Standard Color Nativity Sets

Markings Code: (A)=Diamond I, (B)=Hartland Molded, Hartland Wisc., (C)= Hartland Plastics Inc, Hartland Wisc., (NM)= Not Marked

21 Piece Standard Color Set with Small Gloria Angel:

Standard Color Nativity Set:
Working with limited documentation, I am relatively confident this was the second major color scheme, following the Soft Color Set. I am fairly certain this set was being sold in 1953 through1958 and possibly part of a year in either direction. Additionally, it appears the pieces in this grouping were sold in smaller combinations, and even broken down into the individual groupings, such as Wise Men, Shepherds, Holy Family, Sheep, and so forth.

The distinguishing feature of this set are the dark hair and beards on almost all figures and the white boots on two of the shepherds Those boots had black laces, seen clearly in the two figures above. Additionally, the capes on several of the figures had an additional dull glaze coat of paint, mainly on the back side.

I am not sure if Hartland ever combined a large Blue Gloria Angel with a stable set, but I have included it here just to be safe. The first Gloria Angel used with the Standard colored sets was probably a Large Blue Gloria Angel. It was probably a holdover from the earlier Soft Color Set. The generic cardboard boxed set above was numbered on the end and contained a Large Blue Gloria Angel, but no stable.

The numbering on the end of the box indicated it was a 20 piece, "Painted", Nativity set. 235 was the designation for the 7" tall Nativity sets. As noted in the caption on the box on the left above, someone had handwritten "Noel 1953" on the box. While that is nothing you might consider a hard piece of evidence, it dovetails nicely into the other dating we have been able to determine. So far, I have not seen any actual documentation to support the Blue Angel shipping with a set with a stable, only with the 20 piece set in the generic cardboard box above. That box was too small to handle the stable front.

The photo of the set on the right was sent to me by Rich Gibson. It was stored in a red and green decorated box. The original owner had written “Dec. 8, l954” on the outside of the box. The white boots and dark laces are visible on one of the standing shepherds, indicating this is one of the Standard Color sets. Using subtle little clues like these dated boxes, it might be relatively safe to say the newer style decorated box and the stable front became available after 1953 and before the Christmas season of 1954.

With the introduction of the stable and large box, it is entirely possible Hartland abandoned the Large Blue Gloria Angel in favor of the White Angel with pastel colored pink and blue wings.

The scan above comes from a group of Dealer Jobber Sheets from what I am fairly sure was for the 1955 year. The group of four sheets contained Horse and Rider sets that match up perfectly with sets we can reliably date to 1955. (The scan shows only the Nativity Sets section) The 7" Nativity Sets were sold in three, nine, nineteen, twenty and twenty one piece sets—all listed as "Painted" sets.

It took quite a while to find Hartland Nativity sets in catalogs, but it finally happened! The image on the left falls right into place, with the Standard color scheme and large Gloria Angel in 1955 and again in 1956 in the John Plain Books (catalogs). John Plain catalogs were printed in the fall of the year for the upcoming catalog of the named year. In other words, the 1955 catalog was printed in late 1954 and the 1956 catalog was printed in late 1955. So, the stable set with the large White Gloria Angel is relatively confirmed for 1954 and 1955, even if only shown as a 19 piece set.

The image on the right is also from a John Plain Book. The same photo was used in the 1957 and 1958 catalogs, indicating the smaller angel was part of the set in late 1956 and again in late 1957. The shepherds behind the bull has white boots with black laces and the hair on most figures is very dark. The 19 Piece Nativity set being sold through John Plain is basically the same as the larger photo, shown below of a 21 piece Hartland Nativity Set. Apparently, the John Plain company ordered the 235- P-19 set listed in the Dealer Jobber Price Sheet above.

While it might be slightly misleading, the John Plain Books were actually printed between July and September of the year prior to the published date on the front and end of the catalog. So, realistically, the buyer might have actually received their 1955 catalog in October or November of 1954 in time to order for the 1954 Christmas Season—even though the book was intended to be primarily used during the following year. Unfortunately, the 1959 and 1960 John Plain Books did not show a Hartland Nativity Set, but instead, they opted for a much less expensive set made by another manufacturer.

21 Piece Standard Color Set with Small Gloria Angel:

Standard Color Figures:

Three Piece Holy Family Group:
By the time these figures were produced, Hartland had gone back in on the molds and added the Diamond I imprint on almost all figures. Mary and Joseph both have gold trim around their collars and Mary has some additional gold trim on her sleeves. Depending on the specific year, Joseph's white gown might be either white plastic or painted white, with normally a deep red robe. The Christ Child on my set has painted white clothing, with painted arms, legs, and face. While most figures in this color variation have black hair and beards, most Mary and Joseph figures have light brown hair.

Shepherds Group:
These pieces are normally all marked with Diamond I. The two shepherds have white boots and black laces, along with dark hair. Additionally, the three shepherds have slightly muted paint finishes on the backs, as seen in the photo on the right above.

Wise Men Group:
Again, these figures are almost always marked with Diamond I on the underside. This grouping of figures all have dark hair and beards.

Camel & Camel Keeper:
Many sets were sold lacking the Camel and Camel Keeper, though some had just the Camel. The cape or blanket on the Camel in this color scheme was painted purple, instead of the soft blue from the previous set. The Camel Keeper is brightly decorated, too. Due to the fact many sets were sold without the Camel Keeper, they are relatively hard to find.

Bull and Donkey:
The Bulls on most Hartland Nativity sets are almost all identical. The Donkey is all the sets I have seen with the Standard Colors have been painted solid dark gray, lacking the white blaze found on the Soft Color Set and also the Pastel Color Set.

Opened Decorated Box (no date)
12" x 19" x 4"

Box Notes:
If you study the Dealer Jobber Pricing sheet near the middle of this page, you would see quite a few sets and variations listed. From what I can determine so far, sets shipped without the stable prior to the introduction of the stable, probably were shipped in generic cardboard boxes, similar to the one near the top of this page. The box above looks like it was created specifically for the stable and accompanying pieces. The white cardboard liner/divider could be lifted out, revealing the stable front and cardboard back as seen in the far right photo. More than likely, the same box was used when shipping out a 20 piece set, lacking the stable to save box production costs.

Cardboard Stable Back

Small Box Notes:
The larger box shown above was large enough to hold the stable and back, along with up to 20 figures. Those boxes also contain the line "Exquisitely Hand Decorated". Hartland also created a smaller decorated box which lacked that line of text, generally believe to be used only for the unpainted sets, all of which seem to lack a stable of any kind. The size of the smaller box was 11" x 14" x 3.5". Read more about the boxes on that dedicated page.

Midnight Clear Instruction Sheet:
Some of the Standard Color Nativity Sets shipped with the Midnight Clear sheet. They are very hard to find now, so it is hard to suggest all sets had them. Mine came in a set with the small Gloria Angel.
Click Here to view a much larger image

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This page last modified Friday, October 19, 2007