Anyone ever heard of a lucite bat for a vintage hartland?
 

I got a call from an auctioneer who has a consignor that used to work for hartland. He had some original bats and photos from Hartland factory and displays of sales setups for the western series and horses. He also has a lucite bat from hartland. Just wondering if anyone had ever heard of this and should I try to procure.

Hi Mark:

Curious, is the consignor from Wisconsin or Missouri?

All of the original molds, paint masks/molds, etc. were passed onto to Stevens Mfg. in Missouri from Hartland WI. where they were able to issue some product before a massive flood wiped them out. I have photos from inside that factory showing many of the things you describe.

As for the bat, a few things come to mind. Frank Fulop used a TON of lucite mostly as bases for statues, but I would not put it past him for making a bat to see what it looked like. He made molds for parts etc. and sold them over the years and/or added them to statues he sold.

I have a prototype of a SOLID Maris that was acquired from a Hartland mold makers son. For the prototype the base was actually what appears to be glass that was then painted to look like a batters box with home plate. My thinking there is perhaps the bat was used for such a model. However, I know of no Hartland issued with a lucite bat. I highly doubt it is original

If you could get photos of not just the bat, but the other things you mentioned, I would love to see them. Feel free to PM me.

Best,

Fred

By chance I am in Hartland WI right now. I knew Frank when I was a kid and he showed me many things he made for repairs including bats, hats, bases, yogi masks and the occasional glove or hand replacement

I ended up buying the Lucite? bat with a group of other original bats. I'll post a picture when I get it.

Even tho I'm not a "Hartland guy," I am floored by Fred's knowledge of these things!

Fred is the MAN on all things Hartland - thanks as always for sharing your knowledge with the forum!

Frank Fulop was a very nice man in all of our communications - I think I saw his hand colored Hartland guide in my "archives" a few months ago.

I received a group of bats, but not the clear one. I guess it will come in another package. I wish the photo would have been baseball players but it's still neat. I will have extra bats if anyone is looking for them. I haven't checked length on these yet.

I goofed that picture up. Oh well I think the general idea gets across. I'll have to add a picture of the bats later.

This one is better.

I probably should just pm Fred, but in case anyone else is interested here is a picture of the clear bat. It, the photo, and the other bats came from the estate of the sales manager for the Hartland company in the fifties.

Very interesting, although the picture is not exactly crystal clear.

Did they indicate which Statue(s) the clear bat was intended for? If not, do you have any idea of its purpose?

Thanks!