A Metlox Poppytrail and Ceramic Arts Studio Pairing

First Post of the Day

While not someone who likes circuses, I do love to collect circus ponies. So when this photo popped up on social media, my attention was caught. 

A Metlox Poppytrail drafter with a shelf sitter ballerina by Ceramic Arts Studio! 

She doesn't belong on the horse - she's from a different pottery, but the two do look nice together.

I have two Ceramics Arts shelf sitter ballerinas.

They are two very different scales.

And I have three of the Metlox drafters (sometimes called Metlox Circus Horses), all of whom came from the Karen Grimm/Black Horse Ranch Collection. 

I have perched the ballerinas on the horses a time or two

but their flat undersides, designed to sit on the edge of a shelf, table, or book,

make that a very precarious perch. I'm not sure I would trust even a generous amount of sticky wax to keep the riders in place.

The seller of the pair is not someone I am familiar with

but since both the horse and the ballerina have provenance that show they are from two different companies,

I would guess that she knows they are not a pair that were made to go together. 

She would not be the first to pair a Metlox drafter and a Ceramic Arts shelf sitter together - other examples can be found on eBay and other sales sites.

This pair is for sale and for a reasonable price, but I already have two of the palomino drafters and two ballerinas. I had seen the green ballerina before on eBay but have always passed - a collection within my collection of ballerina shelf sitters is not in the plans. LOL

The photos of the pair are from a sales post on social media. If you are interested in them, contact me and I'll send you info on where to find them.

Don't forget the April Give Away - vintage handmade beaded earrings, maple cakes, and beeswax ornaments! Comment to enter on any blog post from yesterday (4/12) through Wednesday evening at 11:59 PM Eastern. Several people will win!

Another blog entry will be posted later this morning. Stay 'tooned!

Circus Time: The Grail Metlox Poppytrail & Bonus Pony

I wanted the medium white Metlox Poppytrail Circus Horse for decades. I'd only seen one photo of the piece, and it was so charming and saucy, I badly wanted to add it to my collection. But, during all those years, I never, ever saw one come up for sale.

In 2016 I began setting aside money to buy the piece in case I ever found it. I figured that, since it was so rare, it might be costly, and I wanted to be prepared. 

I did numerous online searches, scoured antique and thrift shops, and kept my eyes peeled for years with no success. It wasn't until May, 2018 when Heather Wells and friends held Clinky Mania in California to sell the late Karen Grimm's massive collection that I saw one. As I looked over the photos before the sale, there was the white Metlox Poppytrail circus pony! 

And to my great surprise, a palomino one, too! Someone had once mentioned that they thought that there was a palomino, but never in all my online and other searches, had I seen any photos to confirm that rumor. Now I knew that the palomino version did indeed exist. Unfortunately for me, the BHR circus ponies were not made available to buyers during the Clinkie Mania sale and so my search was still on. Only now I was looking for both the white and the palomino.

The search finally came to an end on eBay in 2019 - only the second time ever that I had ever seen them come up for sale. I quietly began watching the auctions and checking my savings to make sure I had enough to bid for both pieces.

Even with the money saved up and earmarked for these two pieces, I thought long and hard before I purchased them. My decision was helped along by the fact that I had come out of retirement for the last seven weeks of school to cover an emergency leave for a very ill teacher. Because of that unexpected income, I had a good financial cushion and I would not have to touch my savings.

It's an odd feeling, after literally decades of looking, to finally acquire your most wanted piece, your "grail" as the hobby calls it. When they arrived, I left them in their boxes for a little while, still finding it hard to believe that I had found them. Even now I still feel like pinching myself when I look at them in my china cabinet.

They are beautiful, mint, and have their stickers, too. I am so lucky to have finally found my most wanted pieces.

Tomorrow, we will look at  some circus ponies that actually came from the circus and are real circus souvenirs!

Prepare to be amazed!

Circus Time: Metlox Drafters

Clinky Mayhem, a sale of the late Karen Grimm's chinas, was held in the spring of 2018 out in California. People flew in from all over the country for the opportunity to buy some of the fabulous pieces in Karen's collection.

I couldn't go, but my friend, Teresa Rogers could, and she offered to get me a few things that I was looking for. I was looking for the medium sized Metlox Poppytrail Circus Horse in white that I knew was in Karen's collection, so I passed that information on to Teresa and sat back to wait.

That piece was not available, but the large Metlox circus horses were! (Metlox/Metlox Poppytrail was a California pottery company that was in production from 1927 - 1989.) Part of the Metlox Nostalgia line, there were three palomino and one grey circus drafters available, and Teresa was able to snag three of those for me.

 

One of the palominos had a very hard to see repaired break on its leg, and its price reflected that.

The grey drafter is harder to find and I felt very lucky that Teresa was able to get it for me. It was in mint condition.

Look at that neck! I just love this sculpt in all it chunkiness.

The third drafter was also mint. It differs from the first one in that it has some shading on the ends of its mane. 

All three pieces have some crazing which is common in pieces this old.

And they all have this fun braided forelock. Plus they are HEAVY. As heavy as they are, I think they must be solid.

If you are very, very lucky, you might find one of these drafters with a circus ballerina sitting on their backs. I've had some great finds, but this piece has eluded me. I bid on one once on eBay, but the bidding went far higher than I wanted to spend. Still, I hope to come across one someday.

A history of the Metlox/Metlox Poppytrail Company can be found here. And tomorrow we will look at something a little smaller than these big boys.

Prepare to be amazed!

After the Most-Wanted, What's Next?

When you have finally, finally, finally found your most wanted pieces for your collection (in my case, the Metlox Poppytail medium Circus Ponies), What is next?

For me, it was to savor the find for a while - to have the Circus Ponies out where I could see them and enjoy the feeling of completing a decades long search.  And while that was wonderful, I am changing out shelves in the horse room and don't want anything to happen to the new pieces as I wrestle with moving furniture and models around.

I have put the Circus Ponies into the curio that houses my "clunky" clinkies - the Melba Ware, Metlox Poppytrail, and Freeman Leidy pieces along with other random chinas such as Lakeshores, Chevals, Lenoxes, and Made in Japans.

 I get happy just looking at them. (Those are a few of my Freeman Leidy circus ponies behind them.)

But now what? Do I find something else to look for? Or am I happy with what I have and stop there?

I'm pretty much in the latter category. Sure, I will keep my eyes open for new pieces, but I am very content with what I have. There is another Metlox Poppytrail Circus Pony, this one with a rider, that I will look for.

Photo from Google Images.

I already have three of the riderless Circus Ponies (all from the late Karen Grimm's collection), and would not mind having the version with a rider. 

Cybis made two pieces in the late 1970s/early 1980s that I would like to find some day.

 One has a rider, like the Metlox Poppytrail piece

while the other is riderless and beginning a bow. (Both photos from Google Images and eBay. Second photo credit to China Finders.)

So, yes, there are still some pieces I would like to find.

 But nothing will ever compare to the long time search and joy in finding my most treasured pieces,

the grey and palomino Metlox Poppytrail Circus Ponies.

I am content.

The Palomino Metlox Poppytail Circus Pony

For years I drooled over the one, single photo I had found of the white Metlox Poppytrail Circus Pony.

Photo taken from Google Images, owner unknown.

It was so charming and saucy, and due to my own personal love of circus ponies, I wanted to add it to my collection.

I did numerous online searches, scoured antique and thrift shops, and kept my eyes peeled for years with no success. A very dear friend even tried her own quiet search without my knowledge, wanting to find one for me as a surprise gift. (Heartfelt thanks, you-know-who! It still makes me teary when I think of your generosity!)

But no luck. At least, not until last May when Heather Wells and friends held Clinky Mania in California, selling the late Karen Grimm's collection. As I looked over the photos before the sale, there was a white circus pony! And to my great surprise, a palomino one, too! (Go here to see photos of the Black Horse Ranch Metlox Poppytrail pieces.) Someone had once mentioned that they thought that there was a palomino, but never in all my online and other searches, had I seen any photos to confirm that rumor. Now I knew that the palomino version did indeed exist.

Unfortunately for me, the BHR circus ponies were not available and my search was still on. Only now I was looking for both the white and the palomino.

As I wrote yesterday, I found and bought both pieces recently. Here is the beautiful palomino.

 I love the contrast of the cream colored mane with its dark palomino coat!

Under its belly it has the Metlox seal, but it does not have the Metlox Poppytrail sticker on its shoulder that its counterpart does.

I still cannot believe that I have finally, after decades of looking, found these two pieces. I'll put them in the china cabinet that houses my other Metlox pieces, but in the meantime, they are here in my office where I can see them and enjoy them. 

The Search Comes to an End

The search has come to an end! After years and years of looking, I finally found the two horses that I have wanted more than any others. They are very difficult to find, and it is only the second time that I have even seen them come up for sale. In fact, I wasn't sure that one of them actually existed - I'd heard rumors, but never could find pictures to prove its existence.

In 2016 I began saving up my money in the hopes that I would come across one or the other. (I never expected to find both, especially at the same time.) I knew that they would most likely be expensive so I wanted to be prepared.

Even with the money saved up and earmarked for these two pieces, I thought long and hard before I purchased them. My decision was helped along by the fact that I was offered an emergency vacancy in the alternative school and went back to teaching. Because of that, I had an extra financial cushion and I would not have to touch my savings.

So I took the plunge.

 At last, the small Metlox Poppytrail Circus Pony is in my collection.

When the box arrived, I let it sit for a day - I just could not believe that I had finally found my most wanted pieces.

While both pieces stand very well, I have them temporarily lying on bubble wrap. I'll put them in the upstairs china cabinet soon, but in the meantime, I like having them in my office where I can look at them.

The white piece has two stickers - one on its flank and the other under its belly. The stickers are in terrific condition, especially considering their age.

I am still pinching myself that my dream has come true. Tomorrow I will talk about the other one, the one I only just discovered really did exist.