Factory Tour, 1986

Wrapping up some old business here, so it’s going to be more show than tell today.

But the pictures are worth it. Presenting - a Breyer Factory Tour ca. 1986!

From Marney’s files, of course. They’re all in black in white, so I’m assuming that they may have been taken for future reference or use in an article or feature. When I had my first article published in Just About Horses in 1985, I recall, photographic submissions had to be in Black and White.

Here are the painting booths, awaiting fresh victims:

First ones up in the factory - the Traditional Black Beauty! The story I heard was that the first models Reeves manufactured fully under their aegis were the #89 Traditional Black Beauties, so it’s possible they may be them. There are no notes on any of these photos anywhere, so I can’t be sure.

There’s also no way of knowing/distinguishing those early Reeves Black Beauties from the thousands that roam the Earth today. Quality control was a bit of an issue in those days, and seams were a little rougher than they should have been, but that’s about it.

Here’s the warehouse:

I work in inventory services, so this is a sight I see often - though the boxes in my case are usually filled with car parts, electronics, or paper towels. Be still my heart - is that a case of Polled Hereford Bulls (#74) down front? I think we’re going to need to ask for a SKU check and run a variance report on that…

Here’s what I’m assuming is the packaging/fulfillment area. Among the sights I see are Phar Lap, the Lying Down Unicorn, Stormy, the Bay Shetland, the Family Foal, the Black Beauty Family, and some Corrals down front:

Ah, the mysteries contained in those freshly wrapped shrinkwrapped boxes! You both knew - and didn’t know - what you were purchasing. The box would say "Phar Lap" - but would he be awesome, or awful? It was like a retail version of Schrödinger's cat.

And here’s my favorite picture of the group:

I had no idea Ron Burgundy had a brother who worked for Reeves. Huh.

No actually, that’s Tony Fleischmann. They have plenty of awkward and slightly embarrassing pictures of me in their files, so having one picture in my files brings a little more karmic balance to the universe.