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.

A Couple of eBay Finds

I used to peruse eBay almost daily and I found some good things back when I did. Now, I only check it when I am actively looking for something. And sometimes, that leads me right down the eBay rabbit hole.

Look at this wonderful Preiser Liberty Horse set I found!

Preiser is a German company that creates 1/87 (HO Scale) and  1/160 (N Scale) pieces for the railroad hobby. 

Mighty Mouse, on the right and one of my favorite pieces in my collection, is HO scale while the Mini Mighty Mouses (Mice?? LOL) on the left are N scale. 

I don't know how old this set is, but I am guessing it is probably 30 years at least. 

The clear plastic of the box has yellowed and feels a bit fragile just as old Breyer boxes do.

But not only did I find this cool Liberty Horse set to add to my circus horse collection within a collection, I found something else I have been looking for. A random check of bridle rosettes brought up this beauty!

My initial! It has been very hard to find. I started looking years ago when I bought Tim bridle rosettes with his initials as a Christmas gift from Abby and me.

As you can see, bridle rosettes come in different sizes. These two, like my new one, were being sold singly which is very common. Pairs get separated and only one survives.

I have O'Boy's bridle from 1936 (my father's circus pony), but there is only one bridle rosette remaining on it.

That brief look at eBay brought me two things I am thrilled to have. Hmmm, maybe I should check it more frequently? 

I'd better wait until after I have finished my holiday shopping to think about that!

Britain's Trotting Circus Horse & Equestrienne

Here is my newest circus horse, and I am so excited about it.

A Britains Trotting Circus Horse and Equestrienne!

I was actually searching eBay for the HO scale horses I wrote about yesterday, and this piece popped up in my search. I'm really glad it did.

The Equestrienne (love that British spelling) is removable from the horse. (That's because there is also a circus elephant which she can stand on.)

I don't know a lot about Britains, so I spent some time doing research. Most of what I learned comes from the Britains Toy Museum in the United Kingdom and is cut and pasted below.

Britain's Mammoth Circus (more commonly referred to nowadays as just "Britains Circus") was a range of painted lead figures made by Britains Limited between the wars. 

Catalogue listing, 1940

351B Prancing Horse –  352B Trotting Horse –  353B Man on Stilts –  354B Clown with Hoop –  355B Equestrienne –  356B Cowboy with Lasso – 357B Ring Master –  358B Clown, Standing –  359B Elephant –  446B Tub –  447B Boxing Clown –  448B Lion Tamer –  449B Performing Tiger – 450B Performing Elephant –  451B Boxing Kangaroo – 

1442 Six-piece Circus Set –  1443 Ten-piece Circus Set –  1444 Fourteen-piece Circus Set –  1539 Twenty-three-piece Circus Set –

See the rearing horse in this set? That's 351B, ironically called "Prancing Horse." (Mine is 352B Trotting Horse.) 

Oh, how I would love to get a complete set! (Yeah, right. Dream on!)

The listings I've come across over the years call the performer "Ballerina," but Britains named her "Equestrienne."

The Equestrienne came in a variety of colors.  Mine is blonde with a blue dress.

Just as the performer's colors vary, so did the horse's tack. I've seen blue, green, orange, and red as I've researched.

The paint on Britains is very fragile and there is likely a lead content, both in the paint and in the metal that the horse and performer are made from. I'm being careful and am washing my hands after I touch them. (Sadly, the Cowpokes and Pony Pals will not be allowed to handle them.)

Now I need to find the Prancing Horse and add it to my collection!

Found and Lost

I am always on the look out for circus ponies, and the Freeman Leidys are extremely elusive and hard to find. Needless to say, my jaw dropped when this set showed up on eBay with a starting bid of ninety-nine cents. (All photos from eBay.)

 My fingers flew over the keys as I went to make a bid, and then I saw the notation that only local pickups would be accepted. The set was in Rhode Island. And I am in Indiana.

The set included the head down green pony - I did not even know that color existed until a year ago when I found (and purchased) the head up pony in green. I've suspected since then that it had a matching head down pony, and there it was!

The set included the head down pony in pink, too! I have the head up pony in pink but have been looking for its counterpart for years. I already have the head up and head down ponies in blue, but am always happy to add Freeman Leidys to my collection. (I have the circus wagon in purple.)

My head up ponies in pink and green.

My head up and head down ponies in blue.

I contacted the seller and asked if she would reconsider and ship the pieces, telling her that I was very interested in the set but lived in Indiana. She said that if the set did not sell, then she might. Relieved at her answer, I settled in to watch and wait.

No one bid. Until the very last minute. And they won that entire set for ninety-nine cents.

I was crushed. So much Freeman Leidy goodness at my fingertips and lost in just a few seconds. Whoever won that auction got an incredible deal. And I will keep looking.

Found! A Long Wanted Piece

I have wanted Poppy, the Performing Pony by Cybis for a long time. They come up on eBay occasionally and are usually listed at $200. That's more than I wanted to pay for the piece, so I have watched as they have come and gone for several years now.

Last year, one popped up for $149. It sold fairly quickly, and then another was listed for the same price. I have been watching it for months. $149, while better than $200, is still more than I was willing to pay to acquire a Poppy.

 Last week I got an eBay message saying that the seller was willing to accept $99 if any of those watching the auction were interested. Most definitely, I was!

 And now I have my own Cybis Poppy, safely ensconced in my china cabinet.

Poppy was made 1976 - 1979 and was a limited edition of 1000 according to the Cybis archives.  Mine is #363 and bigger than I'd realized. There are no chips or breaks.

She's a nice addition to my circus horse collection and I am already thinking of taking her to Great Lakes Congress' October show for a special collector's class they are having.

Just What Do I Have?

Having just bought nine blankets off eBay, I thought it might be a good idea to go through my blanket tub and see just what I have so that I don't make duplicate purchases. (Which has happened before, but the extras make good donations.)

Four of the nine I ordered are here (the last five were sold in a lot) so this is what I have thus far. I'll do a separate blog entry on the lot when it arrives.

 The tub is getting full but I can still squeeze a few more in.

Breyer has done several types of packaging. I prefer the kind on the left as it is compact and sturdy, protecting the blanket, but the open-blanket style in the middle allows you to see both sides of the blanket at once, good when there is a different motif on each side. But it also takes a lot more storage space in exchange for that clarity.

The sealed plastic bag on the right allows you to see both sides of the blanket but it is very flimsy and not as protective of the contents.

Having said all that, most people open the packaging and use the blanket; very few like me actually collect the blankets themselves and keep things intact. So, I do understand Breyer's various methods for packing those blankets.

Susan Bensema Young's eagle eyes spied these next four blankets on eBay and sent an email to tell me about them. I checked with her first to be sure she was not planning on bidding on them herself before I snapped them up.

This green turnout blanket also came with the model! I already have Karinthia, but will check it against my other for variations. If there are any, it will stay with me. (Photo by eBay seller.)

 The blue turnout blanket didn't come with the model horse. (Photo by eBay seller.)

As you know from the variation post on Stud Spider, the brown canvas blanket came with the Stud Spider and both are staying with me.

The blue canvas blanket is in remarkable shape considering it was first produced in 1977 and is one of Breyer's earliest blankets. (Photo by eBay seller.)

Now I am looking for the red canvas blanket to complete my collection of the three different blankets produced in canvas. (Photo taken from Identify Your Breyer.)

A few blankets that came with models remain on those models - Milo, Crystal & Crispin, Eve & Claus, and Vixen & Blitzen - and will remain so instead of going into the tub. Personally I like them on the models.

As for the lot of five which I am still waiting on... They have not been mailed to me as of this writing. I won them on November 11, and the seller messaged me on November 16 through eBay and apologized for the delay. She said that she would mail them and send me the tracking number the next day, November 17, but I have not received that tracking notice yet nor does it show up on eBay. No explanation was given for the delay, but I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt at this time. If I haven't received a tracking number in a couple more days, I'll check back with her and see what is going on.

Collecting Breyer blankets is fun, and a big thanks and shout out to Sue for her help in finding many of these!

An Unusual Kipper

I was cruising eBay last week when an unusual piece popped up on my "You might like this" feed. 

 A flocked piece, clearly meant to be Thelwell's Kipper.

I thought his price was high, especially for an unknown-to-me model, but there was a Make an Offer button, so I did and ended up winning him.

My new Kipper arrived yesterday and he is clearly not the cheap trinket I thought he might be. He's fairly light as most cheap plastic pieces are,  but there is a better quality to him in the details.

I quite like him and am glad I took the chance. Having said that, though, I cannot find any information about him. I am going to post him on a Facebook group or two and see if anyone can help me figure out who manufactured him, when he was made, etc.

My Second Real Decorator!

How ironic that I have looked for decorators for years and years, decades even, without success, and then I find two in the space of one month.

(Photos from eBay auction.)

I saw this gold charm Running Foal on eBay a few weeks ago and marked it for watching. As the time passed, the bidding remained low, and so I took the plunge and made a bid. I won!

 He has some black marks and a chipped eartip, but is still beautiful.

I am thrilled to add this piece to my collection. And I have to smile - it has been a very rainy spring break and I have complained a bit about that, but the old adage is true - when it rains, it pours!

Spanish Flamenco Horse and Rider

Breyer's sets of dolls and horses have begun to appeal to me, so I have been searching them out on eBay and elsewhere. I found this piece for a very fair price and snapped it up last week.

(Photo from eBay listing.)

In a way, it reminds me of a Circus Horse, and I think that that was part of the appeal of this particular set.

Now, to decide whether or not to remove it from its box. It was made in 2009 and so has been in the box for nearly a decade. I lean toward leaving it inside for a couple of reasons, one of which is to protect it from dust and wear.

On the other hand, I love to handle the pieces of my collection, look them over, and set them out for display. (Yes, I was one of those kids who played with their carpet herd and I have no regrets about that!) I think it personalizes my collection if I do that rather than just setting things on a shelf with a "do not touch" attitude.

I'm going to have to think about this for a while - there are good reasons for both options!