Footnotes: On Hair
Julip models can be found with a range of hair types due to the company's experiments with different fibers in their efforts to find one which was durable, attractive, and cost-effective.
The very earliest advertisements in 1953 show a handful of models with latex manes and tails. It is unknown how long the models were produced this way, but it must not have been long as, with the exception of the foal, latex-haired models have not been found by collectors.
Before the switch to nylon in the 1990s, wool was most commonly used, except for the black models which used mohair as the wool did not take black dye well.
Vintage Thoroughbred with wool
Julip was wise enough not to put all of their eggs in one basket; while they did experiment a bit, they did not do so with all of their orders. So while some people would receive horses haired with an experimental fiber, others would receive a model with the standard wool or mohair.
It is theorised that models produced for sale in the Beauchamp Place shop were more likely to be given mohair or wool manes and tails, while mail-order models may have had a higher chance of receiving an experimental fiber.
A red roan Vintage Yearling
In late 1969 or early 1970 a batch of Julips were produced with cream bodies heavily speckled with chestnut roaning and given curly orange-red mohair manes and tails.
The colour, which was highly unpopular with Julip collectors, is very similar to the popular "Red Roan which appeared a few years later on some Breyer - perhaps the colour was Julip-inspired. The colour was less successful for Julip and it took several years to sell off all of these speckled spares.
Around 1973, some Julips were haired with a somewhat coarse fiber, similar to unravelled string, which became brittle over time and wasn't particularly attractive. It is thought this material was only used for a few months before being abandoned.
Circa 2008 Julip with Nylon Hair
Mohair seems to have been used last around 1990. Later models, both spares and special orders, were haired with nylon hair; with a few mohair exceptions in 2012. This was one experiment which proved successful and the use of mohair continued until Julip Originals took over production of the non-HOTY models in 2013.
2015 Julip with Mohair
The first few models produced by Julip Originals in 2013 were haired with nylon, but the material is difficult to work with, and some feel not as attractive as natural fibers, so subsequent models returned to the traditional mohair.
From the beginning the Horse of the Year (HOTY) models were produced with nylon hair; sometimes collectors will rehair them with mohair later on.
Hair can be an unreliable indicator of age as rehairing models, due to damage or for aesthetic reasons, is a common practise among Julip collectors. Most sellers will mention if a model has been rehaired, though it is always best to ask if you have concerns.