FAS Weathervane

The flea market was much better this week; super-busy, and filled with fun horsey things, though most of what I brought home were bodies. Not that I need them, but you never know when inspiration strikes, right?

(Like it did this past weekend, when I thought it was a good idea to go through some now-not-abandoned sewing projects.)

This little tidbit, however, was found earlier in the week at my one-stop costuming shop, shoe store, and craft supply outlet: aka the local Salvation Army store. I found a copy of the 1972/1973 Sturbridge Yankee Workshop Handbook and Catalog in the craft section, and look what I found within:

(Click to enlarge.)

Well, hello there Mr. Family Arabian Stallion! Hmm, I always assumed the term “Early American” meant 1650s or 1750s, not the 1950s, unless you’re specifically talking Model Horse History.

Here is the most interesting part of the description in the photo above; the “one man’s” name is not mentioned, by the way:

This one is a beauty, low in price only because the one man who makes it has concentrated almost entirely on making this one Arabian Horse vane.

Or maybe because he knew he was treading on thin ice re: copyright infringement, and didn’t want to push his luck? I'd also disagree with the “low in price” part: I could have gotten at least six Traditional horses back then for the price of the cheapest finish option (Dupont gilt) on this weathervane!

The Sturbridge Yankee Workshop is still around, and still making the kind of home furnishings that your grandmother loves: sturdy, comfortable, and headed straight to the Salvation Army donation truck when she downsizes from a house to that furnished condo in a retirement community.

I wouldn’t mind owning that weathervane, but as far as I can tell, it’s been discontinued and replaced with a more suitably antique-looking ones.