Last week I bought a 62 horse Breyer collection from a dealer who wanted to concentrate on holiday wares. 62 horses! Sounds crazy unless you are another horse person who has loved Breyer since she could say "horsie." Fortunately, the dealer threw in her Breyer Animal Collector's Guide. Since I started this 'business' last winter, I have discovered that with every new treasure I buy, I need to learn a whole new vocabulary and wealth of information. As many of you know, Breyer has been creating models since the 1950s. They come in different sizes, colors and shapes that use over 350 molds. They are exquisitely hand-painted with life-like detail. The Chinese are reproducing them, but so far, they are far inferior and easy to distinguish from the real thing.
What am I going to do with 62 horses? Enjoy them, first. Then research and sell them on Ebay. This should take me, oh, about a year. Let's face it, I am still cataloging an Indian pottery collection I bought three months ago, so I am getting more realistic about the time and energy needed for Ebay.
So if anyone has a Breyer model you have been dying for, let me know. I just might have it!
The neat thing about my 'antiquing' is I find horses wherever I go, and not just Breyer models. I recently got to glean through a postcard collection and found three (out of about 2,000) horse postcards from the early 1900s. The art and colors are still so beautiful, I couldn't help but fall in love with them, just like I do the ceramic figurines, the cute horse planters, the paintings, the books--you get the idea. One find was a 1903 Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. It's not worth much to sell because of the condition, but I treasure it! So I'll wish all of you at Equestrian Ink a horse-filled holiday with this photo of a wonderful 1930s postcard.
Happy Holidays to you, your family and all your critters!
10 comments:
Oh, I can totally understand the Breyers jones and the horse-y. It's something I'm doing myself; all pictures in my office must have a horse, I've decided. It's fun to scrounge through a Goodwill bin or other thrift store and find something I'll enjoy, never mind that it's for a charity. :)
I used to have a decent sized Breyer collection myself when I was a teen. Some were handed down from my mom who had them when she was a teen as well. I don't think I had as many as you do now, but I think I probably had about 20 or so. I wish I could recall what happened to them when I moved out. There are some parts of my past that elude me, no matter how hard I try to recall. I would absolutely love to see pics of some of the older ones you got.
Hi Anonymous--Goodwill has become my 'go to' place to shop although I have never found anything horsey.
Cindy -- I still have my old Breyers but they all have chipped something or others. The ones I bought are in super condition. I have Pharlap from the 1970s in the box on Ebay right now -- he's beautiful! If there is one you remember from your past, let me know and I'll see if I can find it.
Alison, you should look into listing them on MH$P- http://www.modelhorsesalespages.com/ there's a low fee to join and post pictures and I've found it very successful for selling some of my old models :) Good luck!
Thank you for the information Kristen, I will DEFINITELY look into it.
I had at least twenty Breyers when I was a kid--I still remember some of their names. But they have all disappeared over time, though I still have four china horses (some with glued on legs) that I had back then. I remember their names, too, and one is a palomino with a white stripe on its face that was called "Sunny". Sort of amusing that I ended up with a real horse that is palomino with a white stripe on his face and was named "Sunny" when I got him. Life is funny.
The one I remember the most was one my mom gave me. I called him King, but he was white and rearing up and had a halter painted on.
He was from the 1950's I think. I'm trying to recall some of the others. I had a mare and foal and they were sorrel with flaxen mane and tail. Gosh my memory is fuzzy!
Love Breyers...my dad is an antique dealer and always scoops any he finds for me. Enjoy them!
We all have such great Breyer memories. Wow, Cindy if you had one from the 1950s that is really collectible! Check on Ebay sometimes -- the old ones do show up (and they're expensive.)
Laura -- I love those ceramic horses with the busted up legs. Whenever I find them, their ears are usually chipped, too.
Bebe -- you are lucky to have a dad who scouts treasures for you. :)
Having been introduced via the blogosphere to the world of model horse showing, I can tell you that there are DEFINITELY people who will be interested in your collection. I, too, suggest the Model Horse Sales Pages - seems to be the place where the collectors do most of their buying/selling. I'm not doing it myself but I enjoy looking and reading about it!
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