What Clinky Collectors Already Suspect, But Were Afraid To Ask Outright

With several serious HR collections dispersing in the past handful of years- Cheryl Greene, John Renaker, Keith Bean, Denise Deen, Nancy Kelly, The Hagen-Renaker On-Line Museum- and another on the horizon (Karen Grimm/BHR), there is an uneasy vibe about what will happen to the china values.

"What's going to happen?"

We can look at FB and MH$P to see the first effect: cascading. In the face of the sudden availability of so many great HRs, collectors are prioritizing their own collections, and culling items that do not fit their current focus. This results in lots of makes and models hitting the market at the same time. Just because HRs are the most plentiful right now doesn't mean that other makes are immune. The need to raise money to buy their wish-list HRs cascades down through other makes, including bone china studio ware, Beswicks, and Made-In-Japans, causing a flood. It's a cascading effect of all types of collectibles, surpassing demand and thus lowering asking prices. If an item is to move with any speed, the prices must be made attractive, or even below market value, to entice buyers. If time is not a factor, and the seller can afford to sit on inventory (like a lot of us non-shop-owners, with zero overhead), their prices don't change.

What if there are stubborn sellers, who refuse to lower their prices, or sell for less than they paid? Is it fair to make comments berating them for their refusal to make a discount deal with you or your friends? No, it isn't. The private seller of second-hand collectibles is not obligated to stick to values in books (which are outdated and give built-in lowballing) nor to a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. It's their own vintage or secondary market item, and they can price it as they see fit. I would argue that you should be thanking those sellers for their steadfast dedication to values. They are the thin line defending and insisting on values, so that our entire hobby market doesn't crash.

My husband has taught me a useful, but cheeky, shut-down phrase to use when I am asked to ridiculously reduce prices on my original art or collectibles: "If you don't like my price, buy it at Kmart." Of course, the chain store name is interchangeable, but the gist is, if you don't like my price, try and find this unique or hard to find item for sale at discount just anywhere. You aren't going to find it at the corner store, and certainly not priced by the pound.

"What should be my strategy?"

Everyone who has written me for advice this week has received this: Few things are going to hold universal value when the market floods. It's not an If, it's a When. Say your heart is set on a piece that you know was produced for more than a year, well, chances are, another will be available in the next few months. Don't despair that this one sold; you'll have another chance. This item was made in quantity.

"What if I just want just an example of the mold, not a competition/show horse?" 

I advise checking the years made, and reading up on which variant is the oldest and made the shortest time. Try to buy mint items. Older mint condition items survived to the present day, through collector care, and there's a lot to be said for that. In HRs, the oldest horses had character eyes and lined nostrils and mouths, which hold them back in breed/realism judging. They are golden for collectibility. If you decide to collect for history, not showing, don't reject the non-realistic finishes; select for age and condition.

"I am ready to spend, and I am excited about all the stuff available. I have been waiting for a dispersal like this." 

If there is no upper budget, consider that the test, one-off goof, and employee customs are unique (or close to it). There won't be another just like it coming up for sale, ever.  if anything, that exact piece might come up for sale sometime in the future, but only that one. Thus, demand for the most attractive tests is never met. Also, tests in particular tend to hold their value every time the market dives. This is not so much true of the value of batched Samples, which are sometimes called tests, even though they are seldom unique trials on damaged ware. Examples of tests' values persisting include documented Breyer tests despite the plastic market ups and downs, and vintage HR tests (less so for batches of Samples) holding their collector values throughout the market flooding of eBay, and so on. When buying from collectors, expect to pay collector prices for these investment pieces. Sometimes, one gets lucky on eBay finding a bargain test for sale from a non-collector (steel/ash gray Roan Lady!), but don't expect those who educate themselves in the fancy to ask anything less than full value. 

I am loathe to guess what broken/glued or restored items will bring compared to their mint counterparts. As shown in examples in John's estate dispersal, the same item damaged can bring just as much as a mint one, or one leg break can reduce it by half. My speculation, without accounting for world situation and larger problems like war or food shortages: The first wave buying tests and uniques will see their values held, perhaps even see those grow as investments. There will be a big ocean of regular run, long-produced pieces swirling about, unsold, for a while. Before it's all over, we'll see collectors exchanging things like HR DW Swaps for $30 (my personal yardstick for HR secondary market low, yours may vary). All the while that the big estates are settling, experienced collectors continue to disperse pieces and retire from the hobby. After even the BHR sale, there will be more collections up for sale, due to unforeseen circumstances. If you miss out on a mass-produced grail from any of the dispersals, know that there will always be another. And another. Do not despair. Also, think back to before you learned that X piece was even attainable, before it was offered at auction/for sale. You still enjoyed your collecting hobby then, without X, so do not let a one-time loss tinge it now.

If you do not want to wait another decade for your grail, I'd say, find funds outside the already-squeezed horse hobby, and buy it now. Clear out the garage, have a yard sale, make crafts, cook at home more often: all the things we used to do to support our hobby spending when the HR market was ferocious, in the pre-eBay 1990's. Now there are even more opportunities to raise money in one's spare time, without going back to school. Try driving for Uber, or walk dogs, raise your own produce, etc. My point is, it's folly to expect all your grail funding to be generated from sales to the very same market that is already flooded.

In closing, the best advice I received in collecting, I share again with you: a grail will find its way, however implausibly and circuitously, to the person(s) it was meant to find. We are all temporary curators. It may be heart-wrenching to see your long-loved favorites exchange hands beyond your grasp or even imaginable price range. Remember that is just a little delay. Maybe you worry that you didn't know the right people, you're too new, or feel outside a clique? We all start as outsiders, and we all did our tours as newbs. Keep your reputation clean, keep on with collecting in your favorite way, and eventually, your diligence will pay off. I would not pass along this as a fairy tale, I have experienced it and it is fact. Impossible, unfathomed things found me, and I know they can find you, too. I hear from collectors every year about crazy chains of events that led to their amazing $5 Finds, or gifts from friends, PIFs, all manner of unexpected avenues. Aim high with your patience. Shed no tears if you missed recent opportunities; smile and save up for the opportunity winging its way to you, on the gusts of time.

Muddy Monday: Black Lights Are Worthless

I had once looked forward to using black lights at my own ceramics show, to identify artificially enhanced entries. Restorations, while they could theoretically be identified, would not be disqualified. There are quite a few examples of models that would never be seen, if they had not been repaired. The target of the search was only the ever-growing problem of cosmetically enhanced ceramic models. Whenever a judge suspected enhancement, they were free to grab a black light from the set of judges' tools. We tried out my black lights, both in and outside the ring, at the show. Three problems made themselves known:

1. The room needs to be darkened for the effect (fluorescing) to even be visible. Pretty dark, darker than any show hall ever was.

2. It only fluoresces on certain materials, but not the ones most commonly on the surface. 

3. Known restorations did not show up at all in the UV BLB beam.


I had purchased actual black light flashlights (UV BLB) for my judges to use at Clinky Classic 5. These were not cheap fakes. I even tested them in non-ceramics applications and found them to work perfectly, prior to the show. However, on restored ceramics, I (and several witnesses) saw that the restored models did not fluoresce. Only models in the midst of restoration, with unpainted epoxy patches or other exposed adhesives, showed any fluorescence. 

Items that are painted with oils can show up under UV black light. However, this is less common than using acrylics, and thus the black light is not a practical tool in finding repairs or cosmetic enhancements on ceramic models. It's pretty darn useless.

Here is an example of a readily-visible unpainted ear tip repair in raw epoxy, on my Swaps. It is quite noticeable to the naked eye in the normal spectrum.

Under UV BLB, that ear glows! White pigments do, too, hence the bright star. The star is original glaze.

Another example of raw epoxy, although not fluorescing as brightly. Man O' War model courtesy Jennifer Dodd.

Under normal spectrum lighting, this acrylic-painted restored ear tip (on Left) is just barely visible to the naked eye. It is a slightly colder gray.

Under UV BLB, it looks no different than the original ceramic ear. The acrylic paint has masked the repair; it is not a fluorescing material.

Now, it gets even more complicated, and disheartening.

That Miss Pepper's entire hind leg is a restoration. She had no leg, and a missing ear tip (model courtesy Ed Alcorn). If UV BLB was useful for identifying restorations, that non-ceramic leg and ear should be lit up like a co-ed at a rave.

Since the epoxy is covered with acrylic paint, and the acrylics are themselves coated with non-fluorescing sealers, it appears like normal ceramic, under black light. 

A former gnarly break, restored, and invisible both to the naked eye under normal spectrum, and invisible under black light.

This Two Bits' ear and part of his cranium had been broken off and glued back on, at one time. It is now an invisible repair. Under UV BLB, even from two different angles of black light beam, it remains invisible.

These are just a handful of examples showing how such major changes can be imperceptible by black light method. It follows that any cosmetic enhancement would be hidden, as well. Thus, as sellers and buyers, we must use our eyes and records to avoid pitfalls. Reliance on the black light could lead to misrepresentation of sales items and show horses, and then some angry chargebacks or negative feedback.

I later found this government document which expands on the invisible-to-UV black light repair situation. 

As much as black lights have been touted as the last word in identifying fakes, restorations, and cosmetic enhancements to artifacts, it is time to drop any remaining reliance on them as an evaluation tool. Although there is no magic tool, the normal lighted magnifiers are helpful in finding restoration brushstrokes or different airbrush spray. Now, if a seller says they used a black light to verify condition, I become wary and inclined to turn away. If collectors continue to rely on the black light for identifying restorations, they will be left in the dark.

Muddy Monday: Hagen-Renaker Factory Eras, Part One

This post has to be a two-parter, at least, because there is just too much material to cover, and it's bound to stir up disagreement. It's a subject Hagen-Renaker collectors talk about, but don't talk about. It's the stuff of behind-closed-doors discussions at the CHIN, during BreyerFest. You probably hold fast to your personal taste on this subject, but you only tell your closest collector friends, because you don't want it to affect the values of what you sell and seek. Others may only sniff out your heart's truth by examining the contents of your entire collection, since a show string on any given show day is very subjective. It is an insight into the collecting psyche when someone tells you their favorite Hagen-Renaker factory era. It is like personal, sensitive information; it's like giving competing collectors an informed advantage.

"Susie Creamcheese won't be bidding against me, because she doesn't care for San Marcos models."

"I know Jimbo Perkins LOVES Monrovia models, so I will dangle this carrot in trade!"

Manipulation! Spy versus spy! Wild feats of trading! This is another "opinion piece", and you all will get to know my secret crush. Since I am a happy and laid-back collector, it doesn't worry me that my weakness is made public. Come, play in my sandbox!

We all react, on a visual level, to the styles and colors of each factory era of Hagen-Renaker. There is also a tactile difference: sandy matte to smooth glossy; thin, light castings vs. the heavier, thick casting style of the reissues. Some collectors are particularly interested in what is rare, regardless of appearance or suitability for model horse "Breed" showing. The first thing that trips up the average HR collector and Collectibility judge is the assumption of 

oldest = greatest value.

I would argue that oldest does not mean the rarest, and the era of greatest value on the open market may not be the one with greatest value to you. A model is only worth what someone is willing to pay, or what at least two people have bid up at auction. Consider the previous post, where a Completist collector may be seeking a particular model they are missing from their conga for that era. A Completist will really save up, anticipate, and splurge on that last model needed from X era, because timing is everything. 

So, you say oldest does not mean most valuable... so, to some collectors, my Monrovia is less valuable than my reissue?

This is tricky. Yes, maybe.

Monrovia is the oldest HR factory era. However, it was very successful, and ran for a long time, compared to the other eras. For Maureen Love-designed DW horses, that era begins Spring 1954 (not counting the Mastersons) and ends with the factory closure of 1960. Technically. Although, as you'll see, tri-eyes and other Monrovia traits carried forward a little.

Nothing was numbered, nor account kept of edition size, in Monrovia. Given the choice, I am all about a numbered limited edition reissue, crispy shaded Roan Lady instead of a common white, no-detail, barely shaded Monrovia Roan Lady. Yes, I said it. Age does not trump numbered rarity and beauty, in my opinion. Your feelings may differ.

Monrovia itself is a misunderstood era, because it contains sub-styles that changed over its long life. Two Monrovia horses of the same color, condition, and mold may not be produced the same way. 

Here is an example of two Roughneck Morgan foals from the same sub-era of Monrovia. Both have bi-eyes, both are matte palomino (early Monrovia Roughneck palomino was glossy), and they have the same sticker on the belly.

However, they are so different, that the owner thought they were produced in different factories, until the stickers were examined. 

Models courtesy Jayne Kubas.

One was decorated with brown shading, the other with black. One has very little eye white. One had the pour hole towards the back end, one towards the front. One has softer mold detail.

From pigmented slip batch variations to individual employee styles, there is room for variations within a sub-era. There is a tendency to over simplify, lumping all Monrovia together as most valuable. The oversimplification extends to general identification of DWs: character eyes, tri-eyes, bi-eyes, brown/black eyes, lash-dot eyes, San Marcos brown/black, and reissues. This is not a complete, nor correctly ordered, summary!

***

Early Monrovia

"Character Eyes" is a succinct label for this era. Most experienced collectors know exactly what you mean by these words. At the same time that this was applied to Designer Workshop animals, HR was also producing licensed ware for Disney and the illustrated Cocker Spaniel, Butch. Cartoon embellishment was chic. It gave items "shelf appeal". Also, traditional pottery techniques, like filling pour holes and punching a smaller, unobtrusive vent hole elsewhere, were used in this time. Not all molds' pour holes were filled, but a lot of them. 

Character eyes: white "glints" in pupil and scleras, dark brown eyes, brows, and even lip and nostril liner.

These are all Early, therefore all filled pourholes...

Nope!

If you noticed the matte Monrovia palomino Roughnecks did not have filled pour holes, but this old guy does.

I have not seen a single Clover nor Scamper casting with a filled pour hole, in any era. 

Do you have one?

This sub-era went the extra mile. My best guess, going by character eyes on Sespe and other DW horses, is that this sub-era ended at 1954-55.

Middle Monrovia

Probably the best sub-set in this era. A time of pretty, named stickers and expressive tri-eyes on some ware. Oddly enough, we collectors often assume the older pieces all had tri-eyes, but bi-eyes happened in this era, too. 

The DW Swaps mold will be our illustration. 

Here's an Early-Middle guy with bi-eyes, maybe the oldest Swaps I've seen. 

What makes him so old? His belly.

I have seen other examples of bi-eyes on filled-pour-hole models.

Bi-eyes is not necessarily only for "younger" models.

I am guessing that this Swaps dates to the dawn of the Swaps mold, 1957, because he has the belly filled. Castings of the 9" DW Arabian family, Amir, Zara, and Zilla, that date to this sub-era, likewise exhibit the filled pour hole. In later years, they do not, until the revival of this practice in the reissues. You may note that few Swaps have a smoothed-over pour hole and a chest vent, and I've yet to see it on the other famous racehorse DW molds that followed him. However, the earlier Pay-Day (1954-57) has a filled, smooth pour hole. It does make one consider that filled bellies in Monrovia mean the oldest... not to be confused with filled bellies of reissues.

Note that Early Middle Monrovia (on the far right) has a filled pour hole and punched chest vent.

Late Monrovia

The eye decoration may have to be considered on a mold-by-mold basis. The tri-eyes were still in production as late as Fall 1962 (as seen on the DW Thoroughbred and Jockey). At the same time, more models show reduced eye decoration. Combined with plain bi-eyes or lash-dot eyes, the blue rectangle sticker can indicate a late Monrovia model. Simple dot eyes can also carry this sticker. You'll notice open pour holes start to creep in with this subset.

<  Late Monrovia, Middle, Early Middle >

Middle has a sticker that dates him 1959-63.

Late is almost purple in overspray, with a shading technique seen on San Dimas models.

But he's not San Dimas hued, nor 'eyed.

Transition Pieces

Easily, the rarest subset of all. These are pieces made during the months of transitioning from Monrovia to San Dimas, including changes to staff. They are very tricky to identify. It helps to compare side-by-side with Late Monrovia and early San Dimas and note eyes, mold quality, mold lines, pour holes or lack thereof, and leg stance. 

The guy in the middle, for all his San Dimas color, star marking, and features, has tri-eyes!

< San Dimas                             Monrovia>

One of the crispest Monrovia Swaps shows how much was changed between it and San Dimas version mold.

Monrovia-ish eyes on a transition Ferseyn, sporting San Dimas pink-nose and a Monrovia sticker.

***

Early San Dimas

Satin sheen matte, not quite as dry as Monrovia, starts to appear in this era. Open pour holes are a defining trait. Filling pour holes and punching a new hole (for gas exchange during kiln firing) required added labor. Painting tri-eyes means more materials and labor. More labor is added expense, at the end of the day. Simplified eye decoration of brown/black bi-eyes meant less materials (reduced by 1 color: white), less room for error, and less time spent per unit. San Dimas was a time of cutting the unnecessary, and competing with the imports that were choking the market.

That being said, this is my second-favorite sub-era. The improved mold details and the alterations (like the mane of Sun Cortez, for example) have such sharpness and flow. 


Late San Dimas

Some very dry matte (not enough glaze dip) finishes are known from this sub-era, like on the 6" "stoneware" doeskin Arabians. Eye decoration further simplified to black dot eyes. A proliferation of rarer colors, like the dun and the "red pinto" on the DW Mustang family. Not shown here is the Late San Dimas extremely-high-whites and red-head Swaps variations.

<Late San Dimas            Transition Horse>

Late SD model courtesy Jayne Kubas.

Left to right: Late SD no snip, Middle SD, Transition, Late Mon, Middle Mon, Early-Middle Mon

***

Early San Marcos

Harkening back to Monrovia's "golden age" of tri-eyes and filled pour holes, the factory really put its best foot forward.

<Early San Marcos palomino gloss       test liver chestnut>

More about why these are two different mold versions, but both finished in San Marcos.

Middle San Marcos

A flurry of new molds appeared in this sub-era. Eye decoration simplified to brown/black bi-eyes, much like San Dimas. This is probably my favorite, and not just because I root for an underdog, nor because I spent many hours riding real horses in the same city. I love the molds that were only available at this time, like the charming, genial DW Mule. As a potter, I love the decoration variations, especially on tougher-to-produce models, like the white-legged bay Clydesdales. This sub-era, in many ways, "feels like home", to me.

Late San Marcos

Bi-eyes. Solid "black" dot-eyes. The last two months of factory operation featured the blue and silver oval sticker. Just because it was "Late", doesn't mean all mold detail was weak. Extremely crispy mold detail can be found in this sub-era, right up to the end.

These bi-eyes are actually brown, not black, with white.

***

Early Reissues

These were often less realistic, more artsy colourways, like white bodies with blue translucent manes and tails. Eye and face detail gave a nod to the character eyes of Early Monrovia, including the nostril and mouth liner. A fanciful reduction of King Cortez became a Unicorn. With the exception of the laying foals, pour holes have been filled.

Middle Reissues

This sub-era got into its groove with fresh reissue DW molds each season, available in several colors. There were quick turn-around times from placing an order, to receiving the item in hand. This era is punctuated with the factory tackling the more complex decoration challenges of the tacked Sespe Violette, and DW Thoroughbred and Jockey. Special Runs (small editions) of DW foals with hand-painted white markings were made available. The factory transitioned from hand-lettering the edition information on the bases, to issuing paper certificates with each model. For example, in 2007, starting with #197, the Ferseyn edition received certificates. Production flaws, in clay and glaze, are widely acknowledged speed bumps in this otherwise fierce sub-era.

Current Reissues

I think these are the best of the reissues. Modified face decoration, more color options, many molds to choose from, brilliant mold detail... there are good things to say about the reissues you can order today. I'm pretty excited about reissues, as this is the first time in my collecting life that not only can I buy DWs new, but I also can have my choice of colors!

What is rare, when you can't access any records of numbers produced for most of the earlier factory eras?

That's a big question. What would the smallest single batch of a color on a mold be, in a for-profit production facility? Less than twenty? And remember when we thought Peggy Lou was rare, because the mold was only sold for one year, 1959?

When things are numbered, what is considered a low number, and thus added value?

The value of number order is sometimes just opinion or speculation. I have seen a limited edition model numbered under ten that had poor mold detail, while others of higher numbers, in the same run and color, were sharp. When in full production on a mold, it is difficult or seldom done to keep each casting drying, decorated, bisqued, and glazed in the exact order in which it was demolded. Add to this mixing of body order the fact that not all pieces will be perfect, so seconds will be pulled out of numerical order and destroyed. I speak from personal experience, as a small studio potter. I can't imagine having employees and a large scale production, and still keeping each casting in the order it popped out of the mold! It's not impossible, but highly unlikely in a business setting. Seconds happen.

Beyond that, weird accidents sometimes get included in the count! Like this odd rose gray Ferseyn, with black legs. He was shipped to fill an order for a normal rose gray, and his mate Sheba was normal rose gray, in the same order. This means that even a numbered edition may not be exactly composed of the colors that were advertised to order.

< Oddity                Normal>

If one considers that production is an evolving process, the models are going to change, as the numbers go higher. Consider the case of reissue rose gray Maverick. This white-sock bearing example is #8 in the edition. 

Now, they come in solid black legs.

Do you have a single favorite era? It's OK. You don't have to tell, if you don't want to.

I would like to hear if you have conflicting examples, or further observations within sub-eras!


Big thank-you to Jayne Kubas for sharing models for photos, and the normal Ferseyn; another shout-out to Susan Sackett for the abnormal Ferseyn.




References:


Alcorn, Ed and Falzone, Nancy. Hagen Renaker Stickers and Other Markings. Web page.
http://hagenrenakerhorses.com/WebPageStickers.html

Roller, Gayle. Hagen-Renaker: A Charlton Standard Catalogue. Third Edition. Pp. vi-xiii, 69, 86. The Charlton Press: Palm Harbor, FL, 2003.

Sackett, Susan. Ferseyn certificate. Pers. comm. 4/23/2014

Muddy Monday: Collector Gatherings

Alternate Title: How To Have Fun Without A Show Nucleus

I will intersperse personal experiences with the tips on how to organize it. Rather than a report that might inspire envy, the aim is to encourage you to arrange your own gathering, in your own neighborhood. The intent of collector gatherings is not to replace shows. If anything, it augments one's overall hobby experience. The pressure and crowding of a show is not for everyone. There are some friends I only get to see in this tour setting, because it is within their comfort level.

1. Select a geographic region that has several collectors willing to have visitors view their private collections. This is your gathering's range. Some areas of this country have four or five, all within an hour of each other.

To further qualify stops on the tour, it is most convenient if the selected collections are all out on display. Even if their collections aren't unpacked or displayed, the collectors themselves may want to participate on the tour as visitors, which is fine. It's not ideal to go box by box, although it has been done before without damage. Comfort levels are much better for everyone when the collections are behind glass and don't need to be touched.

I feel that gatherings are a fantastic way to learn, and to find new material to share with you, via this blog. I currently participate in one annual tour in the DC area. I already host a ceramics show every so often, but a multi-collection tour has a whole different vibe to it. It's an addition to the hobby experience that I love so much, I just want to make more of them happen.



2. Ideally, there is a percentage of overlap between collection foci within the tour, so that there is a chance to see variants of some editions, while also seeing the works of multiple manufacturers and artists.

For example, the DC tour has collectors with overlap in collecting Hagen-Renaker, bone chinas, European porcelains, artist resins, animal art, and custom glazes. Individuals also have unique flavors they bring to the tours, such as sci-fi and fantasy art, Native American art, canine artifacts and collectibles, bronzes, dolls, glass, and even Tiki mugs. 



3. To get everyone out together and seeing the sights, replace a show/competition with another event: a birthday celebration; an antiques show; a flea market weekend; a real horse farm tour or show.

A gathering or tour doesn't need an event to give it a reason, but it does help if everyone can get the time off from work for the same days. If weather does not permit attending an outdoor event, pick a home where everyone can meet.



4. Invite new people to participate. It's not a better gathering if it has record attendance, but it is nice to hear new opinions and see different things.

There will always be an ebb and flow of the participants each year, as their personal schedules allow. Generally speaking, those who are interested in getting together to learn and see collections tend to be over the age of 18, so we've had no concerns of liability for damage caused by a minor. We are all adults, and aware that we are personally responsible for our actions or accidents. If you start a tour, you may wish to generate a liability release and parent/guardian responsibility document if minors will be included. I only mention this because I was interested in ceramics as a minor, so there may be others out there. However, it is doubtful that grabby infants and toddlers, young children, or even adults who can't keep hands off of stuff, will be invited to such breakable events.



5. Each person is bringing their unique perspective, experiences, "sightings in the wild" of collectibles, and their items for show & tell. It's important to take turns and let everyone have the floor.



6. This sounds silly, but learn from my repeated error: carry throat lozenges. With like-minded people and no rushing to and from judging tables, you will talk a lot more than usual. You may lose your voice after a couple days of this.



7. Get an idea of everyone's food preferences and dietary restrictions in advance, so it's easier to choose restaurants or plan meals. Some gathering locales have more restaurant choices than others. Where I live is pretty limited without a minimum 30-minute drive!



8. Bring stuff. I 'd suggest bringing several types of things: gifts for everybody or personalized gifts for individuals; paper leave-behinds for future contact (business cards, etc.); show & tell from your personal collection that is best viewed in-person.

Even if you are flying to the destination, you can fit some vintage photos, or maybe photos burned on gift discs, buttons or medallions, business cards, etc. in your carry-on. Even though you are going to go see things, it's nice to bring things!

This reunion photo was possible only at a tour gathering.

These are three horses personally glazed by the sculptor, Maureen Love.

L-R: models courtesy Elizabeth Bouras, Jo Ellen Arnold, and Keith Bean.

9. Be ready to be happy and gain so much more from the gathering than you ever thought possible. You will learn new things. Mysteries will be solved by someone else's experiences that they never thought to mention before. You will see cool stuff, some of it stuff never seen by anyone but the owner. You will absolutely be surprised by something. You will wish you had a recording of it all, to play back at will.

Something unusual that you will get to see at a collection tour is a rare Hagen-Renaker family, or pair, together. As "collector's classes", a group entry of 8 or more models, have fallen out of fashion in favor of individual horse Collectibility qualifying, it is now unusual to see rare colors of families displayed together at shows. Tours are just full of them!

Models courtesy Janet Hicks.

10. Be super flexible. It takes flexibility from all parties to put together a weekend of three or more collections on a tour.



11. Mutual respect is expected, regarding photographs and any handling of collectibles. These are so important, especially in today's internet, and the sticky situations of liability for damage to handled items. If someone doesn't want to pose in a group photo, don't harry them. If they ask you to not photograph their collection or home, do not do it. It is the height of rudeness to post photos of someone's collection anywhere without their express permission. It is also grounds for exclusion from further tours. If someone gives you verbal permission to touch an item, it is OK. If none is given, the default setting is touch nothing. Don't fingerprint their glass, and don't try to open anything without asking for help.

At a show, there is tolerance for people asking if items are for sale, or what their value may be. In someone's private home, it is not cool to ask if something is for sale. Exceptions may be if the owner has told you "This group/cabinet is for sale", or you know that the owner is the source for the exact items via public sale (Special Run dealer or ceramist).

Some things are so rare and delicate that only the owner should touch them. If the owner is afraid to move the object, or move other items around it, don't press them. They know the delicacy of that particular piece best.

Model courtesy Elizabeth Bouras.

Shows are fun, but they are not the only reason to visit with friends and spend all day talking about the art and animals we love. Thank you, DC crew! The tour is the highlight of my year.

Muddy Monday: Intent of Purpose

This is another Collectibility opinion piece, based on my own experience as both a producer and collector of ceramic figures.

Something that is hard to grasp about pieces that fall into the "gray areas" of provenance or collectibility is Intent of Purpose. In my opinion, this should be considered before one runs with an assumption about whether or not an unmarked piece is a legitimate test, and competes it as such. It doesn't matter if you want the piece to be a test or not. What matters is, what did the factory that produced it consider it to be? What did the factory intend to learn or achieve with this item?

How the producer's intended purpose for an individual ceramic item affects what we call it today, where it shows, and its value when it is resold.


Glaze Tests

Today's model horse potteries are careful to mark all their tests clearly, in pigment beneath the glaze, on the hoof soles, or with fired-on glaze decals. These potteries are run by people with at least a working knowledge of the model horse hobby and show definitions. They know how important it is to mark such rare items clearly, even if they do not foresee these items leaving their archives or reaching collector hands in their lifetime.

Pour Horse Pottery "Suspiro"

Left: a marked test, with my name because I was the one who wanted to know

 if a "contrasty" bay could be achieved in our glazes!

On the right, a marked glaze custom with the name "Pour Horse", 

because it was intended to be the company's donation to a benefit auction.

This came out a second, so it was replaced with a perfect and identical custom donation.

Normally, customs from this factory bear the decorator's name, 

and occasionally a "©PHP" because they own the sculpture design.

In recent years, Hagen-Renaker has taken to marking tests clearly. This helps build collector excitement for them, and ensures correct recognition of special items, for generations to come. There are still occasional unmarked tests, perhaps doing double-duty as Dealer Samples?

On the left is a normal reissue Sespe Violette in dapple gray.

On the right is a test mulberry (aka "white") with iridescent dark teal ribbons.

Did any other reissues come with this ribbon color?

She lacks a number and has no test mark, but has excellent provenance.

A year later, that excellent provenance was backed up by found paper documentation.

Vintage factory tests, be they HR or any other pottery, may or may not be marked. I have seen a vintage HR glaze test marked only with the serial number of the underglaze or slip tint color used on it. Most of the HR vintage tests I have seen have no marking. I know of three (maybe four) vintage tests with factory stickers.



Decorator or Greenware Assembly Samples

Some smaller studio potteries may re-purpose a test as the decorator's work station guide. Pour Horse Pottery and my own pottery did this. The test would be used as the guide, unless new techniques changed the edition (it's another way variants happen).



Dealer Samples

Some Miniatures pieces were glazed onto HR Lilypads and sent as Samples for Dealers. The hard base would be more durable than a standard HR paper card, and could be easier for transporting to shops and giftware shows. An article in a collector newsletter (I will post reference, when I locate it again) said a dealer glued samples to smoothed (vein-less) brown Lilypads for his/her own use. These were later recalled by the factory, according to that report. Here is one that is very certainly glazed to the beige veined Lilypad, not glued. I even checked for glue edges with a blade. It was most likely done by the factory, with the intent of being a Dealer's Sample. In fact, that is this piece's provenance, at time of sale from a collector.

Dealer's Sample HR Miniatures Donkey Baby mold # A-021

Sculpted by Helen Farnlund.

Lilypad is not smooth.

Not all Dealer's Samples are as obviously different or marked. This was purchased direct from the dealer, and at slightly higher price than her regular pieces, because it was her only sample. It bears no marking.

Again, the producer's intent is what matters: neither of these samples were intended for retail.



Prototypes for molding 

In the case of modern potteries, these may be made of green or brown plastilina (oil-based clay), Plasti-Carve wax, brown foundry wax, Castilene, or resin. 

PlastiCarve HR guinea pig.

Mold Tests and Security Bisques

The HR mold security bisques are sometimes confused with the mold-numbered sample bisques that were submitted to Breyer in 1974.

The way mold test bisques were described to me is that these are the first castings poured in the first production mold. They are white bisque, even if the final product is produced in a tinted slip. These castings tell the moldmaker if he or she has made a production-line-friendly mold, and where any pulls or errors may be located. The mold security or "insurance" bisques serve another purpose: if something happens to the master block-and-case that generates the production molds, the bisque can then be pulled from the archives and remolded. This has occurred at least a couple times in HR history. Think of these bisques as safety nets for each design. Depending on the factory, at least one, and up to several copies of the same design, may be archived.

Pour Horse Pottery "Suspiro" mold security bisque, out of the waste mold.

The rusty marks are where brown plastilina residue remained in the waste mold, 

and adhered to him when he was poured.

Custom Glazes Outside the Factory and Employee/Factory Customs

This is a very important type of model to distinguish from tests. These, in my opinion, should not show as, nor be sold as, tests. There are whole divisions at model horse shows that welcome custom glazes; they have a place. Happily, current potteries mark their customs clearly, to avoid accidental misidentification. A collector who has paid for a test on the secondary market, only to find out from the factory that it is a custom instead, is not a happy collector. Today's potteries, with the perspective of history, mark pieces clearly to avoid this.

This is an example of a vintage non-factory Custom Glaze on a white Ferseyn. Note how the artist imitated a San Dimas eye decoration.

Dapple gray custom glaze Ferseyn by a collector (Mary Ann Black).

Note the glazed/pigmented initials and year, on hoof.

"Are there vintage custom glazes finished in factories, or are you just trying to scare me?" Oh, yes, I was present when a factory moldmaker, and later, Jim Renaker himself, described certain pieces as custom orders, or playful experiments, but not tests. 

HR vintage factory custom glaze

The intent is the big difference: if the factory does not intend to reproduce it, or see if it can be produced, it is not a test for production. That's pretty much the cut-and-dried reason tests ever exist: to try out a potential for the production line. Some of the custom items that leap to my mind were heavily, intricately detailed by free-hand airbrushing, a technique that would not have been efficient or affordable for a whole production run. Such decoration would have been completely unreasonable for mass production, without the use of modern masking techniques. Sometimes, a potter just wants to know if something can be done at all, for fun.

A glaze color that was originally a custom, but is repeated later on a whole edition of a mold, has a double provenance. The factory's initial intent is what is important, here; a model should be sold/competed as the identity marked by the factory. Only in very specific situations, where direct evidence can be shown that the producer went back and enlisted that exact model as a guide to produce an edition, is it appropriate to also mention that the model is a test. There is no room in today's serious collecting world for selling pieces as "I think this was not just a custom, but a test, because I saw a similar color/pattern later on X edition." If you have it in writing from the factory, if the source of the model was the factory archives (where tests reside), and/or compelling photographs, you can build a case for it being a test + custom.

Fortunately, today's market is about equally strong for glaze customs as it is for tests. Between these two, there is limited monetary incentive to ignore the maker's intent. Both are high dollar items, now. This was not the case years ago, when values flip-flopped between the two. Of course, mistaking a lesser-value production run for a pricey test or custom will quickly be caught by sharp eyes, so there is no point or reward in falsifying collectibility designation. 

"This one has a little bit [bigger/fewer/more] spots, it must be a test!" No. The HR books and this blog have shown many examples of how wide variations can range.

"This one has initials carved in the hooves, it must be a test!" No. Many vintage models have employee initials. There will be a whole post about these, in the future.

Devil's advocate: "What if it is vintage piece that is totally weird?" Generally speaking, there is some kind of paper trail, eBay auction forum thread, or collector familiarity with the exact unusual piece in question, because this is a small world. Some pieces can be easily traced back to a specific factory employee. Some are dealer estate sale finds. Some can be traced back to an infamous counterfeiter. An eye for production and materials, and interpreting factory artifacts on the piece, will help you determine a lot before you reach the documentation-hunting phase.


Fakes

They are out there. Searches on the breakables yahoogroup will yield some discussions of fake tests on vintage bodies. There is a report of reglazed or retouched eyes of (at the time) less valuable San Dimas mini horses to pass them off as (at the time) more valuable Monrovia. Suffice to say, HR never used a sponge to apply overglazes/glass paint/ underglaze on top of an otherwise normal, completed, airbrushed, glazed horse. Knowledge of factory techniques for each product line can help guard against making an expensive identification mistake. If you have a suspected fake, feel free to contact me privately. I may be able to direct you to those who can identify it, or I can help interpret it from photos.