Friday, February 19, 2010

Harry the Hairless Horse

I found this adorable little rocking pony at the same time I discovered the antique wooden horse in the previous post. I have a very small car (a tiny Chevy Aveo hatchback), and the horses more than filled the back seat. As I drove down the expressway, little horsie faces peered out of each side window. 
It was also the day I found a huge double gumball vending machine on its original stand, and that was propped in the front passenger seat, with a bit sticking out the window. Visibility, needless to say, wasn't great...on the drive home, I kept envisioning a policeman making out the accident report: "driver decapitated by gumball machine and/or rocking horse." Fortunately we made it home safely, and a hernia later were all ensconced in my increasingly crowded living room. 

 

Made in the 1950s by Moulded Plastics Inc. of Maple Plain, Minnesota, this little guy is called Harry the Hairless Horse. Odd name, odd-looking horse! Perhaps he was marketed to allergy sufferers. He measures 30 inches long by 22 high, and his body is fibreglass while his legs and rockers are wood. He's so cute and portly!


Here's a close-up of his label:


And here's an original ad I found for him and some other products,
all proclaimed "Harmless Fun For Young and Old".
Can you imagine getting shot with the "Air Fire Thunder Gun" that
"Shoots Standard Table Tennis Balls"?! Ouch. Perhaps you could make a quick getaway on Harry the Hairless Horse...


8 comments:

  1. Do you know what Harry is worth? What would you ask for him, if you sold him?

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  2. Hi there,

    This is the only Harry I've seen for sale,so I don't really have much basis for comparison. He was priced at $55, which I thought was just about right.

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    1. I have a wooden Harry as well and was wondering how much yo sell him for

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  3. We just found Harry in my parents attic as we were cleaning out their house to sell. He's not in that great of shape but hopefully my artist friend is going to spruce him up and he will be good as new! Ours is not made out of plastic. It's more particle board cosistancy and wooden rocker.

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  4. Congrats on your Harry: attic finds are the best! Mine has wooden legs and rockers, with just his body being made out of a plastic material. I suspect yours, with the particle board body, may be a bit earlier than mine. Have fun with him!

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  5. I also have a Harry. It has been in my family for about 60 years and all the children and grandchildren have ridden it. Not in the best shape but we still let little children ride him. I use him mostly for a decorative piece.

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  6. I was given one of these when I wasn't even old enough to walk. I'm almost 62 now. He was given to me by a neighbor who's kids outgrew it. He painted it silver with blue saddle. When i had my son I had to add rods between the legs to reinforce and stabilize the poor guy. After I while of my son and the neighbor girl riding him he had to be retired him because his hips were weak, the cardboard like brown paper bags he's made of was giving way around the upper part of the rear legs and didn't want him totally destroyed, especially when he's mostly made out of paper! The handle was long gone from me i guess, never known it to have the originals so an old broom stick was there which reamed out the cardboard there too. I still have him though! Did you know there is a book to go with him that tells his story and has a popup in it of him? Saw one a few years ago but was outbid. Just recently i found another and snagged it! Today I just found one in really good condition for $10 and I had to have that too!! LOL Just wanted to tell my little story when i saw your horse!

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  7. I hadn't got my horse out of the truck yet so now have to make an update! I don't have my old one out of storage yet but I believe they are made out of different materials, the new one seems more plastic like and my old one is more cardboard sounding. I also think my old one might be a little bigger. I'll let you know! We had a house fire so i haven't gotten all the stuff we salvaged out of storage yet. The earliest pic I have is Dec '59, I was 6 months old. Never outgrew horses!

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