Circa 1930 Corcoran Manufacturing Company Black Beauty Steel Glider Horse

Description

Very Rare Large Steel gorgeous functional glider horse made by the Corcoran Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1930-1931. Measurements … more Very Rare Large Steel gorgeous functional glider horse made by the Corcoran Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1930-1931. Measurements are 36” W x 12 3/4” D x 28 1/4” H. It reads Green Arrow Line on the front of the wooden base and Nobby Hobby on both sides of the base. I believe it is made of 20 gauge steel. The original cast iron stirrups with straps will be included and they are not attached to the horse. The horse still has some of the leather bridle attached to its face. The eyes, nostrils, teeth, and mouth are painted on. It has not ever been restored that I can tell. I have only lightly oiled it. The horse is very rare. It is gorgeous in its current state.
The steel horse was made by a company in Cincinnati, Ohio called Corcoran Manufacturing Company owned by William Corcoran. They made steel glider horses, pedal horses, and toy riding pedal planes. See photos for an original brochure from the company with a photograph of the horse in the right hand lower corner of the advertisement. Corcoran Mfg. Co. was incorporated in Cincinnati in 1916. The company was dissolved in 1934. “Nobby Hobby” is a gliding horse attached to a stationary base sometimes called a “safety stand” or “swinger stand.” A similar stand was patented by Philip Marqua of Cincinnati in 1878 as an “Improvement in Hobby or Rocking-Horses.” Rocking horses were sometimes called “exercising” horses. Steel rocking horses are extremely rare. Corcoran Manufacturing Company - The brother of the owner also had a lamp company that made lamps for carriages and model t fords. They also had a company called Victor lamps and a company called Peerless. Peerless made parts for model t fords.
I also found the following information about the family businesses on the Antique Automobile International website on the Model T Ford forum on March 18, 2021:
Thomas J. Corcoran's great grandson, Jeff Corcoran, posted the following:
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The Corcoran Lamp Company was started by Thomas H. Corcoran after the civil war in Cincinnati, OH. 
They made carriage lamps. At one point they were considered the largest lamp manufacturer in the US. 
Thomas H. had 5 sons and 3 daughters. The oldest was my great grandfather, Thomas J. 
Other siblings were John L, Edward B, George, William J, Alice, Jenny, and Mary.
Thomas J. took over the Carriage lamp business in the late 1800's and in 1905 he discontinued marketing to the carriage lamp industry and focused on manufacturing auto lamps. 

William Corcoran (brother of Thomas J) started Corcoran Manufacturing Co. They produced aftermarket products for Ford, Chev and others. One of their brands was "Peerless". 

Edward started the Victor Lamp Co. and was a competitor of Corcoran Lamp until Thomas J bought out his brother around 1918. The company became Corcoran-Victor Lamp Co. 
Corcoran Lamp Co had 2 plants. One plant in Cincinnati and one in Detroit. After the Detroit plant closed, (early teens I believe), William Durant, a friend of Thomas J, assembled the first Chevrolet in the Corcoran plant
In the '20s, the company reverted to "Corcoran Lamp Co, dropping Victor from the name. Corcoran then bought out Jno. Brown Lamps in Columbus Oh. Not sure of the date but the company became Corcoran-Brown and continued under that name until the early 1940's when the company was sold to "Electric Auto Lite". During the 40's, Corcoran-Brown produced a large variety of lamps for the military. Thomas J died in 1940.
******************************************** Provenance:
The horse first belonged to a lady who got it as a child in Cincinnati, Ohio. She kept it all her life and when she died she willed it to her best friend as she had no heirs. Her best friend saved it and when she died she willed it to her own family. Her grand children played with it and once they were too old to play with it anymore their Mom sold it to me.
I displayed the horse as decor in a Tex-mex restaurant that has recently closed. I added a bracket to the bottom of each of the legs of the stand so that I could tastefully secure it to the top of a pony wall without compromising the integrity of the stand. The horse has stood the test of time and was made so well. It is such a beautiful piece of Americana art and yet still a fully functional child’s toy. less