Freeman Leidys on eBay. And the seller is really incorrect in his description of it.

"It is an (sic) excellent condition with one extremely small chip that is hard to even find or see."

Ummmm No. There are a lot of problems with them. 

The head up pony has a front leg that has been broken and repaired.

And it sure looks like the plume was broken off and repaired, too.

See how the crack extends along the base of the plume?

There is an obvious missing piece in the middle of one of the blue ribbons - how could the seller miss that? That is NOT an "extremely small chip that is hard to even find or see."

The head down pony has issues, too.

A chip along the far edge of the tail ribbon and a flaw of some sort on its hip.

It, too, has a suspicious line around the base of its plume that looks like it may have been broken and repaired.

There is a major break to the tail ribbon - two pieces are missing from it.

And a place that looks like its leg was broken and then repaired.

So why do I keep looking at them and weighing if I should buy this set or not?

Notice anything missing in this photo? (Er, beside the ribbon pieces. Hah!)

Neither pony has any spots on their hips!

And

Freeman Leidys

always have 

spots

on their hips!

Never, ever have I seen one without spots, let alone two of them.

And so I continue to think about buying this set despite the damage it has and its owner's apparent inability to see it.

I may make an offer on it and see what the seller says.

Things could get interesting here real fast. Stay' tooned.

Weighing My Options

Yesterday's talk went well and is in the books. Belle was in attendance and afterward we got some lunch and had some horsey chat.  I have another speaking engagement in June and then in July (BreyerFest Sunday) and that's it until October.

One of the most fun things about collecting is the surprises. Walking around a corner at an antique mall and spying something really good 

like my Breyer Boxer clock.

A neighbor showing you a piece that they have had for years 

and it turns out to be something pretty special and valuable (Kat and her Wedgwood Fighting Stallion),  

or an auction lot that turns out to be far better that you first realized 

because one of the pieces is so lovely that not only does it becomes a personal favorite, it does very well at shows. (Windsong Sherif.)

Yesterday afternoon, I had an unexpected surprise while perusing eBay. (A great way to relax after a speaking engagement, right??)  I came across an auction that had two Freeman Leidy circus horses and their wagon.

I always stop and look at auctions for these pieces. Even though I already have nine horses and three wagons in my collection, I'm looking for a green and purple head down pony and both head up and head down ponies in blue and yellow.

The set on eBay is the the pink and blue horses. That color order is important - it indicates that the manes and tails are pink and the ribbon accents are blue. 

Then there is the reverse or flipped color pair. (My terms for them.)

 An example of the blue and pink pair - blue mane and tail with pink ribbon accents. This is the flip of the pair in the auction.

This is the purple and green pair,

and the green and purple flip version. 

As you might imagine, these color pairs (head up/head down in one coloration) and their flip pairing (head up/head down in reverse coloration) can get really, really, REALLY confusing. Especially when you are looking to purchase them second hand.

I got out my two head down ponies in the pink/blue and blue/pink colors to compare them to the auction pieces. 

Definitely the pink/blue version and paired correctly - neither was the flip of the other, so they are a correctly matched pair.

Another look back at my collection and I already had three of the pink/blue head up ponies and one of the head down pony. (The pink/blue head up is the most commonly found Freeman Leidy circus pony of all.)

So I already have both and I have no need for the wagon. Both pieces show some damage to their ribbons. (Very common for Freeman Leidys - they are fragile.)

I am considering getting this trio. There is some damage but for the price, that's reasonable. 

Questions I am asking myself now:

Does the seller know how fragile these pieces and how to pack them with lots of protection?

If I buy them, where will I put them? The wagons take up a lot of space and I already have three of them. 

The horses take up an entire shelf in the sewing room cabinet.

There is no more space in that cabinet, so buying the eBay set would mean a complete overhaul of shelves. 

As most collectors know, that can be a major project and I am in the middle of the JCs^2's quiet book, plus (and I haven't written yet about this) we are doing a major overhaul of our home. Blinds, painting, flooring, counter tops, and some new furniture. 

Just getting my flowers planted took a lot out of me (I didn't write about it, but I was exhausted and ill for a day afterward - my body cried "Uncle" big time.) I have been learning that I need to parse my time out better and chop things into little bits. 

So, with that all said and those projects either in progress or coming up soon, do I really want to do a rearrangement of my shelves to accommodate three pieces that I already have?

And that actually is the bottom line, the nitty gritty. I'm going to think about all that, weigh those activities and my options, and then make my decision.

Stay 'tooned.

Heads Down!

My most favorite Freeman Leidy is this Head Down Circus Horse in purple and green.

Her name is Violet

and she is NAN qualified and has several collectibility championships to her name.

But that isn't why I love her - she just makes me smile. I don't take her out much due to her fragility, but she may come with me to Indy Blooms next month.

I actually have two in this color (Violet is on the right).

Check out the different lengths of their plumes. Were Violet's tag to come off, I could still tell which one was her!

The other one has purple shading that comes higher on her shoulders, too.

My new pink and blue Head Down compared to Violet. Definitely a shorter plume on it.

A big surprise to me was their near hind hooves.

The pink and blue's hoof has been pared down.

Violet's near hind hoof is chunkier and complete.

The pink and blue pony not only seems a bit smaller than the two purples, but it also has a dulled finish like its Head Up counterpart.

You can see the size and finish variations well here. (And some ribbon ones, too!)

While I was excited to get all four pieces of this new set,

I was most excited to find the blue and pink Head Down piece.

A quick check showed that its near hoof

had also been trimmed down a bit.

And look at the plume difference!

The piece is a little smaller than Violet

and its finish is quite a bit dulled when compared to the two purple and greens. I am chalking that up to smoking as my best guess at the moment. Certainly more research is needed.

My Freeman Leidy collection is now up to nine horses and two wagons. I'd love to have each pair and their counterpart colors. Plus, there is a mysterious color that I am looking for:

The blue and yellow pair. 

I first saw them in this sales ad but someone else snapped them up before I could buy them. Clearly they are a Head Up/Head Down pair. But is there a counterpart? A yellow and blue pair? Blue was already paired with pink; shouldn't yellow have been paired with a different color then?

I've never seen that, just as I haven't seen a blue and pink Head Up horse. (I've now got the Head Down blue and pink, so I strongly suspect there is a Head Up one to match.)

That sales picture also confirmed the production of the Head Down in green and purple.

I'm on the hunt for that one, too.

Things that make collecting fun! (And your wallet light. LOL)