Documenting Hobby History, Part 5

(Part five of a series of photos and documents that I sent Nancy Kelly as she works on documenting hobby history.)

Breyer used to maintain a list of clubs which they would send you for a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope.) Of course, I mailed in for one in 1972! Notice, though, the changes already evident - no IMPHSA. There are some familiar names on this later!

Coeur de Lion Web Special

This guy arrived Thursday but I didn't have time to open him until this morning!

(Photos from Identify Your Breyer site.)

Couer de Lion, Web Special, #712205, $35, 2016, Breyer web site, 10/2016.

There is a little bit of glitter under the paint, too! It is beautifully done. 

(I don't collect Classics, I don't collect Classics...)

Documenting Hobby History, Part 4

(More information and things that I have stored in my hobby closet which I sent Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

In 1972, I decided to create my own club, ABMHSA. (All Breeds Model Horse Showers Association.) Lot's of folks were doing the same - we were so excited to be connected! Dues were about $2 a year (I think) and you got a newsletter every month. Again, I think.)

Professional publication was very expensive so I would use carbon paper and make four or five copies and then repeat. (Ditto machines were the method of mass producing things, not xeroxing at the time. I did not have access to a ditto machine.) People sent in pictures and articles, we held shows, and it was a lot of fun.

I ran it until 1975 when I graduated from high school and was heading to college. Someone took it over for me (Cynthia Gardner, possibly) and I have seen a later club in the hobby with the same name. I have no idea if it is the club I started or if someone else just had the same idea for a name.

I had forgotten that we rated our shows. And take a look at the fifth picture - it mentions that Hagen Renaker was no longer going to be making the DW horses!

Helping Document Hobby History, Part 3

(Continuing the series of pictures and information that I sent to Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

We did not have the internet back then, and long distance phone calls were expensive, so most hobby business was conducted through the mail. Some people began formalizing things (like Kathy Maestas' book) and Barry Mayse (not sure on the spelling of her last name) put together a reference on Japan chinas with help from fellow hobbyists. People sent her photos of their Japans with as much documentation as they had on them, and she compiled them into a reference book. The idea was to update it periodically, but I do not know if that happened.

The photos here are from the 1998 edition. This reference book really appealed to me as my first pieces in my collection were "glass horses" (as we called them) and it was fun being in touch with others who also loved them and might be able to shed light on what I had.

Helping Document Hobby History, Part 2

This is part two of a series of pictures and notes that I sent to Nancy Kelly who is working on documenting early hobby history.

In the early 1970s, customized models began turning up in photo shows. They often blew the competition away. Kathy Maestas did a booklet that she sold to hobbyists about customizing and showing. She was considered a top notch customizer as were Linda Leach (Hardy) and Sherri Cook. Prices for customs were about $25 and they usually came with a set of show pictures.

For $12 (a high price back then!) I was barely able to afford a customized Hartland by Sherri Cook, Pace's Hi Hopes.

That piece won ribbon after ribbon, championship after championship. Now, he's not competitive at all, but he most definitely is a valued piece of hobby history as one of the earliest examples of customizing that has survived over time.

Helping Document Hobby History 1

Nancy Kelly is a long-time, well respected model horse hobbyist. A month or so ago, she asked those of us who have been around a while to respond to a survey she is taking, one that she hopes will help document how our hobby began.

I've been around a while, and so I wrote her and told her I would participate. I haven't done the survey yet, but she did say that any old hobby magazines I had or other ephemera would be appreciated. I was happy to send her things, and so yesterday, as I cleaned out the hobby closet, I took photos of several things I thought would be of interest and should be documented.

First up? The article from the October, 1970 Horse and Rider Magazine which had editor Ray Rich judging IMPHSA's championship photo show.

I wrote to Nancy,

This photo is where my "hobby beyond the carpet herd" began. I'd collected since 1963 and had two friends, Bobbie Vance and Carol Holmes, who also had carpet herds. All our stables had Native American names - I was Pawnee Stables (located in Pagosa Springs but I thought it was Pagosa SPURS, Colorado, Bobbie was Apache Stables, and Carol, Cherokee Stables.) 

We would get together after school and on weekends and hold horse shows with our stables. But it was never beyond the three of us until Horse and Rider Magazine, to which I had a subscription, had magazine editor Ray Rich judge the championships of IMPHSA (International Model Photo Horse Showers Association) run by Ellen Hitchins in California and Simi Smiljanic in Indianapolis.

I wrote for information right away, and it opened a whole new world for me! (Bobbie and Carol did not share my enthusiasm - they were ready for boyfriends and I was not.)

This is  photo of a xerox I made a few years ago. I do still have the magazine with the article but did not come across it yesterday.

Lynn

GLC No Frills Show

Great Lakes Congress was so much fun! (Er, barring the Chicago traffic, that is.) Craig and I stayed in the Courtyard Suites in Elgin Friday night and then drove over to the show hall in Huntley early Saturday morning.

I did not take my usual show string; I decided to try some unusual entries since this show was double judged for collectibility and I wanted to see how those pieces would do.

Across the table from me was my long time hobby friend, Sande Schneider. When it comes to Breyer and collecting information, there is none better than Sande. I've known her since the early 1990s when I used to hold Lincoln Live in Urbana. 

Craig spent much of the day in the show hall with me, helping me listen for classes, run out for lunch, etc. (The woman in the photo is Reta Mullemann. See the glass flower in the vase? It was her 35th wedding anniversary, and her husband had tucked that into one of her show tubs as a surprise!)

Several vendors were present with an assortment of new and vintage models, horsey books, and other hobby items for sale. (I was a good girl - I only bought one tub of sticky wax.)

I was right by the OF ring which was very convenient. And in the center of the circle of rings was a life-sized equine skeleton! Perfect for a show that was just before Halloween!

 Complete with a halter and an orange lead rope, too! It neighs and has red eyes that light up. The skeleton horse can be found at Home Depot, but at $200, I'll pass.

I had entries in three rings at first, so it was a bit of a scramble to keep up as the show moved along at a good clip.

At first, my intention was to take photos of every piece I had that qualified for the North American Nationals.

 That lasted just two entries - I could not keep up with taking pictures while running from ring to ring!

Working on putting together my Native American set up for performance. I rarely do performance because it is costly and because tacking up tiny ones is painstaking work.

 And, I discovered I'd forgotten my new doll stand, and so I had to lean the dolls against the model. I tried to make it look realistic, but knew that that mistake would hurt my entry. Still, I took second place - a performance entry qualified for NAN!

My true collecting passion is the vintage pieces, so when these two mint in box Indian ponies showed up, I had to take a picture. They belong to Liz Cory.

 During lunch, I asked Craig to take a picture of me with the skeleton horse. It turned out that, not only was it a decoration for the show, it was also an entry in the Anything Goes class - and it won!

I also made an entry for the Theme class. Mine was "The Phony Pony Circus" and I brought out my Shiken Circus ponies, one of which is a very close copy of the HR Head Up Circus Pony (the real deal is above the card.) I'd seen it on eBay and was nearly fooled into thinking it was a real HR. I love circus ponies, and so have added more Shiken pieces as they pop up on eBay.

One of the things I like about GLC is that their tables are nice and long and the show hall is so big, no one is cramped. There's lots of room to spread out and walk around.

Class after class, I kept taking second place. One shower was beating me consistently.

Sande Schneider! She had entries like this very rare Proud Arab Mare in glossy Appaloosa with box! But coming in second to Sande is okay with me - she's the best of the best, and I am delighted to even be able to hold my own against her outstanding collection.

I did bring something that drew some crowds, though, when I put it in the show ring.

 I finally brought out my boxer clock. Only two are known to exist, and it earned two ribbons and NAN cards.

I had to laugh - the class was double judged. Sande and her wonderful Davy Crocket clock and I each got a first from one judge and a second from the other!

The flocky class was small but tough. The purple rocking horse was a stellar entry!

The show ended at 4:00 in the afternoon, giving us plenty of time to drive home. I qualified eleven pieces for NAN and had a wonderful time. I don't show much any more, so it is nice to know that I can still hold my own, especially when showing against Sande, the best of the best.