The Palomino Project: Conclusions

After being as thorough in my research as I can, I'm ready to share my thoughts about the original question:

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

We have heard from people on both sides of the discussion, four who spoke to me and one who declined, all of whom are respected for their knowledge and experience in the hobby.

~ Out of those four people who spoke with me, all believe that the color did not change and were able to back up their comments with personal observations. (As I was writing this series, I received several messages from additional long time hobbyists who had early palominos that they'd purchased new which had always been carmel and never orange.)

~ My own experience with palominos from the theoretical color shifting period is that they were carmel when purchased new off the shelf.

~ Numerous orange palominos from the supposed era of the color shifting time still have their orange color.

But having said that, Andrea Gurdon says that she saw a half carmel/half orange Fighting Stallion in her entry titled "Honey" that was posted July 29, 2013. She wrote,

"I'm not sure if it's completely due to exposure to sunlight, or if another environmental factor such as heat is necessary. Several years ago I saw a Gloss Palomino Fighter that had been kept in a window for some time; one side was Orange, and the other side was honey."

If that is true, and I have no reason to believe that it isn't, then that gives me pause. Why? Ever heard of the original Christmas decorators? For years rumors have swirled about that in the 1960s or so, red and green decorator models were briefly produced by Breyer. No photos have ever come to light and they have never moved beyond "hopeful rumor."

But, as Andrea wrote in a blog post dated October 3, 2009, "Yet absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: all it takes is one photograph, one document, or one model to move something from the realm of imaginary."

That's a really good point. One of our hobby mothers, Simone Smiljanic, insisted her entire life that she had seen those green and red decorators. She never recanted that, and I believe her. But we have no photos or documentation, just Simone's word and a few rumors from others that they existed.

So, while I am keeping an open mind, I agree with Kirsten Wellman, Kelly Korber-Weimer, Sande Schneider, and Nancy Kelly that Breyer's palomino color was not fugitive and never changed from orange to carmel.

But I'm also going to follow my own advice and "stay 'tooned," because, as Andrea said, it just takes one picture.

The Palomino Project: the Flip Side of the Discussion

Today we will look at the other side of the discussion - those who believe that Breyer's palomino color shifted in the early years - and examine what we can find as to evidence and documentation of that theory.

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I first heard the notion that Breyer's Palomino color shifted while reading Andrea Gurdon's blog, Breyer History Diva. (I have been told that the topic was also discussed on Model Horse Blab, but I have been unable to find it there.)

Andrea joined our group for dinner after Indy Blooms, so I had her current contact info and reached out to her several times, asking her if she would be willing to talk to me about this theory. She did not respond to my texts. 

A search of her blog turned up three posts that specifically discuss the theory. Here are quotes from those blog entries in chronological order. (Click on the blog entry title to read the entry in its entirety.)

Honey (July 29, 2013)

"... It is a bit of a misnomer to call Gloss Honey Palomino a true "vintage" color. Early Palominos back when were more or less the same shade of Sunkist Orange that later Palominos were. The paint itself simply changed over time, from neon bright to mellow honey...."

"The formula for Palomino changed to something less fugitive sometime in the later 1960s or early 1970s; while some of them have shifted colors, too, it's usually in completely different ways and for completely different reasons."

Priceless (February 24, 2014)

"As I've mentioned before, older Palomino paint jobs are notoriously fugitive: they change with exposure to heat and/or light. Breyer Palominos tend to turn honey-brownish - often attractively so... "

Orange is the New Palomino (November 21, 2014)

"As I've mentioned before, early Palominos didn't start out "Honey," they turned that way..."

"Breyer eventually switched the formula for the Palomino to something less fugitive (less likely to change color) in the later 1960s or early 1970s. Exactly when is unknown but it's obvious it has to have been by 1971."

"You can see the same phenomenon with the #22 Palomino Pinto Shetland Pony, too. Later Matte and Semi-Gloss are just as bright and cheerful a shade of orange as the one Five-Gaiter, above. I've owned enough of these Shetlands - boxed and unboxed - and in every condition from LSQ to body - to conclude that the lack of a color shift is not anomalous, or due to any special handling. The paint was just different then."

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In addition to talking about the color shifting in her blog, Andrea also connected the well documented phenomenon of Hartland palominos changing to a bile green to the theory about Breyer's palominos' color changing.

A bile green Hartland Victor clock. (Photo owned and shared by Kirsten Wellman.)

Honey (July 29, 2013)

"Hartland had a similar problem with their Palominos, but they tended to turn chartreuse instead."

Priceless (February 24, 2014)

"... while many Hartland Palominos turn lime or chartreuse green."

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Finally, here is an interesting snippet, and, as far as I can find, the only piece of possible documentation that Breyer's Palomino color shifted.

Honey (July 29, 2013)

"I'm not sure if it's completely due to exposure to sunlight, or if another environmental factor such as heat is necessary. Several years ago I saw a Gloss Palomino Fighter that had been kept in a window for some time; one side was Orange, and the other side was honey. (Wish I had bought it! ...)"

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I have found no more information from supporters of the color changing theory so that means that we are now ready to start drawing some conclusions.

Stay 'tooned!

The Palomino Project: What the Experts Say, Part 2

(As you can probably tell, I love to do research. I'm also aware that not everyone else does, so just a note to let you know that we are nearing the end of this series!)

Sande Schneider, notes from email conversations

Sande is a long time collector with a special fondness for Breyer's Western Horse. Noted for her depth of knowledge about Breyer models, Sande contributed a lot of information to Nancy Young's books and now is the caretaker of all of Nancy's notes from that project - about 40 binders full!

It is my personal belief that Breyer's palomino paint is no more prone to fading than are Breyer's other colors of paint.  I've seen, and even own, multiple color hues of models that are palomino.  I attribute their differences to the fact that they were painted at varying times from separate batches of paint.  I've never noticed any fading of their colors.   

I still have a dark caramel colored 5-Gaiter that I've owned for decades.  Plus I also used to have a pale honey colored one as well.  I haven't seen any changing of the palomino color of my 5-Gaiter(s). 

 I've not seen any evidence that Breyer's palomino paint is fading.  

Nancy Kelly

Another long-time collector, Nancy has published several books on Hagen Renakers as well as one about hobby history. Knowing that she also collected Breyers, I invited her to share anything that she could regarding the theory of fading polomino color.

Nancy Falzone (left) and Nancy Kelly (right)

I never owned a palomino FAM so I guess I'm not much help. My first Breyer, given to me as a gift in the 1960s, was the Fighting Stallion in palomino. He is the treasure of my Breyer collection. My most recent Breyer palomino is the Vintage Club "My Girl" cantering Welsh pony. I took a photo of them side by side to show the difference in their two colors, but I'm afraid it has nothing to do with your lemon yellow question. :)

Nancy's two palominos - look at how pink the CWP looks next to the Fighting Stallion!

Lynn Isenbarger 

While I have been around the hobby a long time, I do not consider myself an expert on Breyers. Having said that, I have been collecting since 1963 and still have some early palominos from those days in my collection. All are a beautiful carmel color, the color I remember them always being. I never would have bought them had they been orange - orange may be my favorite color, but not on a model horse. My models have always been carmel.

Last thought for today. 

A takeaway for me today was a comment that Sande made in her remarks. "I've not seen any evidence that Breyer's palomino paint is fading."

That's what I am looking for - evidence that the color did indeed change. And in rereading back through all the experts' comments, none of them have seen that evidence, either. In fact, the evidence that they have seen suggests otherwise - that the paint did not, in fact, change or shift.

More tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

The Palomino Project: Researching

Was Breyer's original palomino color an orange shade that later shifted to a lighter yellow color? Or, was it originally a carmel tan that has remained mostly the same with the passage of time? What documentation can be found that supports one or the other position? 

As I moved into the research portion of the Palomino Project, Nancy Atkinson Young's books were a natural place to start. They are from the 1990s, but that doesn't mean the information in them is outdated and not usable. It does mean, though, that you need to be aware that there could be later additions or corrections to the information contained within them.

I looked up the Family Arabs, the Five Gaiter, Western Horse, and the Fighting Stallion in the third, fourth, and fifth editions. Across all three Nancy wrote that the light tan/carmel colors were the early ones with the orange shade occurring in later years.  And, she specifically wrote in the third edition concerning the FAS, "Later matte models are darker palomino, often a bright orange shade." (p. 37, third edition.)

Next, I pulled out Breyer Animals Collectors Guide. I did not anticipate finding anything - the book's purpose is to be an identification and sales guide, not a tracing of molds, colors, stamps, and more like Nancy's books. (Fun to read, though, and VERY distracting! LOL)

Still, when you are researching something, you find surprises in the least likely places and I want to be thorough in my research.

The same applied to Marney's book - it is full of information, much of which has changed as new information has come to light over time, but it did not have any information on Breyer's early palomino color.

Aside from the affirmation across Nancy Young's books that the carmel/tan palomino came first with the orange palomino following later, I did not find other useful information in any of the the books.

Finished with the books I had to hand, I went online and searched through blogs that I thought might have information about Breyer's colors. Kirsten Wellman's blog, Model Horse Collectibility, was a logical choice to use. 

Kirsten spends a lot of time doing in-depth research and then sharing what she has learned with her readers. That kind of research takes time, but it so worth the wait from one post to the next - her accuracy is spot on. She is an excellent source for reliable information.

Andrea Gurdon's blog, Breyer History Diva, specifically focuses on Breyers and she publishes a new entry about every third or fourth day. Her posts not only include some aspect about model horses, but snippets from her personal life as well as.

She also generously authors a free annual for hobbyists, The Morning Glory Sampler, that you can get at BreyerFest or clink on the link in her blog to download. Andrea and I met and chatted during the Indy Blooms show and then one of our group members invited her to join us for dinner afterwards, and I had a chance to get to know her a little better then.
 

Teresa Rogers (one of THE nicest people in the hobby) keeps a blog that I also checked for information.

The Model Horse History Project is just what it sounds like - a place to learn more about our hobby's roots. Teresa's focus tends more toward Hagen Renakers than Breyers and she is also a wealth of knowledge about our roots, especially in California. Like Kirsten, her posts are throughly researched and well written, with new posts appearing sporadically as a result.

Nothing pertained to my questions in Kirsten's and Teresa's blogs, although Kirsten does talk about color changes that are specific to Hartlands. I may return to that and see how that could compare to the theory that something similar happened to Breyer's palominos. 

Andrea's blog, though, contained at least four entries where she spoke about the palomino color shift (she refers to it as, "fugitive," which means "color changing over time from the original.") I'll share more about what she's written about the topic soon although I'm hoping to interview her in person.

Three other Breyer experts have shared their thoughts about the possible palomino color shifting and tomorrow I will share their thoughts. 

Stay 'tooned!

References for today's post. 

Books

Browell, Korber-Weimer, and Kesicki; 5th edition

Walerius, 1991 edition

Young, 3rd edition, pp. 33, 30, 37, 41

Young, 4th edition, pp. 22, 159, 161, 162, 163-164, 165

Young, 5th edition, pp. 200, 201

Blogs

Breyer History Diva, Jul. 29, 2013, Feb. 24, 2014, Nov. 21, 2014, Nov.24, 2014

Model Horse Collectibility

The Model Horse History Project 

A Happy (Trails) Find

I continue to feel better (although no frisbee playing in the park with Pepper yet) and so yesterday I had a chance to get some research done on the question as to whether or not Breyer's early palomino coloring shifted from orangey to lemon yellow. 

In preparation for writing about it, I reached out to several hobby historians and asked them if they would be willing to share their thoughts on the theory. One responded right away and sent me six or seven emails of information to look at and consider.

Corresponding with her was fun, but my afternoon got even better when Liz Cory texted me these two pictures.

She'd found a dinnerware set called Happy Trails at Goodwill!

"It reminded me of your show and I thought you might want these," she said. (Of course, by now we were FaceTiming so I could take a better look at everything.)

You bet I wanted them.

I only took one of the pie plates; while I make a lot of pies for my family, I already have seven or eight.

All the plates came home with Liz, too.

The two pieces I am most excited to see in person are this footed fruit bowl and the pitcher. I can see that pitcher filled with wildflowers sitting on my kitchen table in late summer.

These will be super nice when I hold Happy Trails next June in 2023 or when model friends pass through and stay over at Horsiemama's Hotel again. 

Thanks, Liz! I can't wait to see these in person!