Mastercrafters Clocks with Hartland Horse “Over the Clock”
The photos above are of one of the few Hartland versions of the Mastercrafters clocks which have survived the years. To my knowledge, there are only four of these sets around! Maybe this page will turn up a few more. All the Hartland versions of this piece, so far, have the same color scheme, with the walnut brown plastic base, brown whitewashed saddle, and brown glazing on the mane and tail. Detailing is in gold. To be accurate, this is actually a Mastercrafters piece which happens to have a Hartland horse. Hartland only supplied the plastic parts and Mastercrafters probably assembled the set and did the marketing and sales.

While this set is very rare, a very similar version of it with a Breyer Western Horse is much more common. There may be hundreds or even more of them around. Breyer’s own literature states they supplied 2000 horses to Mastercrafters and the total may be even more in later re-orders. Many of the earliest Breyer/Mastercrafters clocks are very close in color and general appearance to the Hartland version except for the direction the horse faces. Due to the fact the Hartland manes are on the right, at least two of four we know about face right when looking at the clock, where Breyer manes are on the left and the horse typically faces left. At least one Breyer Horse Over the Clock facing to the right is known to
exist. A collector from Michigan, Melissa Meader, is known to have exhibited it at model horse shows in the Midwest area in the early 1990s.

It is apparent from looking at the photo above that either Breyer copied Hartland or Hartland copied the Breyer horse. I’ve spent quite a lot of time and energy trying to figure it out. There isn’t a lot of solid documentation to work with and there are no catalogs showing the clock sets that I have been able locate. Since I have limited knowledge of the Breyer side of the collecting field, I have had to recruit some Breyer collectors plus ask for help from a few Hartland collectors who have a bigger collection of large Champ style horses. Behind the scenes, we have had a vigorous discussion group through Internet e-mails. Their help is invaluable!

Comparisons:
As indicated above, the similarities between the Hartland horse and Breyer horse is immediately noticeable. It is understandable since Mastercrafters Clock and Radio of Chicago was the middleman probably giving the second company fairly precise instructions to make their horse as much as possible like the original horse. Not only that, the second horse would have to fit exactly over the holes in the mantel base.

The set shown at the top of this page and the detail shot to the left is owned by Jo Kulwicki. It was found complete with the original “O-Ring” style of reins (actually, the hands on the clock may not be original). Some Breyer clocks have this same type of reins. Later Hartland large Champs use the beaded chain reins, while later Breyer (large) Western Horses had the twisted chain style. This is obviously one of Hartland’s first horse molds of this type as it has more crude conchos on the bridle on each side, where later ones had more perfect round conchos. While not really visible in this photo, the early Champ horse mold has the parted or split mane where it goes over the martingale on the right side. Later Hartland Champ molds did not have the parted mane. The other main distinction of the earliest Large Champ mold is on the martingale. Early horses had round conchos or scallops at both the top and bottom of the martingale, but the later Hartland mold had the round scallops on the bottom but was smooth on the top. Hartland Champ style horse have manes on the right side and a glued-on tail while Breyer Western Horses have the mane on the left and a tail which is created by the two halves of the horse. Sande Schneider also notes that two of her large Hartland horses with the split mane and unpainted bridles have paint only on the round conchos as shown above. She says they are both “butterscotch colored palominos”. We are suggesting that these may be some of the earliest Hartland freestanding horses. Again, the big difference in a Hartland Champ style horse and a Breyer Western Horse is the direction they face when the mane is on the visible side.

Where to start?
I dug around and found some printed information about the Mastercrafters clocks. There seems to be a similar story line in many of them, though the details are sometimes a bit vague. Here are a few of the stories:

The book “Breyer Models Reference and Insurance Guide” copyrighted 1991 by Marney Walerius was self-published in the Spring of 1992, just weeks before she died. During her research of Breyers, Marney would have naturally had to run across information concerning the overlap of horses used on Mastercrafters clocks. She wrote:

“Around 1947, Hartland Plastics, Inc., started making horse figures of tenite plastic-cellulose. The first piece was known as "Western Champ," a horse and rider set. It is not exactly known which year Hartland Plastics, Inc, was asked to produce a model to be used by Mastercrafter Clock Company of Indiana, mounted on a base with a clock for a mantel time piece. Only the "Western Champ" horse was selected without the cowboy rider. Mastercrafter Clock’s financial arrangements with Hartland Plastics was not secure and within a year they were sent back to Indiana with the molds for the model. On the way through Chicago, they stopped at Breyer molding and Breyer began with a new cast of their own similar mold.... This time frame of the Hartland information was quoted to me by Robert "Mick" McGuire, vice president of Hartland Plastics in a 1986 interview in his home in Florida. ”

Marney indicates that the arrangement lasted less than a year. I wonder why so few of the Hartland version of the mantel clocks remain? Four or five from a year of production?

There are several patents on the backs of the Sessions electric clock. In her book, Marney goes into quite a bit of detail explaining the various patents—some attributed to Hartland and some to Breyer versions of the clock set. However, according to Nancy Young (who did patent research on the numbers), the patents relate to internal clock movements and inventions pertaining to the workings of the clock itself—not to the decoration around the clock mechanism. Those patents date back from 1933 to 1936 and not to the 1946 to 1953 time span which could relate to the horse clocks. I haven’t done my own patent search to double check her findings, but I do believe them to be accurate especially knowing the patents are on the clock mechanisms themselves and not the plastic clock base.

The Official Breyer Account:
With a little help from Nancy Young, author of “Breyer Molds and Models” (Schiffer Publishing, Ltd, fifth edition 1999), I have been able to compile several bits of information and dates, printed by the Breyer Molding Company.

Letter to Distributors: November 18, 1968 [Breyer Molding Co. letterhead]
“Gentlemen:
Please be advised that as of January 1, 1969 prices as shown will apply
on the following items packed in the corrugated self-mailer carton: [includes list of model numbers and prices]. After 18 years under the present price structure we find no alternative because of rising costs. All other prices on our fine line of Breyer Animal Creations will remain the same. Our complete 1969 price list will be forwarded to you in late December. At this time, we urge you to stock the above items before the end of the year. Thank you. Your patronage is appreciated. Breyer Molding Company”

1976 Breyer Promo Sheet about The History of Breyer Animal Creations: “In 1950, at the request of the Mastercrafter Clock Company, an acetate horse was designed to stand on the base of a clock. This horse, the beginning of Breyer Animal Creations, was the number 57 Western Horse. As it happened, Mastercrafter did not pursue the horse clock and after an initial purchase of 2,000, the dies were given to Breyer in lieu of payment for the tooling and Breyer was in the horse business.”

1985 Breyer Dealer Catalog: “A clock, a horse, and a lot of imagination started a tradition back in 1950. Mastercrafter Clock Co. made the clock and Breyer Molding Co. designed and molded the horse. Although 2000 of the clock were made, it was not enough to pay for the dies, they were returned to Breyer in lieu of payment. Breyer decided to produce and market the horse as the No. 57 Western Horse.” (This brochure shows one of the “Horse over Clock” versions of the Breyer set)

Breyer/Mastercrafters Horse Over Clock
ca. 1950 and later.
(Photo courtesy of Joy Sheesley)

The 1985 Breyer catalog shows a Horse and Clock, like the one shown to the left, they made for Mastercrafters. Breyer claims it to be their first horse. To date, no advertisement or catalog from Mastercrafters has surfaced showing them at this early time.

If the Breyer literature is correct, then Breyer would have had to get the horse contract , make the molds and produce an initial order for Mastercrafters. By November of 1950, Breyer had already taken the step to market the horse by itself, as it appears in a Western Horseman magazine ad. The wheels on this deal had to be spinning fast!

Some Breyer collectors question of the 2000 production numbers stated above. They claim there are plenty of surviving examples of the clock In fact, there are quite a few variations of the Breyer/Mastercrafters clocks, including versions with the horse off to the side of the clock. It is possible that a sales ticket was found showing 2000 horses for an initial shipment, with more following over the years.

For years, I have been pleading on my site for any reader who has any information of any kind related to the earliest years of the Champ style horse or horse and rider sets to let me know. I always called it “The Missing Champ Literature”.

Well...in all those years, not a single piece of literature or piece of hard evidence has surfaced! In fact, the first known ad of a Hartland Champ style horse is from January of 1953 (Horse Lovers Magazine, shown to the left) and it shows up again in October of 1953. If the Hartland clock horses were created in 1947, 1948 or even 1949 you have to ask, "Where’s the evidence?” Maybe it exists, but the absence of the ads and Hartland documentation for this period of time is noteworthy! Even if the clock horse was created in 1949, there is still a large three year gap until this ad appears.

The small Champ style horse is discussed more later, but I have to think it would show up in this ad or the one in Oct. of 1953 if it had also been available at that time.

The Diamond I shows up on some early religious figures, many of the early versions of the large Champ style horse, along with some of the short seated Champ style saddles. As stated above, the earliest large Champ style horses seem to have the parted or split mane.

Of the four Hartland/MC horse clocks we know about, and of the two we have been able to confirm, neither had the hole in the back or the peg on the saddle, indicating the first mold did not have the hole and peg, right? However, the hole in the back of some early large Champ horses is still a bit of a mystery. Sande Schneider reports to me that 7 out of 8 of her stand alone horses in the earlier mold have holes for the saddle pegs. It’s probable that they simply drilled the hole in the back of the finished horses instead of creating a new mold, but just knowing they exist creates a few more pieces of the puzzle to try to figure out. With 16 mostly different large Champ style Hartland horses, Sande Schneider probably has the most complete collection of Large Champs around. Click Here to see a chart of her 16 large Champs! She has been very instrumental in trying to help me identify variations and patterns of those variations.

Additional Clues:
As the Roy Rogers dealer sheet indicates in the lower right corner, this set was ready for the New York Toy Fair in February 1955, and that set, with very minor color changes, was available in the 1955 Christmas catalogs. Originally called the Royal Canadian Mountie without the official name, the figure shown in the dealer sheet above has the newer ©Hartland Plastics, Inc. on his sleeve. By late 1954, I am quite certain Hartland had begun to switch to ©Hartland Plastics, Inc. on all their new sets. You can read a little more of the dating of the small Champ horse and riders by checking out the Roy Rogers Dealer Sheets, on this site.

So, during the early 50s and possibly earlier, Hartland used the Diamond I brand. By 1954 and possibly a bit earlier, they switched over to Hartland Molded, Hartland Wisc. and by late 1954 they began using ©Hartland Plastics, Inc. The 1950-1951 directory did not list brand names so it is difficult to know for sure how far back the Diamond I may have been used.

While many of the earliest large Champ style horses (split mane) have the Diamond I imprint, neither the later version of the large Champ horse nor the smaller 800 series Champ horse have any brand or name imprinted on them. In a recent e-mail, Sande Schneider replied, “I have seven split-mane (large) Champs on display here in my home office, and only the one "butterscotch" colored palomino shows no sign at all of the Diamond I marking.” Interestingly, that is also the only horse (#11 on the chart) out of her eight early style Champs that also lacks the hole in the back for a saddle peg. At the present time, I do not know whether the known Hartland Clock Horses have the Diamond I marking.

More Mold Mark Clues:
Some religious figures have the Diamond I marking, some have Hartland Molded, Hartland, Wisc, and some have ©Hartland Plastics, Inc. Not only that, some have both of the latter two! Of the Religious figures that I own, if it is marked with Diamond I, it does not have either of the later markings. I think is safe to say the Diamond I figures were first, but it is impossible to say exactly when they “started” creating the religious figures. I find it noteworthy that many of the Kilroy figures have the Diamond I markings, indicating to me that they probably didn’t “start” including the mark until some time after the introduction of that sculpture. It’s likely that piece was created around 1947 or even later.

According to a note on this web site, http://www.kilroywashere.org/01-0KilroyLegends.html , Kilroy is reported to appear a movie. QUOTE “ON OUR MERRY WAY, a 1948 movie shows a quick view of Kilroy. The movie is starring Burgess Meredith, Paulette Goddard, Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda.” END QUOTE. This wasn’t a Hartland Kilroy—only the drawing—but it does show the popularity of the phenomenon or fad at this time.

The Mantel Bases, Screws and Pegs:
As shown in the Breyer and Hartland clock photos above, the horses look fairly close in appearance. Sheryl Leisure discovered the Diamond I brand on the underside of a clock base while she was examining Heather Wells’ HARTLAND Horse Over the Clock. After she shared that information with Sande Schneider, Sande checked her own Breyer Horse Over the Clock and was surprised to find a Diamond I marking under that base too. Following that news, Sheryl checker her Breyer Horse Over the Clock, shown here, and she found the same mark on her clock. In both instances, the Diamond I was located between the mounting points that attached the horse’s legs. As you can see in the detail shot, it is faint and slightly scratched—but there.

Many of the clocks still have a cardboard protective insert on the underside. Some of those inserts appear to have been riveted in place and some have six screws. Nancy Young discovered that plastic rivit can be carefully lifted out—while the bases with screws can be viewed easily using a small screwdriver. Several Breyer collectors have been contacted and requested to examine their own Breyer HOCs. To date, reports from all that were capable of being inspected were found to have the Diamond I brand under their base.

The two Hartland examples of the horse clock, which have been inspected, have screws holding the horse onto the base. Some Breyer HOC have screws and some have round pegs, as shown in the detail shot above. That brings up a few questions that haven’t been fully answered. Similar to the Hartland saddles with pegs and horses with holes in their backs, the pegs and screws used in attaching the horses to the bases probably has some significance—but at this point, I haven’t a clue! Nancy Young recently discovered that the peg on one horse she examined was loose. When she removed it from the base, she discovered that the peg was inserted into a hole drilled into the bottom of the hoof of the horse. This find seems to indicate that the pegs were not actually molded into the original horse mold.

Trying to fit the Pieces of the Puzzle Together:
Knowing that some Hartland large Champ style horses and early saddles have the Diamond I imprint, along with the Mantel bases for the Horse Over The Clock, it is easy to conclude that Hartland did indeed make those molds and those parts. However, I don’t know if we can assume they made all the bases for all the Hartland versions and all the future Breyer clocks. If Hartland did get the original contract to make the horse and clock combination, you might assume Mastercrafters would order one horse for each base they were going to need. Right? If that were the case, then why would there be so few Hartland versions of the HOC (horse over clock) and so many Breyer versions of the HOC? For me, this is probably the biggest lingering mystery of the whole clock deal and it keeps me asking the questions!

Knowing that Mastercrafters was a manufacturing company that created the initial concepts, developed the patents, and then ordered elements for the parts from different companies, it is very possible that Mastercrafters bid the individual elements of this clock out to several competing manufacturers. In this case, it may have been Hartland winning the bid for the bases and Breyer may have won the bid for the horse. Maybe not? If you believe Marney Walerius’ account, then possibly Hartland did do an initial run of the horses and bases, only to run into business turmoil with Mastercrafters. According to Marney, Hartland kept the mold for the horse, but possibly they sold the injection mold for the base (or gave it up) to Mastercrafters. Either way, it is hard to prove.

It appears that Breyer ended up with the mold for the base somehow. They continued to make horses to fit the base for quite a while and that may be the answer to the difference between the numbers of surviving Breyer clocks and Hartland clocks. I said “it appears” that Breyer got the base mold. It is possible that Hartland continued to supply Mastercrafters with clock bases for years, too.

Dating the pieces of the puzzle:
Assuming the three pieces of Breyer’s own literature are correct, Breyer was involved in making a clock horse in 1950 and they were selling the horse on their own by November 1950 or before (the advertising deadline for a November issue was Sept. 20, 1950). For Hartland to be the first company making their horse, it is logical to state that someone must prove the horse even existed prior to 1950. That has been the challenge all along, but in the absence of a Mastercrafters catalog or similar documentation, it takes a good foundation of small pieces of information to create workable theories. Since a very high percentage of the earlier style Large Champ horses have the Diamond I brand and all bases have them, it is probably one of the important clues.

The Classified Directory of Wisconsin Manufacturers indicates that Hartland had a "complete line of religious articles" in the 1950-1951 edition. For the information about the religious items to appear in the 1950-1951 edition, the information was probably submitted in 1949. I have found religious figures have the Diamond I brand on them so at least some of them have to go back that far. Of the twenty or so pieces in my boxed Nativity set, only the Angel, Donkey, Camel, one of the Sheep, and one of the Shepherds lacked the Diamond I. However, the Diamond I brand is listed as a Brand Name in 1954, so it is apparent this window is at least five years, and the fact the Diamond I appears on many early split-mane horses, clock base and some saddles doesn’t mean it was created in 1949 or earlier—only that there IS a possibility. Unfortunately, the 1948 and 1949 editions didn’t list specific products or brand names—just “Hartland Plastics Inc., Plastic Products”.

Again, for Hartland to be the the company that designed and fabricated the first horse, it must be proven they did it before 1950. Marney’s written account of the issue is being told by Robert McGuire who didn’t start at the company until 1951. While a lot of the information might end up being proven to be accurate, I still can’t find the PROOF I need to feel satisfied.

Little Joe Wiesenfeld Co. advertised a variety of horses in Western Horseman magazine in the early 50s. His ads usually had the same look and feel regardless of which horse he advertised. Each had a little banner in the upper corner with the horse’s name. The names he put in the banner has a bit of mystery surrounding them. It is not certain if they just made up the names or whether Breyer suggested the names in their invoices or promotional literature. Heather Wells tells me Little Joe made up names for the Hagen Renakers he sold, too. Breyer did use the name “Black Beauty” (as shown in the ad above) on both large and small horses. The recent discovery of the 1953 Wyeth Company catalog seems to indicate that Little Joe Wiesenfeld Co. used the Breyer supplied name on that set.

The ad on the left is from a Little Joe Wiesenfeld Co. ad in Western Horseman, October 1954, showing a Breyer Thoroughbred called Turf Queen. This indicates that Breyer was in the process of producing more horses than just their “Western Pony” style horses at a time when Hartland seemed to be concentrating on Western Horse and Riders. It is noteworthy that when Hartland did create a thoroughbred horse several years later, they called it Turf King. Similarly, they sold their version of Black Beauty for quite a few years. It is obvious that Hartland kept their eyes and ears open to what Breyer was doing.

Hartland Horses and Riders:
This ad from Western Horseman magazine was printed in the December 1954 issue. There is a fairly long gap between the previous similar ads showing the large Palomino in October of 1953 (and only the large horse—no small Champ horse). The “Miss Texas” photo below sheds some additional light on the subject. It would be plenty of time for them to create and manufacture a newer Large Champ horse mold, new longer saddle, Large Champ cowboy and cowgirl, Small Champ horse, small saddle, and the two smaller Champ style riders. Knowing the two Champ style Cowboys have Hartland Molded, Hartland, Wisc, and referring back to the 1955 edition of the Classified Directory of Wisconsin Manufacturers, I think it safe to say all this happened in 1954. (remember the 1955 directory had to be sent in some time in 1954) That year is also the first in which Hartland listed toys in their product descriptions, plus it indicates they had dropped the Diamond I brand in favor of “Hartland”.

When the ad is viewed with a light and magnifying glass, the horses shown in the photo have the split-mane, scalloped top on the martingale and the Cowboy has a cigarette in his right hand. These clues indicate that these were some of the earlier style molds of both the cowboy and horse. Sande Schneider’s chart reflects the fact that several of her split mane horses were also found with riders. The advertising deadline for the December ad above was October 20, 1954 which also helps create a time stamp on these particular pieces. They could have been produced earlier, of course, but seeing the cigarette in the Cowboy’s hand seems to me to hold these figures to the middle of 1954—plus the large Champ riders have the Hartland Molded, Hartland, Wisc. markings.

For a while prior to this advertisement I believe, by studying Sande’s chart, that Hartland was experimenting around with horse, saddle and tack colors. By the time this ad appears (and supported by the Chief Thunderbird instruction sheet), it looks like Hartland had pretty well established the standard color schemes for the Champ sets and probably eliminated the solid black cowboy. Pintos are listed as options in both the ad above and on the Thunderbird sheet. Of the two pintos listed on Sande’s page, both have solid manes. At some point, the Cowboy figure lost his cigarette and the horse was slightly changed to the solid mane and smooth topped martingale. I also think it is possible that Hartland used both large horse molds for a while, once they started introducing the riders—possibly to keep up with demand of both Cowboy and Cowgirl. Sande’s chart seems to support that theory.

Click on the photo to the left to view a much larger image!
This photo is from an April 1954 Playthings magazine. It shows Charles Caestecker and Miss Texas holding a Large Black Champ horse and rider. The caption under the photo indicated that two sizes were available and called it simply "Western Horse and Rider". There was no mention of a Cowgirl set nor any mention of the word "Champ" or "Champion". Click here to view the Missing Champ Literature page to read the entire text under the photo.

This is the first known photo of a Hartland Horse and Rider.

Who did the first riders?
When I asked Nancy Young about the earliest known Breyer riders, she replied, "The Indian was evidently Breyer's earliest rider, followed shortly by the Cowboy. Both figures appear on Western Ponies on an early Breyer catalog sheet that I date to circa 1953 (it could date to early 1954). The Indian on Western Pony, but not the Cowboy, appears on an even earlier sheet, a news release written for Breyer by its plastic supplier, Eastman Chemical. The release is undated, but it contains clues proving that it pre-dates the circa 1953 catalog sheet. The release probably dates to early 1953."

As shown in the Playthings photo, Hartland did have at least the Large Cowboy and Small Cowboy sets ready for early 1954. I am still searching for any kind of solid proof that Hartland had any form of rider available prior to Feb. or March of 1954.

By the Christmas season of 1955, Breyer landed their Davy Crockett set on their newer prancer style horse in the Sears Christmas catalog (shown here) along with the Cowboy and Indian (shown in the upper left photo above), while Hartland supplied only Roy Rogers on a Champ style Trigger. The 1955 Hartland brochure shows a Davy Crockett. The first Breyer cowboy is very similar to the Hartland Champ cowboy, yet the Indian figure is quite different than Hartland’s Chief Thunderbird. The face on the Breyer cowboy reminds me of a Howdy Doody character, so if Hartland created theirs after Breyer, I'd say they did a better job. If Breyer copied the Hartland—well, all I can say is it looked like they were in a hurry!

I may have strayed away from the original topic of the first horses and the Mastercrafters clocks here, but my intention is to show how fierce the competition must have been. In the early years, both companies seem to be on almost parallel paths before Hartland split off to specialize in the TV Western Heroes, Sports Figures, and Religious figures, while Breyer started specializing in a variety of horse breeds and other animals. The examples above make it crystal clear that both companies knew what the other one was doing, and it also appears both companies reacted quickly when the need for a competitive product arose. The important missing links to help solve the mystery are dated Mastercrafters catalogs showing either or both varieties of the clocks. More than likely, Mastercrafters clocks were sold through retail stores such as Wards, Pennys, Sears, or even smaller Ben Franklin style Five and Dime stores. That documentation has to exist, too!

At this point, it is hard to say what really happened.
By now, you should have questions, too! I don’t believe we have enough pieces of the puzzle to make a cut and dry statement about who did the first large horse for Mastercrafters Clock and Radio Company. As more information is found and documented, the story may change a little—maybe even drastically! Except for a few admitted theories, the information on this page is built with hard evidence you can see and touch, not just the memories of workers and executives trying to recall what happened so many years ago.

Mike Jackson