Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.It’s a good quote to keep in mind while cleaning, decluttering, or redecorating!
The quote came to mind a while back when I was skimming through some discussions of the Surprise models, and what constitutes a popular mold. Is a mold that gets put into production frequently – at least as frequently as the Lonesome Glory has in the past 18 years – actually popular, in the same ways the Traditional Silver or Lady Phase are?
I don’t necessarily think so.
The most frequently produced Breyer molds – like every other object in your home – can also be categorized as either useful, or beautiful. The ones considered “useful” fit a certain type or fill a certain niche; while those considered “beautiful” are considered aesthetically desirable, independent of any other qualities it might have.
I consider the Lonesome Glory mold to be more of the former, than the latter. It fills a niche – a more modern mold that represents a racing condition Traditional Thoroughbred jogging up to the gate. The mold also has a relatively small “footprint” – it doesn’t take up nearly as much space as a Ruffian, Cigar or Smarty Jones does, and requires no base – but it’s still in an active (nonstanding) pose.
That I think explains why the Lonesome Glory mold has had so many releases over its relatively short life span. It filled a niche, irrespective of its aesthetic qualities: for 18 or so years, it has been Breyer’s go-to mold for a racehorse.
The Carrick mold now fills a similar niche – and is newer – which is why I think we’ll be seeing more of him and a little bit less of Lonesome Glory over the next few years.
For those of us who’ve been around the block a dozen or few times, the Lonesome Glory – released in 2000 – may seem modern, but to many younger or less experienced collectors, he’s positively ancient.
I think back to my experience collecting, starting in (ulp!) 1974: the Traditional Man o’ War mold had only been in production since 1967 – so, about seven years – and most of the other Traditionals that filled the line back then were not that much older.
And when I “officially” entered the hobby in 1978, the “Old Mold” Mare and Foal had only been introduced 20 years earlier! It does not seem so deep a distance in retrospect, but back then it felt like an eternity.
Back to bed for me; I’ve now moved on to the coughing portion of the cold, and my family would prefer that I do that in the privacy of my sickbed…
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