Feeling Old

On Friday I got a speeding ticket - less than a mile from home! - and had a minor shelf accident in the office that resulted in a tragic break on a not-easily-replaced item.

Then I apparently caught some nasty flu-like thing. At first I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something - the plants outside are growing like crazy with all the rain we’ve been getting - but I’m beginning to suspect that it’s something more than that. I was hoping to see the doctor before my trip anyway…

So yeah, poopy weekend. Nothing much at the flea market, either, outside of a few interesting books (from a large collection of vintage Archaeology textbooks - neat!) So here’s a find from last week I never got around introducing you to, a nice older Alabaster Old Timer:

He has residue from a small Blue Ribbon sticker, a green hatband, no in-fill on his headstall, and no USA mark, so he’s definitely early-early (1966-1968). He was found with a really pretty two-sock Bay Jumping Horse, and an excellent early Pacer with a brick-red halter.

Since I already have plenty of variations of both the Jumper and the Pacer, I left them behind for others to discover; I have too much to sell as it is. On the other hand, the only Alabaster Old Timer I had previous to this fella was an early cull.

Although the Alabaster is less common - discontinued in 1976, eleven years before the Dapple Gray - it's not THAT rare. But I have had a much harder time than I expected locating a passable Alabaster for my collection locally.

Some of the reasons have to do with condition: Old Timers of all colors don’t weather the years well. They literally get loved to pieces: hats go missing, ears get chipped, blinkers get broken off. The Dapple Grays have a tendency to suffer more paint flaws, rubs and scuffs than the Alabasters do; unlike the slightly more modern Alabasters of the 1970s and 1980s, most of the gray shading was sprayed under the clear topcoat/sealer, and not over.

As to the specific reasons why the Alabaster Old Timers aren't as plentiful here as I expect, presumably it's the same reason why I can't find nice Liver Chestnut Quarter Horse Yearlings around here.

This guy does have a few minor dings, but everything else about him is wonderful - and he has his hat! The hat was worth the price I paid for him, alone.

(Seriously Reeves, you could make a mint selling the hats individually.)

The Giant Brown Bunny is a Ucago, and not for sale. Not sure how he ended up in this corner of the office, but I decided not to argue with him.