Over the years I've tried to accumulate at least one Hartland released by each of the various incarnations of Hartland. I have plenty of the early ones from Hartland Plastics (1940s-1969), one from the Strombecker/Durant Hartland era (1970-1973), a couple of Steven Toy Company's Hartlands (1983-1994) and a few more from Paola Groeber's Hartland Collectables (1986-1994). Somehow I missed getting any Hartlands from Sheryl Leisure's Hartland Collectibles L.L.C. (2000-2007). This little Lady Jewel is my first purchase from Lisa Perkins' new Hartland Horse and Cowboy Company (2018-c). Please note: all dates are approximate as it is difficult to determine where the Hartland horse molds were, and whether they were in use, at any given time.
It's just this confusion of production dates and mold owners that makes collecting Hartland horses such a heartbreaking affair. Time and again the company seemed to have closed its doors forever, only for it to make a spectacular resurrection, apparently from out of nowhere. And each time you think, maybe, just maybe, this will be the one to last. Breyer has been producing model horses continuously since 1950, despite the company's takeover by Reeves in 1984. Why hasn't Hartland, which started about the same time, done the same? Unfortunately, I have no answers to offer.
Unlike Breyers, the earliest Hartlands are perhaps the easiest to find on the secondary market, but there is fierce competition for complete horse and rider sets as they have appeal not only to model horse collectors, but also to collectors of nostalgia, western toys, and television memorabilia. This results in very high prices for these pieces. On the other hand, the equally common unpainted Hartland horses without riders from this era (molded in coloured plastic) can be had reasonably cheaply and are often sold in bulk lots.
Aside from the original Hartlands, the Durant and Steven Hartlands are usually available at reasonable prices when you find them. However, the special runs from Paola and the collector-oriented limited releases from Sheryl rarely come up for auction, and when they do they usually bring in high prices.
What will happen to Lisa Perkins' new Hartlands in the future is anybody's guess, but I do hope, in my heart of hearts, that she will be able to continue producing them for a very long time.
Thanks for the news about Lisa Perkins -- I had no idea. My Hartland info is out of Gail Fitch's many books, which are pretty thorough... up to 2001!
ReplyDeleteYes, Gail has pretty much written the Hartland Bible -- I love her books too! However, in the interests of thoroughness I also take into account the histories published on other sites, like Mike Jackson's website and Horsepower Graphics. Lisa has her own site too but the history there is only pictorial so far.
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