Left Behinds

There are a lot of HSOs (horse shaped objects) to be found in Indiana. Antique, thrift, and resale shops are full of them but most of the things that I find don't come home with me. Here are some of the more interesting "left behinds" from some recent antique shop visits.

A painted cast iron Breyer Quarter HorseYearling?

Nope!

Another metal Quarter Horse Yearling, this time as a clock? Nope!

A cheap plastic knock-off of the iconic Alabaster Family Arabian Stallion? Nope!

The bare plastic Hartland Morgan with a broken ear was left behind.

As were all these Breyers and Hartland due to price and damage. (Or, that I already had them.)

I was tempted by the Marx Pancho who was tucked in with some glamour ponies but still left him behind.

This Hartland pair got a second look but price, damage, and missing tack made them nopes, too.

In fact, I leave behind most of the things that I find when I go out to look for HSOs. 

But it is all worth it when you have a big find and all those "nopes" become a great big "YEEESSS!!"

(This boxer clock is one of only three known to exist. And when I found it a few years ago, it was on sale, too!)

 

Fall Break Antiquing

My daughter, Lisa, was on Fall break after I came home from the GLC show, and we decided that we just HAD to go poke around in some antique shops while she was off work. Both of us had a lot of success: me, in finding HSOs (horse shaped objects), and Lisa in finding red transfer ware.

Rarely do either of us find red transfer ware - and we were stunned to find display after display of it.

Blue is the most common color found, then green, red, brown, and purple in that order. Needless to say, she was very excited at the selection. 

I found all kinds of HSOs and a few DSOs, too!

I already have this Disney souvenir Pongo along with Perdita. 

This cool movie poster was fun to find.

It's too bad that this old print is so stained - it is quite lovely.

I find many of these Western Horse copies, although usually the feet are together in a standing position.

At $5.16 (yes, that is the price on the tag) I almost bought this donkey.

A bag with a china horse family inside.

What an expression on the horse's face!

An early California Pottery mouse came home with me. At $2.50 he will make a nice show donation.

It took me a while to figure out what these folded leather pieces were and then it hit me - they're poppers for the ends of romal reins!

These horses have been in this booth for a couple of years now.

We are on the tail end of having new grand babies, otherwise I might have bought this for them to rock in when they visit.

We saw the ubiquitous metal horse clocks several times in the stores we visited.

This one was tempting, but I left it behind. The detail on the clock housing is neat.

I got teary when I saw this life sized duck. I had this piece when I was a preschooler - while horses were my favorite animal even back then, ducks came in second. This is a bank, and Santa brought it for me for Christmas one year when I was four or five.

This Breyer Stock Horse Stallion is from the early 1980s and had a B stamp. I left him behind as I don't care for the mold. Hopefully another collector will find him.

Why are the ladies so distressed in these paintings?

More Breyers, still in their boxes.

A mother lode of the old Johnny West series, complete with horses, riders, and a ziplock bag of their tack and accessories. Plus, a couple of other models in the lot, too.

This windup rocking Roy Rogers and Trigger was really neat.

My sister, Jenny, collects glass bottles and we sent her a photo of this wine decanter. That vendor is brave to have it up so high and in a high traffic area of the antique mall!

I didn't do my research, but I believe these are Hartland knock-offs.

I am not very familiar with the American Girl dolls, but this horse's scale would be right for them.

Another large scale horse was in the same booth.

These two drafters looked like hobby molds to me.

Lisa went home with two red transfer ware plates and four vintage Christmas ornaments. I purchased a few items, too, and will share those in an upcoming blog entry.

Another Trip Antiquing

Thursday was a rainy and cold day - a good one to go out and look for more HSOs. (Why does it always rain or snow during my spring break??)

I have decided that, since I am retiring, I will begin keeping track of the numerous antique and thrift shops that are close enough for me to visit. (Close being a day's drive there and back.) I set up a spread sheet with the names of towns and shops that I already knew well, then aded their contact information and addresses. I listed the stores I had visited on Monday, and then set out to visit three small towns, each about twenty miles away, and all of whom have places where I have discovered HSOs.

Like I had on Monday, I saw many horsey things.

 There were lots of clankies to be found.

I loved this wind-up horse - my father was an aficionado of wind up toys and were he still living, I might've bought it for him.

I thought this piece might be a TV lamp, but it was actually a planter. (It looked a bit chalkware-esque to me, too.)

 A quirky Canadian Mountie on a plastic horse was cool.

 Not to my taste - I go for more realistic colors. (Unless it is a Breyer decorator!)

This pretty painting was tucked behind some other merchandise. (Another blogger, Christina Dils, once advised hobbyists to be sure to look up high and down low when searching for pieces. Valuable advice that I now follow.)

 There was a Breyer in one store, but I am looking for vintage ones and so I left it behind.

 I looked at some decorative plates...

... and a black and white rendition of "The Horse Fair" by Rosa Bonheur. (I already have a framed colored edition.)

 A carved wooden horse up stood up on some higher shelves.

 And I discovered a whole bunch of chalkware, including the same circus horse I saw on Monday.

 I had never seen so many chalkware pieces together, and they were in wonderful shape.

Plus, they had glitter in their manes and tails, just as Monday's piece had. I asked the vendor about the use of glitter on chalkware, and she said that it had been a genuine practice to produce them that way.

There was some breweriana ...

... and a Marguerite Henry book that connects to a Breyer horse. (The book came home with me.)

I think those are salt and pepper shakers that the horse is pulling.

And, I came across the mother lode of Breyers, Marx, Safari, and other manufacturers.

Only the book came home with me, along with a bunch of business cards I picked up so that I could add these shops to my spread sheet.

So, not a very fruitful trip, but I still enjoyed myself. Half the fun is the search!