On behalf of our client, Fog City sales is proud to assist with the sale of this beautiful vintage Edwardian Rocking Horse. Our client hasidentified this horse as a Collinson brand, among the mosthighly sought-after in the world. This horse has been privately owned for more than 25 years after having been originally purchased at an estate sale in England. It was restored for our client by Taylor & Parry CabinetMakers in England, and later shipped to California in 1992.Dimensions: to top of neck,46\", nose to rump 33\".Swingstand 54\" long by 18\" wide.Beautiful and in excellent overall condition. A few minor flaws, small paint crackon left neck, a small tear on velvet-covered saddle. It has NOT been sat on/rocked by children. The mane and tail horsehairis from an actual thoroughbred.Collinson horses are some of theeasiest to identify for several reasons: their popularity, their extremely consistent anddistinctive appearance, and the fact that they were made until very recently.The company of J Collinson and Sons originated in 1836 in Liverpool and thebusiness continued in the same family ownership, through 5 generations untilDecember 1993 when it closed. Apparently Queen Victoria visited the company in1851 and chose a dapple grey horse to ride, after which this was the onlycolour made.The typeof Collinson seen now is often described as being old / antique / Victorian butin fact almost all of them are much younger and were made in the second half ofthe 20th century. These horses usually had corduroy saddle seats and vinylsaddle flaps and cloths. Horses made earlier than about 1940 had leather orleathercloth saddle materials. Most of the post 1950 horses have decoratednails for eyes, a few had wooden or plastic eyes.
After thesecond world war the company was trying to produce a hand made item in an ageof mechanism and everything possible was done to cut down the time needed tomake a horse. The carving on the later Collinson horses is very simplified,particularly around the head.
OldCollinson rockers are much harder to find and they can be very nice horses withdetailed head and neck carving, glass eyes and turned pillars.Therelatively modern Collinson horses have large, bold and dramatic dapples thatoften cover most of the horse - quite unlike the exactly placed patches of dapples thatsome other makers favoured. Another helpful feature is the rectangularsection pillars of the swing stand. The top of the pillars is covered by adiamond shaped piece of wood. There are other manufacturers who usedsimilar stands (eg Baby Carriages) but their horses do not look likeCollinsons. The legs of Collinson horses are clearly different from many otherEnglish rocking horses. They are relatively thick with big feet because theyare made of pine like the rest of the horse. Beech was used for legs bymost makers as it is strong enough to support the horse and rider. Pine splitsmore easily so wider legs are needed.The legsare not morticed into the body like most other old horses. They are fixed intorebates in the body with very long nails. This construction method is not thebest: the legs loosen quickly and repairs are difficult because the nails bendand then start to split the legs. The stands can also be hard to repair becausethe pillars are also fixed with long nails though the rails rather than thebetter system of pillar spigots going through rails and being wedged and gluedin place.
**If you have questions or would like other images of the horse,please let us know and we will send new/additional images.
This item will be carefully boxed and shipped (insured) within the continental 48 US States for $325.00. This item is available for pickup in South San Francisco, CA. Buyer must pay California sales tax of 8.75% if picked up or if shipped to a California address. Payment is due at time of purchase.About the seller: Fog City sales, LLC, is a San Francisco based sale company managed by a veteran er with nearly 14 years of experience. We have engaged in more than 1500+ transactions, and NEVER received a negative response. We care about our sales and our reputation, and we take our sale customers very seriously. If we do business, we will strive to meet or exceed your expectations and earn yet another positive response!
