Old Photo & Folk Art Horse -- Please Help! Civil War? Rare?

[diamondjim12]

This is my recent find. I have never seen anything like this before and figured it may be rare. This is outside my area of knowledge and was looking for some help. The horse is approximately 8in from bottom to horse head, and approximately 8in long. I believe it is made of paper mache or something similar and is decorated/painted. There are no identifying features of this horse, no names, inscriptions, etc. Accompanying the horse is a very old photo in a copper frame, measuring around 4in tall by 3 in wide. Possibly a tin type or earlier, though cannot tell, has me stumped. In the photo it is what appears to be a deceased young girl maybe 7-8 years old. In the photo she is smiling, holding a horse. It is the exact same horse that I have in my possession. To ad to this interesting find, the horses tail is made from a braid of the deceased girls hair. The wooden platform in which the horse stands was added after the photo, likely to be a pull toy? The wheels are hand carved from wood and all nails are very old style. Is this commonly found, or is this a more rare find? Is there a market for this? Can anyone date the horse/photo? What would an item like this retail for in an antique shop? Any and all information would be helpful. Thank you all in advance for your opinions and input on this. It has left me scratching my head. Whether it is worth a lot or a little, it is a very neat piece.  

[bigwull]

are you here there or somewhere else...it does help.....to know...

[sapphire]

diamondjim, if this horse can be dated (approx) I'm sure there would be good value for it in itself. But.......with the obvious connection between the horse and the little girl it would be a shame to separate the two. Have you taken the picture out of the frame to check for any indication of a name or location?  

It's hard to tell from your photo, but are the little one's eyes closed?  To me they appear to be, but that could just be shadows. I am getting a strong feeling this is a postmortem tintype, taken to remember a lost loved one.

If this is the case, personally I would do all I could to track down the family and try to reunite them with such a touching remembrance.

I know others here will be most helpful in trying to date the picture based on clothing and hairstyle......to me it would appear to be last half of the 1800's to very early 1900's (at the latest).

[ghopper1924]

I've never seen anything like it. It's an amazing little piece.

It's definitely a memorial to the little girl, and it uses so-called Victorian death art, not to mention "hair art" which you usually see in the form of braids formed into abstract patterns or flowers and placed in shadow boxes.

This is very sweet and touching, and if you can locate a descendent that would be ideal.

However, that may be unlikely. The good news is that this has to be worth something to collectors of all of the above. No idea about value, but I don't think it's insignificant.

Date: 1890-1910.

[frogpatch]

I would agree with everything that Sapphire says. I get such strong  feelings from this that it literally made the hair on my arms stand up. Looking at the wheels on the horse it looks like pull toys I have seen form the mid to late 1800's. I think you have an awesome find here and like Sapphire advised, keep it together. It is not only about value but the history of someones family. Carefully look inside the frame. You never know what may be in there.

[diamondjim12]

bigwull: I am not sure what you mean? What are you referring to? Thanks

sapphire: Yes, the eyes are closed, this does appear to be a postmortem photo. I have had it out of the frame and there are no markings. There are none on the horse. I doubt there will be any chance of finding out who the young girl was. Thanks for your input. 

[diamondjim12]

Thank you all for your input. Yes, it is a moving piece. When I first acquired it I did not notice the child in the photo was deceased due to the smile, though the closer I looked it appeared as if she was staged with the horse for the photo. Yes, I plan on keeping both together, I think that is what makes the horse so neat, to have a 100+ year old photo of it. I do not plan on selling it anytime soon, I was looking at the value for insurance purposes for an appraisal.

[sapphire]

bigwull was wondering where you are located........quit e often it helps with narrowing down a search.    Was this something that was in your family, was given to you or you acquired at a sale?

[diamondjim12]

Oh okay Sapphire. That makes sense. I am located in Florida, though this was acquired in New York. My guess is this originated from the north east United States, though cannot be positive.

[frogpatch]

Yours is much nicer than this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VICTORIAN-ANTIQUE-Hand-Painted-Made-PAPIER-MACHE-WOOD-HORSE-PULL-TOY-w-WHEELS-/271037037102?pt=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item3f1b10fa2e

Can you get us a better shot of the photo?

[diamondjim12]

Frogpatch: Thanks, that looks similar to the horse that I have. Do you think the value of mine is more than the $125-$150 they will likely get since it has the hair and photo accompanying it? I will list another photo. Thanks

[sapphire]

I'm thinking the platform is original to the horse, the photo added later. The little one's dress appears to be obscuring much of the platform from what I can see. Do I detect a split in the belly of the horse? Possibly to allow for room for the photo?

[diamondjim12]

Sapphire: Yes there is a split in the horses belly and I do believe that is there for the addition of the photo. Upon closer examination of the photo it does appear the wooden platform is there.

[sapphire]

I can tell you there is no way in hell I would be able to let go of that memorial even if I had no personal ties to it.  I'm glad you're looking into an insurance value and not a resale value. 

[sapphire]

Played with the photo a bit trying to get a better look. Possibly 5 - 7 years old?  You could likely gauge that better having it in hand, using the space her hands take up on the horse.

I really must stop looking at her picture, I'm becoming too attached.