The Breyer SpotLight: Your Horse Model Market Resource

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• Personal Note: We are one person short with this email
• Article: Did you know? A Little Bit of Breyer History.

Personal Note: We are one person short with this email

Is it extra busy for you this month? It seems as though there are never enough hours in the day or days in the week. And just to let you know; at the time this email is going out to each of you, our primary web/ezine person for mailings is in India. (Yes, Kathy actually has a job that pays her, so she must go where and when they call.)

So in the mean time, Ana and I are learning the details of what Kathy has been doing. (Hopefully everything still looks the same and you do get all the information that we intend for you to receive.) And hey, it doesn’t hurt at all for us to do some cross training; you never know when it may be vital.

This week I came across some information that I thought was interesting. Some of you may already know these things about Chris Hess, some of you may not. In any case, I do hope you allow me the time and space to look a bit into the history of one of the people who have made such an impact on model horse collecting.

Article: A Little Bit of Breyer History

While so many of us as Collectors of Breyer Models are fascinated with the details of the molds and models themselves, I thought I might share with you some information that I just recently learned.

Most of us know how the Breyer Model Horse craze got started way back in 1950. The famous Western Horse with the Clock, the stories of Hartland being the company that actually designed the Model and so forth.

And most everyone knows that Christian Hess was the primary sculpture who has created so many of these wonderful Molds.

Here’s the little bit of information that some of you may NOT know; I just learned this little detail today. And I have been collecting Breyer Models for longer than I care to admit.

The very LAST Breyer mold that Chris Hess sculpted for Breyer was the Secretariat Mold. He created the Secretariat mold at the approximate age of 71 years young and passed away at the age of 72, a short year later.

A couple of other little known details of Chris Hess: he himself was not a “horse person”, but he was a great artist. And while he visited some of the horses in person that are depicted in the molds, most often he would sculpt the horse from a picture or drawing. This is no small talent – taking a two dimensional photo or drawing and creating the amazing beauty in the model horses that he did.

And Secretariat is one of these that Chris Hess sculpted from a photo. Looking at the mold and understanding the age of its creator, it is easy to forgive some of the roughness in the surface of the mold.

If you pay attention and look closely, some of the earlier molds created by Chris Hess will have his signature. This “signature” will be a simple CHess on the inside of one of the legs by the Breyer mold mark of the model.

Chris did create a few other molds for another company in his later years; many details have been lost due to lack of documentation. However, the “Hess Wilderness Animal Series” is believed to have been sculpted and sold through Bentley Sales.

As for myself, I do know I will now look at all Secretariat Models with a bit more respect, maybe simply to honor the person who had such a huge impact on the Breyer Model Horse industry for so many years.

Until next time; enjoy your Collecting!

Bonnie

PS: Don’t forget – Featured Collector of the Month

Breyer Horse Collectors