Breyer Race Horse and Boxer Lamps: More From Marks Manufacturing?

Back in 2013, I wrote a post about the earliest lamps featuring Breyer horses, the "scroll base" lamps of the early 1950s. At the time, my mom, sister, and I had acquired an example that still had the manufacturer's name on the underside of the base. They were made by the Marks Manufacturing Company, another local Chicago business that ordered models from Breyer beginning in the 1950s, not unlike Mastercrafters Clock and Radio Company (clocks) and Sears (music boxes, grooming kits, etc).

Over the years, we've accidentally acquired almost a dozen copies of this lamp with all three base colors: 5 on green bases, at least 3 on brown bases, and 2 more on black bases. (Yes, we need to cull a few, haha.) I noticed that some of the horses had holes in the side of their barrels on the back side with evidence of wear around them, as if something had been affixed to the horse. Eventually, we acquired the very hard to find Western Pony version of this lamp, and I finally understood the hole and wear.

As you can see, there is a little metal band screwed into the pony that holds it to the lamp pole, presumably to keep it from wobbling on the base (or to further secure it to the base). We have since acquired several of the Western Horse lamps that also have the little band as well.

Recently, as my sister and I were getting ready for the BreyerFest open show, I was reminded of an unusual feature on another pair of lamps we own. Both of our hard to find Race Horse lamps sport a little band holding them to the lamp post that is identical to the one on our Western Pony lamp.

 

 

And there is yet another lamp to consider in this little mystery series. For quite some time, I had the Boxer lamp pictured below on my eBay watch list. He was pricey and in need of a lot of TLC, but happily, the seller accepted an offer I made, and I was able to add him to my collection. (He's fixed in Photoshop only, not yet in reality.)

As you can see, he is mounted on a base just like the one on the Race Horse lamp, but it's mauve instead of gold. The Boxer is mounted diagonally across the base since he's a bit bigger than the Race Horse, and that's the only way he fits (and barely at that). I was intrigued to see the hole and wear on the backside of the dog just like on the models on the scroll base lamps. He must have had a metal band holding him to the lamp pole once as well. (You have no idea the restraint I'm using not to make jokes about metal bands right now.) 

 

Until now, I'd been clueless about who made the Race Horse lamps, and I could only guess that they dated to the 1950s. Having gathered all of these clues together however, I'm certain that the Race Horse and Boxer lamps were made by the same manufacturer, and while I can't prove it for sure without more evidence, I strongly suspect they were also made by Marks Manufacturing. The little metal bands holding the models to the lamp poles are the primary clue, and while that may not seem like much, I've never seen anything like it on Breyer lamps made by other manufacturers. Also of note is that the rounded embellishments at the base of the lamp poles is consistent on the scroll base, Race Horse, and Boxer lamps which suggests to me that they all came from the same maker. Both our Race Horse lamps and the Boxer lamp have felt covering the bottom of the bases (which are hollow), so if there is something there to identify the manufacturer, it is unfortunately covered. 

Another interesting aspect to consider is that the Boxer and Race Horse models are both very early Breyer releases just like the Western Horse and Western Pony. The former was available in 1950 and the latter probably by the end of 1952. The scroll base lamps were likely made sometime between 1950/1951 and, given the scarcity of the Western Pony lamps, probably not later than 1953. Like the Western Pony, the Boxer was also likely available by late 1952, so it fits the early 1950s time frame. The Race Horse, Breyer's fourth mold, was available by 1954 for sure, but I do wonder if it might have been ready earlier in 1953, perhaps for Christmas orders. 

Whatever the case, the Race Horse and Boxer lamps are both quite scarce. I've seen one or two more Race Horse lamps besides the pair my sister and I own, but I haven't seen another Boxer lamp. I have to assume this means that neither were in production long, and if they are in fact Marks products, my best guess is that they both date to sometime around 1953-1955. I can't prove that Marks made the Race Horse or Boxer lamps nor exactly when they were made, but I feel like I have laid out a reasonable hypothesis.

If you have a Race Horse or Boxer lamp or something else entirely on a metal base with one of those funny little bands attaching the model to the lamp pole, I'd love to know about it!

Shedding a little light on Breyer Western Horse Lamps

Most collectors are familiar with the "Ranchcraft" line of Breyer woodgrain lamps sold by Dunning Industries in the 1960s and 1970s. They featured models such as the Running Mare and Foal, the Fighting Stallion, the Family Arab Foal, and even a few animals like the Longhorn Steer and the Brahma Bull. These woodgrain models were mounted on wooden bases and the lamps sported rustic burlap shades.A few non-woodgrain models graced these lamps, too, like the grey Elephant and Donkey and the Bay Rearing Stallion.

Rare woodgrain Buffalo lamp by Dunning

Less common, however, are the Western Horse and Western Pony "scroll base" lamps. Like the Western Horse clocks, they date to the early 1950s, near the beginning of Breyer's model horse history. The Western Horse lamps, as with the clocks, have turned up in both alabaster and palomino. In my experience, the alabasters usually come on black-painted metal bases while the palominos are typically seen on brown or turquoisey-green bases. These metal scroll base lamps are generally harder to find than most of the Ranchcraft lamps.

We know these lamps date to the early 1950s because the Western Horses that are found on them were only made in that time period. Some have black hooves which peg them as the very earliest examples of Western Horses, and we know the black hooves were typical until about 1952. Grey hooved examples of these lamps are also known, but all of them have high grommet saddles, meaning the metal ring that attaches the girth to the saddle is at the top of the fender. By about 1954, Breyer had switched the attachment point to the bottom of the fender (low grommet), saving themselves a couple of inches of girth material per model. So that said, these lamps likely date from about 1950/1951 to probably no later than 1953. 

Interestingly, by late 1952, the "Black Beauty" black with gold hooves colorway was available on the Western Horse and Pony, but that color has not been found on one of these lamps. It could be that not using the black horses was a stylistic choice, or it may mean that the scroll base lamps were discontinued by the end of 1952. We'll probably never know. Suffice it to say though, they were not made for long and remain quite desirable to collectors.

The scroll base lamps pictured below have the original shade, and I have seen a few other examples with shades of the same shape that may also be original. One looks almost identical to mine, but has some mid-century modern style geometric designs printed on it, and another is dark red with thin banding on the top and bottom edge rather than lacing. Retailers may have offered several shade options to consumers.

The Western Pony version of these lamps is much harder to find than the Western Horse version. I've only seen 2 or 3 myself. All of those have been palomino ponies on brown bases. Here are some quick photos of mine. Interestingly, this guy came with a small burlap shade that matches the shape of the shades for the larger Western Horse lamps. I'm not sure if it's original, but it looks the part. (The saddle shown here is not the correct one. I'll have to get new photos eventually.)

On the back side of the Western Pony lamp, you can see a small metal band that screws into the side of the pony and bends around the lamp pole. The Western Horse versions of these lamps also usually have the same metal band and screw attachment.

My mom, sister, and I recently acquired the palomino Western Horse lamp pictured above, and we were pleased to discover a manufacturer's sticker on the bottom of the base. As far as I know, no other examples are known with any sort of identifying marks (although if you happen to have one, I'd love to know!), so we were pretty excited to finally have a maker's name to add to our provenance files.

I have not yet been able to track down much information about the Marks Manufacturing Company, but as I work in a top-notch research library, that of my alma mater, the University of Chicago, I have access to some handy sources like a 1956 Chicago phone book. I was able to track down the address of Marks, and  like the Mastercrafter Clock Company, it was a near neighbor of the Breyer factory. All three were located just west of downtown Chicago. Mastercrafters was about one mile due east of Breyer, and Marks was a bit northeast, about 2 miles away.

The use of the zone number (22) rather than a zip code helps narrow the date on this piece to the 1950s, and the high grommet saddles and painting style of the Western Horses on the lamps pinpoint them to the early 1950s. Based on pictures I've found of other (non-horse) Marks made lamps, the company appears to have been in business as early as the 1930s if not earlier. I have not yet been able to determine if it was related to the well-known Clayton Mark and Company (of Evanston, IL) and Mark (no "s") Manufacturing Company of Indiana. The latter two companies specialized in steel manufacturing of pipes and well equipment and were founded by Clayton Mark (of Marktown fame) and his sons. It's not a huge stretch to think that someone in the family might have opted for the decorative side of metal work, but it could also be a complete coincidence.

I plan to do more digging to track down the history of Marks. I'm very curious to know how long the company was in business after their collaboration with Breyer and whether or not it was related to one of Clayton Mark's companies. I'll be sure to blog about anything I find!

Next time, some news on those chinas we all Love!