Hartland(tm) Horses & Dogs

By Gail Fitch

Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Saddlebreds, and Quarter Horses have led the Hartland parade of breeds prized by horse lovers for four decades. Capturing grace, power, spirit, and refinement in plastic, Hartland horses and dogs portray the majesty of the equine and canine worlds with detailed conformation and breathtaking colors. The quality of the 1960s sculpture by Roger Williams and Alvar B ckstrand and fine attention to painted details are evident in all sizes of Hartland dogs, horse families, and individual horses. Hartland Plastics (1939-1978) was a small, midwestern company that set a standard of excellence for mass-produced models. Hartland expert Gail Fitch has assembled this guide complete with 739 color photos and valuable information for the collector, including current prices and advice on care and repair of your models.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764312685
• ISBN13: 9780764312687
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.5" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

A Great book for Hartland Collectors

I highy recommend this book. This book is a must have for the Hartland and model horse collector. It is very thorough. Easy to read for younger collectors, too. A lot of work went into this book. The pictures and information are just wonderful. It has helped me with identifying and cataloging my own collection.. I take it with me when I going antiquing. I would highly also recommend her other book: Hartland Horsemen.

The Best Model Horse Guide I Have Ever Seen For ANY Brand

This is the most comprehensive and thoughtful model horse guide on the market. Each horse is photographed individually and shown in a large photo, as opposed to some of the Breyer guides where the horses are shown in small group photos. The photography itself is professional and absolutely beautiful. Horses go back to the 1950s when Hartland began manufacturing them. A thorough history of the company is included, not just the horse history. I especially appreciate the photos of the sculptures, one wonders what the creators of these beautiful horses look like. In future publications, I hope Gail can include a photo of Paola Groeber who painted some of the most beautiful Hartlands on the market. Also, anything is only worth what the market is willing to pay. In this case, Gail's values seem a little low for some of the scarcer models, but for the common ones she is right on the money.

Fantastic Guide

An excellent reference, well written and documented, created by by the woman who is the published authority on Hartland models. If you are a serious collector, this book is a must-have for your library. Ms. Fitch is an author known for meticulous accuracy and documentation. All of her works are a pleasure, and this one even more so. Highly recommended!

This Book is Fun for Model Horse / Toy /Figurine Admirers

If you have books on Breyer or Hagen-Renaker horses, this is the equivalent (or better) for Hartland horses. "Hartland Horses and Dogs" by Gail Fitch from Schiffer Publishing, is a full-sized paperback, 188 pages, neatly arrayed with 739 color photos and information on identification, values, care of models, company history, model descriptions, artist interviews, and a chapter on the model horse hobby, model shows, resources, and more. Written by a horse lover for horse lovers, this book covers the golden era for model horses, the 1960s, and takes it forward to 2000. (Another book by Gail Fitch, "Hartland Horsemen," covers a different group of Hartland models: horse-and-rider sets from the 1950s forward.) The Hartland books began in 1983, well before any Breyer books or any web sites existed. Likewise, the Breyer company got model ideas from Hartland, which began first. The American dream in action, Hartland Plastics was a small company with an exceptionally talented group of people, starting with its award-winning sculptors.) Hartland author Gail Fitch has been interested in ALL brands of model horses (and REAL horses, of course) for more than 25 years, and "Hartland Horses and Dogs" gives wonderful insights into the world of model horses in general. This book is fun for those who are knowledgeable about horses (breeds, colors, etc.), but clear enough for beginners. Also, those who only want a collectibles value guide with color I.D. photos will find it easy to use. Each model has its own photo, unlike one of the Breyer books, and photos are larger than those found in the other Breyer book, to give you an idea of what a visual delight this book is for those who collect, used to own, or aspire to own, some of the most beautiful horse figurines in the world. I recommend this book to anyone who likes model horses, toy horses, or horse figurines. The sheer number of horses Hartland has made comes as a surprise to even experienced model horse collectors. The story of Hartland is remarkable, too. This is a well organized, concise, and well illustrated book that is not only a useful reference, but also makes interesting reading.

the definitive guide is here!

The good news about this fantastic compilation by Gail Fitch is that it clearly presents the wide variety of horse molds that the Hartland companies created, in far more colors and variations than most of us thought possible. The bad news is that now we collectors finally know for sure how many of these beauties we don't have in our collections! Ms. Fitch has done another outstanding job cataloguing and presenting this subset of Hartland items. I've been waiting for this since my very first Hartlands so many years ago. Your collection deserves this volume!