Small Fred Harvey Style Horse Pin [SOLD]

The Fred Harvey Company opened its first restaurant along the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF) in Florence, Kansas in 1878.  The business boomed rapidly after that, growing to include more than 80 facilities in the Southwest from Chicago to Los Angeles. The company employed pretty, young women to serve customers and collaborated with architect Mary Colter to create buildings that reflected the culture of the Southwest. Attached to the restaurants were gift shops, the purpose of which was to provide suitable “Indian” souvenirs to the travelers.

This small pin is an example of one of the more popular designs the Fred Harvey Company carried in its souvenir shops.  It is a small animal, a dog, or a horse perhaps. Whatever it is, it is an icon of the Fred Harvey Company. The squared head and small legs create a whimsical creature that was very popular with tourists. This pin has only two stamps—a crossed arrow and a whirling log. The whirling log symbol dates this pin as pre-1930s. After Hitler began using a similar design, the artists ceased using it because of the horrific association with the German dictator.

Condition: The Small Fred Harvey Style Horse Pin has a beautiful patina from age and is in great condition

Provenance: From an estate in Oklahoma

Recommended Reading: Inventing the Southwest: The Fred Harvey Company and Native American Art, by Diana F. Pardue and Kathleen Howard