1958-63 Hartland Statues

BASEBALL: The statues bear an excellent resemblence (particularly the facial features of the baseball characters) to the personalities portrayed. Of the 20 baseball Hartland statues, 18 are full sized (8") replicas of popular major league baseball players. In addition to the standard-sized baseball statues, two others were produced, the Little Leaguer and the 4" batter. The 6" Little Leaguer, sometimes called the "batboy", was produced for a short per… [Read More]

BASEBALL: The statues bear an excellent resemblence (particularly the facial features of the baseball characters) to the personalities portrayed. Of the 20 baseball Hartland statues, 18 are full sized (8") replicas of popular major league baseball players. In addition to the standard-sized baseball statues, two others were produced, the Little Leaguer and the 4" batter. The 6" Little Leaguer, sometimes called the "batboy", was produced for a short period of time by the Hartland Company unitl legal problems with Little League, Inc., of Williamsport, PA over the use of the name Little League curtailed production. The 4" batter, which is supposedly part of a miniature set including a golfer, a bowler, and a tennis player, is a nameless replica of a batter attached to a black base and is relatively scarce. Originally, the statues could be purchased at ballparks, department stores, five and dime stores and similar retail establishments for around $2 in a box with the picture of the player inside printed on the box. The statues were issued in the order listed in the checklist below. Many of the statues included a removable piece (bat, mask) or a standing aide (toe plate, pitching rubber, base) in addition to the player himself. The bats came in a small and large size and the toe plate is either white or purple. At least three of the statues are known to exist in more than one form. The Mays statue has either an orange or light brown glove. The Aparicio statue comes with or without a toe plate (to aid the figure in standing). The Aaron statue variations are the only one's known where there appears to be a definite change or alteration made to the statue mold. One style has the right foot flat on the surface on which it stood. This style also has the hands configured in a manner to give the impression that the bat is tilted toward's Aaron's head. The other style of Aaron has, in its most stable standing position, the toe of the right foot raised considerably from the surface and has the hands of Aaron configured so that the bat is parallel to Aaron's head. The facial color of this variation is noticeably lighter (More brown than black) than the first variation. Additional versions of the Fox and Aparicio statues have been reported; however, the reports can not be confirmed. Supposedly, the red border around the word "Sox" was omitted to save painting time for a "Hurry-up" promotional event at a Chicago ball park. Condition grades for Hartland statues are somewhat different from condition grades for cards. The prime determinants of a statue's condition are boldness and clarity of the painted parts, number and scarcity of scratches, yellowing, and the ability of the statue to stand by itself. Repaired statues should be noted as such. An Ex-Mt or better Hartland staute should have boldly painted markings which have shown little fading; very minor, if any, scratches; little or no yellowing; and the ability to stand by itself without the aid of bracing or adhesive additions. Collectibles statues with noticable wear, fading, yellowing and such statues are normally held only as fillers until a better condition replacement can be found. Each statue, except Roger Maris came with a red 2" circular name tag. Below values are for statues out of the box. Statues and all accessories in sealed boxes are valued significantly higher. [Collapse]