I have been corresponding with Gail Fitch, author of several books on Hartland Collectibles. In fact, in her new book just coming out, there is a picture of one of my pieces. Years ago I won a drawing that the company was holding and received a piece of which only 5 had been made. She contacted me and asked for photos and if she could include it in her book.
To my surprise, she wrote that she had never found a Hartland clock at an antique shop or flea market. I knew I'd found something special, but the more I know, the more I realize just how lucky I was! I asked her for her take on the differences between the Breyer and the Hartland clocks. Our email correspondence follows.
Lynn,
The white horse standing OVER the clock is a Hartland whether the mane is on the left or right. Breyer horses stand with the clock under their nose.
There are other differences, but that is the simplest point.
After my 2000 book came out, a small clique took the brand-mark information I had published, found Hartland’s Diamond-I mark on the clock bases, and started writing on the Internet. I was accused of lying. They were saying that Breyer made the clock horses first.
In my books since 1983, I only said what the several elderly Hartland executives told me: That Hartland made the clock horses first, and Breyer made clock horses second, and that Hartland horses stood OVER the clock.
What had happened, but didn’t come out until 2004, was that someone – not anyone you mentioned – had, about 1999, found a 1949 clock horse ad. They did not share that with me, but shared it with the small clique. The person believed it was a Breyer, and that if Breyer had made the clock horses in 1949, they believed Breyer had made the clocks before Hartland. The clique was saying that on a web site.
Then, in 2004, an article from a 1950 vintage toy magazine appeared on eBay. I saw it. The horse pictured was labeled Hartland in the caption, and it matched the horse in the 1949 clock ad. Members of the clique compared the two items, but did not include me in the deliberations. Then, they trumpeted their finding, which reversed their previous position, which had been that Breyer made the horses first.
Well, bless their hearts! The two pieces of documentation they found, put together, supported what I’d been publishing all along: That Hartland made clock horses in the 1940s (and before Breyer). I never got an apology from any of them.
A detail I didn’t know was that Hartland had made both right-mane and left-mane Champs on clocks. Hartland apparently never sold the left-mane Champs off the clock, and they never appeared in a Hartland catalog. It’s another Hartland mold, not a Breyer! Hooray!
Marney had claimed the left-mane Champs on clocks as Breyers, at least as early as the 1980s, and everyone just went along with that, including all of the Breyer authors, for decades until the clique’s mid-2004 announcement. When Breyer collectors gave me their clock pictures, I included them in my 1995 newsletter and in my 1999 book. I knew that clocks under the chin of the horse were Breyers. It should have been obvious that any horse OVER the clock was by Hartland, regardless.
I printed a “correction” (for the caption in my 1999 book) in one of my newsletters (about 2005), but I realize not everyone gets my newsletter. I’ll have a lot of new research in my next book on vintage Hartlands.
****
What you paid for your clock is about what I would expect.
I would love to include its picture(s) in a future book. Do you have pictures that are 4” by 6” proportions and at least 1,500 x 2,000 (or more) pixels?
Thanks,
Gail Fitch
From: Lynn Isenbarger [mailto:lisenbarger8@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 2:34 PM
To: Gail Fitch
Subject: Re: Hartland Clock
I don't mind you asking at all. It was marked $95 and they gave me a 10% discount when I asked. Add in Indiana taxes, and I paid $91.49.
I am thrilled to have found it, although at first I thought it was a Breyer. I did some online research on Breyer clocks and came across Mike Jackson's website. He, Sande Schneider, Sheryl Leisure, and some other hobbyists took some time to see if they could figure out how to tell the difference between a Breyer and a Hartland clock. I read their account and how they say to tell the difference, and that's when I realized I had a Hartland and not a Breyer.
Although, I am curious if you agree that it is the diamond conchos and the flat angle front hooves that are the clues that this is a Hartland clock. Do you mind sharing your opinion?
Lynn,
I have my own way of describing the differences between the Hartlands and Breyers.
People get off on tangents sometimes.
Gail
These clocks are lovely to see.
I have never found one at a flea market or antique mall either. It is almost strange.
If I may ask, what did you pay for it?
From: Lynn Isenbarger [mailto:lisenbarger8@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 12:18 PM
To: Gail Fitch
Subject: Re: Hartland Clock
Here are the pictures! I consider myself so lucky - I've been collecting since 1963, but this is the first one I have ever found at a flea market or antique shop. :)
~o
_'\<,_
(*)/ (*) I'd rather be biking!
From: Gail Fitch <gfitch@tds.net>
To: 'Lynn Isenbarger' <lisenbarger8@yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 4, 2012 1:36 PM
Subject: RE: Hartland Clock
How neat that you found a Hartland clock!
My 1999 book says $100-$150, depending on condition.
Values on most collectibles, including Hartlands and Breyers have dropped since 1999, but for the clocks, I still recommend those numbers.
I’d love to see pictures!
From: Lynn Isenbarger [mailto:lisenbarger8@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2012 10:01 AM
To: gfitch@tds.net
Subject: Hartland Clock
I found a Hartland clock this week at an antique shop. (I am certain it is a Hartland and not a Breyer due to the diamond shaped conchos on the bridle and the straight hooves.) I was wondering if you could help me put a value on it? I have no plans to sell it, but I do want to know for possible insurance. If so, I will send some pictures of it.
So thrilled to have found one!
~o
_'\<,_
(*)/ (*) I'd rather be biking!
