Hartlands Statues

[jcmtiger]

I was big into Hartlands in the 1980's & 90's Had the complete set of originals and all the anniversery issues.. Of course the Groat was the last one to complete the original set Paid $300.00. all sold except my Ty Cobb Hartland & my Ty Cobb Bronze from Southland.

[insidethewrapper]

At one time I remember there was a person who repaired Hartland Statues ? Does anyone know anyone who repairs or restores them ?

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

At one time I remember there was a person who repaired Hartland Statues ? Does anyone know anyone who repairs or restores them ?

His name was Frank Fulop… an original Hartland Employee who took on various repairs and restoration later in life. Frank was largely responsible for creating the original Hartland Statues. He would study the players to no end, and sketched them during major league games. His sketches were used to create the original Figures. You can read about him in the linked article, and his repair business is referenced in the second-to-last paragraph...

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-19...066-story.html

Below is another very informative piece, which includes everything you ever wanted to know about Hartlands, and their creation...

http://hartlands.com/history.html

Unfortunately, Frank Fulop has passed away, and is very fondly remembered. You may try to PM/reach out to Fred McKie (whiteymet on net54). Fred is the Hartland Guru, and should be an excellent resource for suggesting your repair options.

Hope this is helpful, and best of luck.

[yanks4]

Wow....thanks for sharing and taking the time to post this....

[Hankphenom]

While we're on the subject, does anyone have any history on the relationship, if any, between Hartland and the rare Southland bronzes issued in the early 2000s and now shrouded in mystery and highly collectible? I wonder if Frank Fulop had anything to do with the artwork for those, or any other information for that matter, including whether the Southlands ever really went into production beyond the few that were sold from the one ad they ran in SCD. The bronzes are fantastic, and I think there are even some Southland bronze lamps out there.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

While we're on the subject, does anyone have any history on the relationship, if any, between Hartland and the rare Southland bronzes issued in the early 2000s and now shrouded in mystery and highly collectible? I wonder if Frank Fulop had anything to do with the artwork for those, or any other information for that matter, including whether the Southlands ever really went into production beyond the few that were sold from the one ad they ran in SCD. The bronzes are fantastic, and I think there are even some Southland bronze lamps out there.

Good questions, and I agree that the Southland Bronze pieces are fantastic. The only one I'm missing (besides the Ruth/Gehrig combo) is the Statue of your Grand Dad, which has been the most elusive one for me personally. Had a chance to grab it cheap in a Mears auction, but fell asleep at the wheel (and have regretted it ever since).

For some reason, the original Southland production was halted abruptly, and again... I believe Fred (whiteymet on net54) can shed a lot more light on their elusive history. I do know that the pieces were numbered, but that the actual production was nowhere near the originally intended numbers.

Perhaps Leon could copy this over to the Memorabilia side... There are other collectors who could potentially add insight and value if they were aware of this thread. Thanks!

[whiteymet]

Hi Guys:

I'll add my two cents to a few of the questions here.

Hartland has had quite a few incarnations over the years. Wisconsin, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio etc.

Two long time Hartland collectors started the Southland company to create new statues in the mold of the original Hartlands. They later went their own ways and one took over Hartland in Louisiana.

The initial offerings were plastic statues of Ryan, Griffey, Gwynn, Maddux, and Joe Jackson. The "commons" were painted in uniforms etc. They also produced in very limited quantities these five in silver, gold, pewter and bronze plastic.

Someone asked about lamps. In the tradition of the Hartland Mantle lamp, Southland did indeed offer lamps. Just as the Hartland Mantle lamps, these are quite hard to find! I have Mantle, Jackson and Griffey lamps.

Now onto the solid bronze statues. Here is the checklist for SOUTHLAND bronze statues:

the first five of their statues:

Griffey, Gwynn, Jackson, Maddux, Ryan

The original five HOF inductees:

Cobb, Johnson, Mathewson, Ruth, Wagner,

a different Mantle pose than the original Hartland,

Ruth/Gehrig different from the Hartland bronze ( more on this later)

Not issued:

Clemente: only a handful were produced due to a legal dispute between Southland and one of their investors who was financing the cost of production for the Clemente

Ted Williams: Only two produced. One for each partner. Southland could not come to an agreement with the Williams family

Football: Running Back

Variations:

Cobb no D on cap, Griffey w/autographed plaque embedded in wood base, Jackson no SOX on cap, Mantle no NY on cap

I have attached an SCD ad and a company promo piece showing the bronze statues. I will try to attach some statues, lamps etc.

When the partnership at Southland broke up, one went on to own the Hartland company. Under that ownership, Hartland made similar solid bronze statues. They produced:

Originals: Banks, Berra, Mantle, Musial, Spahn, Little Leaguer

Dallas: The Confrontation

Missouri: Ryan, Different pose than the Southland, Ryan w/ plaque

Louisiana: Ozzie Smith, DiMaggio running, DiMaggio batting, Ruth/Gehrig, different than the Southland, an 1800's Player w/ gold plaque, 1800's Player with HARTLAND embossed on wood base.

Another cool item or two.

The Missouri Hartland and Southland used the artist Nicolas Calcagno to design their statues. He actually did original artwork for the first five HOFer's see attached.

He also made a LARGE clay sculpture of the Missouri Wagner.


Glad to answer any more questions on Hartlands or Southlands! Or if you want to see more things LMK

Fred