4- Vintage Plastic Stuart Horse and Anchor Wagon Buggy Carriage

4- Vintage Plastic Stuart Horse and Anchor Wagon Buggy Carriage Samuel Levinson retired from the Stuart Manufacturing Company in 1958. The Stuart Company, now owned by former partner, Dexter Balterman, moved to 337 Fifth Street because of increased space needed to meet Western toy demand. Levinson stayed at 215 W. Fourth Street to establish another company - the Anchor Buggy and Carriage Company, for creating exact miniature plastic carriage models. Based on carriages made by the original Anchor Buggy and Carriage Company in Cincinnati, Levinson had acquired permission from Anchor in 1935 to use their name for his idea. Anchor made colorful plastic carriage parts which snapped together for easy assembly. The detachable rubbery harnesses in black or brown were made for Anchor solid-bodied prancing horses (see photos below). These models were sold in toy stores, department stores and hobby shops. Anchor soft Plastic horses are 3 13/16 inches tall. Known horse colors are white (most common), black, silver and gray. Notice the difference in some of the harnesses in the photos, below. It is possible Anchor made other models but promotional materials were lost. The known sets are: Two Horse Sleigh (popular in 1885), Runabout (first vehicle of the early West with steel springs), Buckboard (used in the Western frontier), Surrey (1800s canopy-top family vehicle), Sulky (used as a racer), Landau (built for President Grant), Phaeton (six-passenger carriage popular up to the days of the motor vehicle), Victoria Carriage (built for Queen Victoria), Lincoln Carriage (built for President Lincoln), Convertible, Buggy and Welcome Santa Clause (4 reindeer, Santa and sleigh. Anchor also made Champions, a set consisting of 3 Anchor buggy horses. In the United States, Anchor Carriage toys were especially popular in the Pennsylvania and Ohio Mennonite areas. One newspaper article dated July 6, 1962 reported that Levinson sold a million models in the U.S. before receiving offers from companies to market the toys in Europe. And, that he was traveling to Europe that August to complete arrangements with several toymakers who wanted to make and distribute carriage models to the Common Market countries. Anchor knockoffs were later made in Hong Kong, 1/72 scale.