I have seen much written on ebay about these brasses so here is a quick history on them. The canal location brass where originally cast in England for the company called "Lockmaster" from the mid 1980's for the then growing tourist interest in the canals. To my knowledge there are around 82 designs of these, the earliest castings of these will often have a stamp which states "Lockmaster Made in England" This is the same company who also invented and make the oval canal location plaques. When the original owners of Lockmaster sold the company in the 1990s the new owners moved the manufacture of these items over to India so from that point onwards the stamp was removed from both the horse brasses and oval plaques. Sometime around the millennium the production of these horse brasses ceased as the UK's buying public moved away from horse brasses and brass in general. I have spoken to "Lockmaster" about the possibilities of having these recast but it doesn't seam likely.
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Horse brasses are a perfect addition to traditionally themed designs, adding historic interest and a traditional feel. The warmth of the brass adds to a comforting and homely atmosphere. They also make for a thoughtful and inexpensive gift for those who enjoy collecting historic mementos or artefacts.
I've recently restored this piece using a professional brass cleaning solution, followed up with a very light precision mechanical buff then some hand polishing with Brasso to ensure a high quality long term protected finish - so that you can enjoy your purchase without the hassle of cleaning upon receipt!
While every effort is made to clean these antique items back to their original condition and have them shiny again, sometimes it's better to leave some of the scratches or pitting in place because it is important not to risk further wear or damage to the remaining details. I'm sure you understand. Brass is a very soft metal, so the details on many of these horse brasses are not as sharp as they once were intended to be by the original craftsman when originally manufactured and cast. Many of these have already been lovingly cleaned hundreds of times in the past, so I take great care to only gently restore the full glossy finish of the face, and more often than not I clean the backs very lightly, removing only the worst of any debris.
Where the horse brass was nicotine stained, lacquered, or if large deposits of polishing debris were present, I used a professional brass restoration fluid, which is a slightly acidic solution. This dissolves these residues and makes sure that the original surface is restored to a high lustre with all of the details, lines, letters, gutters, channels and curves fully on show, providing an easy maintenance free collectable which will last well into the future.
Should your chosen Horse Brass become dull or tarnished while on display in my shop, before packing I will make sure to carefully buff it so that you receive the bright and shiny design that you see above, so that it will be ready for you to display upon receipt.
While I have made every effort to capture to true colour of the horse brasses in my adverts, as you can imagine it isn't so easy under many light conditions, to add to this many historic makers used many different types and qualities of brass as was available to them in their time, so please do expect some colour variations because digital photography is also known to cause colour distortion, please check the photos carefully before purchase as these form part of the description. If you have any questions please contact me and I can upload some more photos - and I'm always happy to have a chat!
All horse brasses are sent in a reinforced bubble mailing bag, with the brasses themselves in a paper bag
All horse brasses are sent using Royal Mail 2nd Class (economy) services in the UK and also shipped globally using eBay's in-house worldwide delivery services. (Sorry, I don't set the prices on this!) Generally my last dispatch of the day is around 2pm GMT (10am on Saturdays, no dispatch on Sundays) so orders before this time "should" be in the post the same day. All items are presented to my local post office where a postal receipt is obtained and will be available upon your request. All items are sent at the buyers risk unless you contact me to arrange postal services by recorded delivery BEFORE completing your transaction.
I am very happy to combine postage on multiple items. If you would like to buy more than one item, please just ADD each of these into your basket (ensuring they are all from the same seller!). When you're ready to pay, click the pay now button and the shipping discount will be applied across the multiple items in your basket. Combined shipping only applies when all items purchased are paid for in one payment. Please check the eBay help section for more info on combined shipping rules and regulations. (usually at the bottom of the page). Please ask if you have any queries.
If for any reason you are not happy with your purchase please contact me to arrange a return. All returns must be received within 14 days of purchase and in the same condition as received by the buyer. A full refund can then be arranged, but it WILL NOT include postage (unless there is a fault or mistake as per eBay rules and regulations).