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Sgt. Preston of the Yukon #804
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Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009
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Hartland created Sgt. Lance O’Rourke as a Canadian Mountie in early 1955. He did not have any sort of official TV tie-in, but sold fairly well. Also in 1955, a TV show appeared called “Sgt. Preston of the Yukon” starring Richard Simmons. Hartland created a new figure for that show. For a short period of time, Hartland used their older Sgt. O’Rourke figure and renamed him Preston. To help confuse matters, in 1958, Hartland showed a Lance O’Rourke style set in the brochure, but labeled him as Sgt. Preston. See the photos below. |
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| As you can see, Hartland labeled this set as Preston for a while. Additionally, several collectors confirm getting the O’Rourke style set in their Sgt. Preston boxed sets when they were kids. By 1959, the brochures showed Preston in his correct combination. |
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Sgt. Preston, the specially designed one, rides on a walking black horse. I don’t even own all of them! The earliest sets probably had horses with brown tack, while later ones had red tack. Hartland created a stand alone horse called Black Beauty, which also had red tack with silver accents. The first brochure to actually show this version of the set mentions “black horse with red trappings”. More than likely, they sold quite a few sets with the brown before they made the switch. A unique full rearing variation of the Sgt. Preston is now believed to be legitimate. The horse has brown tack.
Here is a list of possible horses:
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Black Walking Horse - Brown Tack- Wavy Tail - Cropped Mane
Black Walking Horse - Brown Tack - Wavy Tail- Full Mane
Black Walking Horse - Brown Tack - Slender Tail - Full Mane
Black Walking Horse - Red Tack - Wavy Tail - Full Mane†
Black Walking Horse - Red Tack - Slender Tail - Full Mane
Black Walking Horse - Red Tack - Slender Tail - Cropped Mane*
Black Full Rearing Horse - Brown Bridle and Martingale. |
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Black Beauty sets included versions of the Semi-Rearing and Full Rearing horses, but I don’t believe Sgt. Preston was ever sold on one of them. Some collectors speculate that a few O’Rourke figues might have been shipped on a wavy tailed style walking horses with brown tack. I am not sure of this one, however, if it did ship, I would be fairly certain it was labeled as a Preston set. |
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Here’s an example of how things can get confusing on this set. The horse has a slender tail, full mane, and has only a red bridle—there is no martingale! I can’t be certain if it is a Black Beauty variation or a horse for Preston? There is no indication of tampering by a previous collector. This horse also lacks some of the silver detailing, commonly found with the other horses with red tack. It the bridle was painted brown, it would go with Randall, but this bridle is definitely red. |
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| The Preston figure is slightly larger than O’Rourke and he has his right hand out to carry the flag (O’Rourke is the figure in the rollover). Being larger, Preston’s hat is also quite a bit bigger than the O’Rourke counterpart |
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Sgt. Preston Variations
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Preston on Walker, brown tack
with full mane and full tail
By the time Preston was introduced, this horse mold had already been and by the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, and Wyatt Earp—their’s were different colors, of course. It appears to me that they just painted up the horse style they had the most of at the time! . |
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Preston on Walker, brown tack
with full mane and slender tail
I have no idea why Hartland paired this rider with so many horses, but this one was probably the last one prior to the setting getting the red bridle and martingale. Several sets went through slight changes as the newer horses were produced. |
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Preston Printed Information
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Preston Box:
When Hartland abandoned the name “O’Rourke”, opting for Preston, they continued with the original #804 designation and used O’Rourke’s box. They applied a decal over the top and bottom of the flaps. This box —front and back—was shared with Earp and Chief Thunderbird.
Boxes Page |
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Preston Tag:
This set shipped with an oval shaped hang red tag with white lettering. They are difficult to find. Tags Page |
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Preston Brochure Photo
Starting in 1959, Hartland used this photo on the brochures, replacing the O’Rourke version. The set, and this photo, stayed on the brochures until 1961. Knowing the newer set sold for three years, I have always been surprised at how few of them show up! Since the figure appeared in 1959, but the show ended in 1958, demand must have been low. Brochures Pages |
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Figure
Number |
Show Name |
Star’s Name |
Figure’s Name |
Studio Name |
Show Years |
Brochure Years |
804
Preston |
Sgt. Preston of the Yukon |
Richard Simmons |
Sgt. Preston |
Wrather Corp |
1955-1958 |
1958-1961 |
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| *With a little help from “Total Television” by Alex McNeil 1996, 4th Edition |
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Mold Marks:
Preston figure: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” on the back of the left glove.
Preston saddle: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” on the underside. |
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Preston Accessories
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Preston Silk Flag
Original silk flags are very hard to find. Of the group of four, this one is by far the hardest to find! Mine came to me with a mint O’Rourke set, so it might have shipped with a few of the later O’Rourke style sets, even if they were called Prestons. The flags are roughly 4" x 6" with a black bamboo post. Many have “Hong Kong” printed on a small white label at the bottom of the post.
Flags Page
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Preston Mountie Pistol
If there is a difference in the Preston pistol and an O’Rourke pistol, I have never seen it. A piece of white cord is tied to the ring in the handle, and then tied in a loop that goes around the Mountie’s neck. Weapons Page |
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Preston Mountie Saddle
Without knowing to look at the saddles, I don’t think most people would notice there is a slight difference. (compare the rollover) The little crown over the letter is wider on this unpiles there is a lesser bend along the bottom. The Mountie are some of the hardest vintage saddles to find intact.
Saddles Pages
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Preston Hat
While basically the same as O’Rourke’s hat, this one is quite a bit larger.
Hats Pages |
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This page last modified Friday, October 19, 2007
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