Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos:
General Washington and Variations

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009
George Washington: #815
This set first appeared in the brochures in early 1957, but shown only in a line drawing, and on a Semi-Rearing horse. The second 1957 brochure shows him on a standard Walking horse. He appears in that same photo on the brochures until 1962. In 1963, the set was still listed as being available, but not shown in a photo. Unfortunately, by 1964, the Western and Historical figures were eliminated altogether. Continuing in the “Historical Figures” tradition, set by the Lee and Custer, the Washington set did not have a specific TV western tie in. The set was re-introduced in 1993 by Stevens Plastics.

George Washington: #815 on Ajax with Wavy Tail:
This is by far the most common variation of this set. Hartland created a special mold just for the cropped mane, wavy tailed horses. Since most of the cropped manes I have ever seen have been slightly different, I always assumed they were cut off with a band saw. I have been since informed that the deviations in the manes might be due to the trimming knife being used to clean up fringe around the mane after gluing the two halves together.

George Washington: #815 on Ajax with Slender Tail:
While I don’t personally own this horse, several collectors tell me they do. I keep an eye out for one, but it is by far harder to find than the wavy tailed Ajax shown above. Similar to the Custer sets, Hartland used both styles. We have recently learned that Hartland created a special mold with the wavy tail that had the cropped mane. If they created another mold with the slender tailed, cropped mane horse, it has not been found. The wavy tailed horse was used with the Stevens remakes in 1993.

George Washington: #815 on Semi-Rearing Ajax:
While I don’t have any SOLID proof that Washington was ever shipped on a Semi-Rearing horse, but evidence is fairly strong that he did for a short period of time. The original pen drawing used on the early 1957 brochure and the painting on the box show him on a horse with at least on leg in the air. A couple of collectors have told me they ran across Washington on a Semi-Rearing Ajax, along with a similar experience of my own. This horse is basically the same as the Brave Eagle horse which was introduced around the same time as Washington. I am fairly certain that for this horse to be correctly combined, it would need to be the full wavy tailed version AND have painted hooves. On the same note, Brave Eagle was shown originally on a Semi-Rearing horse, but was apparently sold on a walking horse (with black hooves) for a short period of time. A few collectors have speculated that Hartland must have run into problems with that mold in the beginning and were forced to use a different horse. Cheyenne, originally shown on the brochures on a walking horse, was removed from one batch of brochures. He later shipped on the Semi-Rearing horse.

Original George Washington #815
This figure doesn’t have many variations. In the original brochures, he is drawn with a semi-rearing spotted horse but he actually shipped with a cropped mane walking horse. He carries a sword and a thirteen star Colonial flag. The early set has a very small hole in his left hand for the slender bamboo flag pole. Washington sets are fairly easy to find.

Mold Mark: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” inside right boot.

Stevens Plastics George Washington
This set was recast from the original molds in 1993 and looks quite a bit like the originals The paint is brighter and his skin is much darker than the sets made in the 50’s but it is pretty close. Stevens drilled out his hand to hold the larger plastic flag pole.

Mold Mark: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” inside right boot.

Stevens George Washington 1993-1994
Another nice set and quite true to the original. The Stevens flag poles are much thicker than the old bamboo ones and the hole in his hand are a dead giveaway. Great sword and hat. The saddle if very nice but seems to be a little thicker on parts of the saddle and the color is a little brighter than early pieces. Ajax, his horse is almost a dead ringer for the original. It came in an attractive see-through box.
Washington Box:
By the 1957, all new sets were being shipped in distinctive full color boxes. Washington received his own box with Bugler in a rearing pose. That further increases the possibility he might have been originally designed for a Semi-Rearing horse.
Washington Photos and Tag:
The drawing on the right appeared in the early 1957 brochure. It was later replaced with the photo on the middle. The tags for all three generals were in the shape of this shield. It has blue lettering and string. They are easier to find than most tags, but are still very collectable.
Mold Mark
Washington: “©Hartland Plastics, Inc.” inside right boot.
Washington Military Saddle
George Washington was the only figure to use this saddle. The cream color around the edges of the saddle are a bit more muted than the saddle Stevens Plastics recast in 1993 and 1994. The cream color is more yellow on the remakes.
Washington Hats:
This is a distinctive hat, worn only by George Washington. The Stevens remakes were very true to the vintage ones, with about the only difference being the brighter gold paint on the medallion.
Washington Sword:
This sword is shared with Lee and Custer. The Stevens swords are almost identical.

Washington Flag:
The photos of the Washington sets at the top of this page were taken with a repro nylon flag. The few I have are very brittle after 40+ years. He carries a Colonial 13 Star Flag sewn to a bamboo post. Stevens sets have thicker plastic posts and are made of nylon instead of silk.