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Hobbyhorses
August, 2017 The Antique Shoppe Page 19

Help Collectors Ride Off Into a Nostalgic Sunset

By Larry LeMasters

LeMasters’ Antique News Service

I rode a hobbyhorse as a child. My father cut the head from a piece The term “hobby horse” led
of pine and used an old broom handle to form the stick—it was a to the expression “to ride one’s
true stick horse or hobbyhorse. hobby horse,” meaning to follow a
Hobbyhorses were children’s toy horses that were extremely favorite pastime, i.e.: have a hobby. Stick
popular in the Victorian Era just before the advent of the An interesting hobby that has evolved hobbyhorse
automobile. Hobbyhorses have never truly gone out of fashion over the past 20 years is Hobby-Horse Polo, with two
wheels &
with children, and vintage hobbyhorses from the 1950s are which uses polo rules and hobbyhorses to play glass eyes,
highly collectible, especially hand-made ones such as the polo. This sport is particularly popular in hand carved
in France in
one I rode. Germany. the 1920s.
Most hobbyhorses consisted of a straight stick Today, children still ride hobbyhorses, This
hobbyhorse
with a small horse’s head (made or wood or and adults collect them, especially the is valued at
stuffed fabric) on the end. Some had reins, old Victorian ones with wheels on the $460.
which were a “cool” detail. The bottom stick’s end. Most antique hobbyhorses
of the stick sometimes had small wheels were hand-made, so they are one-of-
attached so that the horse glided on the floor. a-kind collectibles, which are often
The earliest versions of hobbyhorses were considered art or, at least, folk art.
known as “cock” horses after the children’s They are also cute and conversation
nursery rhyme Ride a Cock Horse to TOP: Beautiful Victorian starters.
Banbury Cross. Era hand-carved wood hobbyhorse with Prices for vintage hobby-horses varies, but
glass eyes. This horse sold on eBay for
Not all hobbyhorses are made as toys. $150. CENTER: Wonderful hand-made it is mostly a buyer’s market at present, so if you decide to begin a
Larger hobbyhorses are featured items hobbyhorse made of cut pine and a hobby-horse collection, practice your dickerin’ skills before making
in Mummers Plays and Morris Dances broomstick (something like the one the an offer to buy a hobby-horse. And, if your wife offers to buy you a
author played with as a child). This nostalgic
in England. These festival hobbyhorses steed is valued at $38. BOTTOM: 1950s hobbyhorse with hobbyhorse for your collection, let her since a rule of thumb among
vary in size from a costume for one person soft plastic head and leather rein. This rare beauty if valued collectors is to never look a gift hobbyhorse in the mouth!
at 65.
to large frameworks carried by nine people.

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M-F 10AM-5PM; SAT 10AM-4PM
Purchase on the web at:
angevinesfinesilver.com
1

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Since 1959
Hours M-F 10-5, Sat. 10-1
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