I plan to write a couple more posts on Breyer lamps which I think will wrap up the subject pretty well (barring new primary source discoveries, of course), but that said, these posts will unfortunately be a bit light on specifics. Unlike Dunning Industries, these other lamp companies apparently don't seem to have inspired write ups in their local newspapers.
The Griffin Lamp Company (or sometimes the Griffin Lamp Manufacturing Company) of Springfield, Massachusetts, is one such company. (Not to be confused with the Griffin Lamp Company of Hamilton, Ohio, which did not make Breyer lamps.) Griffin lamps featuring Breyers are a bit on the scarce side, and as best I can tell, they were likely made sometime around the late 1960s or the early 1970s. The Western Prancer lamps seem to pop up more often than lamps featuring other Breyer molds. The Western Prancer lamps came in buckskin, palomino, smoke, bay, and appaloosa.
The only other example I have a photo of at the moment is this buckskin lamp that Andrea Gurdon showed in her collectors class at BreyerFest 2023. There's a larger photo on her blog sans saddle. I was interested to note that the Prancer on her lamp was mounted facing in the opposite direction as mine.
Only sparse documentation exists for these lamps, chiefly two advertisements in Western Horseman magazine---one from June 1970 (below, left) and the other from November 1971 (below, right). They are much the same other than the later ad includes the smoke colorway.
I only know of two other styles of Griffin lamps at the moment, this intriguing sorrel Five-Gaiter on a plastic base just like the Western Prancers owned by Linda Pope...
And this lovely star-faced bay Stretch Morgan on a wooden base owned by Sande Schneider. Interestingly, the Griffin name is stamped on the underside of this base.
All of the models found on Griffin lamps so far were available from Breyer by the mid-1960s and most were discontinued at some point in the early 1970s. The black and white pinto Western Prancer is the only early colorway for that mold not found on these lamps, and as it was discontinued in 1966, that may mean that none of Griffin's horse lamps were available until 1967 or later. I don't know if the Morgans on wood bases constitute earlier lamps than the ones with plastic bases or perhaps simply a more expensive or more formal option.
If anyone reading this has come across other Griffin lamps, including Western Prancers in other colors, please feel free to email pictures to me at mumtazmahal (at) gmail (dot) com, and I'll update this post.
In trying to track down the history of the Griffin Lamp Company, all I've been able to find is a smattering of classifieds ads, a brief reference to employment in a wedding announcement, and an obituary, and unfortunately, that's pretty much it. With what little information that provides, here's what I've been able to piece together.
The Griffin Lamp (Manufacturing) Company was founded by Edward J. Griffin who was born around 1910. Griffin served in the Army in World War II and started the business in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, sometime after he returned home from the war. [1] Unfortunately, I haven't found anything to indicate exactly when he started the business, but based on a September 1960 real estate ad for the building the lamp company later occupied [2], I suspect it was in late 1960 or 1961. The earliest reference for the company I have found is a 1961 wedding announcement that mentioned that the future bride worked for the Griffin Lamp Company, so that seems to fit. [3] There are a smattering of classified ads in 1962 in particular and then again later in the 1960s looking for new lamp shade binding machine operators, but otherwise, I haven't found anything of interest until the 1970 and 1971 Western Horseman ads pictured above.
In August 1973, Griffin published a classified ad that referenced horse lamps as part of their first annual sale. They were apparently on sale from $25 (approximately $189 in 2026) marked down to $9 ($68 in 2026). This matches the prices from the Western Horseman ads, but it's impossible to say which horse lamps this ad referred to.
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| The Morning Union, Springfield, MA, August, 6, 1973, pg. 25 |
Later classifieds ads in 1975 and 1976 only mentioned novelty lamps from the company, not specifically horse lamps. The last such ad I can find for the company dates to August 1976. By October of 1979, the building that once housed the Griffin Lamp Company was being assessed for an electroplating business [4], and in May of 1982, the building itself was once again listed for sale. [5] The company founder, Edward Griffin, passed away in February 1983. [6]
Based on what I've gleaned from the newspapers, my best guess is that the Griffin Lamp Company was in business from about 1961-1976 or perhaps a few years more. And given the scarcity of the horse lamps, I suspect they may only have been available from about 1970-1973, and it seems like they may not have made a lot of them.
I hope you've enjoyed this post! I'll be tackling Glen-Tek lamps next. Thanks for reading!
Sources:
1) The Morning Union, Springfield, MA, February 17, 1983, pg 31
2) The Republican, Springfield, MA, September 30, 1960, pg 34
3) The Republican, Springfield, MA, December 5, 1961, pg 22
4) The Republican, Springfield, MA, October 5, 1979, pg 32
5) The Morning Union, Springfield, MA, May 18, 1982, pg 33
6) The Morning Union, Springfield, MA, February 17, 1983, pg 31
