My recent unique find -- Rare ??

diamondjim12

Cadet
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
horse tintype 1.JPG



I just recently purchased this item. I had never come across anything like it and will fill a spot on my mantle. This is a childs horse, appears to be made from paper machae, with what appears to be human hair in a pony tail that was used to make the horses tail. The photo is of a little girl holding that exact horse. It is a tintype photo. I am assuming the wooden platform with wheels was added at a later time to make it a pull-along toy? My question is, was this photo taken during the civil war period, or later? If I can date the photo, then I can date the childs horse. It is hand painted and truly unique. Has anyone ever came across a pre-1900's photo of a person with an item, and have the item and photo as a pair? Would love your in put. I am not sure if it is super rare, though I just love it.
horse tintype2.JPG
 
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Oh wow, now I am kind of creeped out. I just thought the young girl had her eyes shut. Now that I look closer I believe you are correct. Now I own a horse that belonged to a dead girl over a century ago, yikes. Still an interesting piece that both were kept together so long.... Can anyone give me any tips to date these older photos. Like what years tin types were common, etc. I am trying to learn more in this area.
 
If the horse's tail looks like it's human hair, not horse hair, I wonder if it's a lock from the girl in the photo. It was very popular to make mementos from hair, both from living and dead subjects, such as watch chains or bracelets. If the girl in the photo had died, the parents might have used a lock of her hair to replace the tail of her favorite toy. We might be kind of creeped out by things like that, but in that era it was quite common and not at all considered macabre.
 
There are no markings on the wood that I can see, nor on the horse. The horse appears to have been hand made. I examined the horses tail more in depth and it is human hair. The young girl in the photos appears to have darker hair. This leads me to conclude that this may very well be the deceased hair, braided in a pony-tail that happens to make up the tail of the horse. I have tintype of the girl with the horse, have the actual horse and a braid of her hair. I have never came across anything like this, very interesting.
 
I think you guys have hit it. Bingo. The date I can't say....can't see the girl's clothes enough--although they look a tad later--maybe 1870's-1890's....but can't swear to it. If you can send a copy to a university where they have a historic costume collection they can probably nail it.
 
If the horse's tail looks like it's human hair, not horse hair, I wonder if it's a lock from the girl in the photo. It was very popular to make mementos from hair, both from living and dead subjects, such as watch chains or bracelets. If the girl in the photo had died, the parents might have used a lock of her hair to replace the tail of her favorite toy. We might be kind of creeped out by things like that, but in that era it was quite common and not at all considered macabre.

A real possibility. There were ornamental works placed on walls using locks of braided hair of the deceased at times. It's creepy when you realize what they are-not that they aren't attractively done. I didn't appreciate this until a recent tour.

p.s. I can't tell in the photo if the tail was fully shown in the photo with the girl (perhaps deceased at the time.) If not...
 
The horse did not have a tail in the photo. I think the braided hair was removed after death and attached to the horse to make the tail. I know this unique, though I am happy yo hear that it is Antiques Road Show worthy and may be worth some money. I have never seen anything like this before, so I am not sure how much something like this would sell retail, if you could even find another like it in a lifetime. Thank you all for your input and help.
 
You can find out if the tail is human hair or not via DNA.

History Detectives would be my vein of choice in finding out the story about the horse and child but, agree that this child was posed (which was a Victorian era practice so it can be within the reign of HRH Queen Victoria) and photographed. It would be something a parent would have made for a child and in death, a keepsake of the one they lost.

Just my opinions.

M. E. Wolf
 
Interesting piece. The horse in the photo looks different unless it underwent some drastic restoration. The painted harness and front legs seem to be big differences between the two. Definitely don't think it is a postmortem.
 
The photo looks like Momento Mori, a practice of taking a photo of a loved one after death. Having a photo taken was expensive and it was not unusual to have a photo taken of this person after they have died.

Whether it is CW era or not, I cannot say.

--BBF
I agree, I’ve seen plenty of these post mortem photos, that small toy horse probably survived because of its great sentimental value. To be honest it’s not something I’d want to own but it will make a great conversation piece, hopefully it won’t creep people out. A quick online search of Victorian death photos reveals quite a few photos of deceased children posed with their favourite dolls and toys.
 
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I just recently purchased this item. I had never come across anything like it and will fill a spot on my mantle. This is a childs horse, appears to be made from paper machae, with what appears to be human hair in a pony tail that was used to make the horses tail. The photo is of a little girl holding that exact horse. It is a tintype photo. I am assuming the wooden platform with wheels was added at a later time to make it a pull-along toy? My question is, was this photo taken during the civil war period, or later? If I can date the photo, then I can date the childs horse. It is hand painted and truly unique. Has anyone ever came across a pre-1900's photo of a person with an item, and have the item and photo as a pair? Would love your in put. I am not sure if it is super rare, though I just love it.
The platform is there in the photo, it's just barely visible in the folds of her dress. I am rather creeped out by her smile. I thought she just couldn't hold the pose for the photograph and that was why her eyes were closed. It is possible someone touched it up over the years. Keep in mind certain colors didn't photograph well. so if the bridle was originally yellow, or a pale blue it would appear almost white in the photo. It would not be uncommon for these toys to be touched up. The hair isn't a help as that styling was common throughout the period. The scalloping at the top of the dress though appears more specific. a lot of dresses were off the shoulder or looked like miniature adult dresses. This more looks late Victorian almost Edwardian.
 
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