pucciManuli - A Remarkable Collection

Magna Carta Rocking Horse
This magnificent English Walnut rocking horse is made from one of the ancient English Walnut trees planted on Runnymede Island, in the middle of the River Thames, to celebrate the momentous signing of the Magna Carta.  Stevenson Brothers of Bethersden, England was fortunate enough to be offered one of these trees and has transformed this very special wood into a rare limited edition of just ten (10) Magna Carta rocking horses.  

Beautifully carved from this very special English Walnut, this rocking horse is based on a 1910 design originally manufactured by the legendary F.H. Ayres, purveyor of the finest rocking horses during the Victorian era, and prized by children of all ages and British royalty alike. The horse is hand carved to show musculature and constructed using the traditional Victorian method of mortise and tenon, ensuring a sturdier connection between joints than the common dowel and peg style that weakens after years of riding.

This Magna Carta rocking horse is fitted with exquisite English cowhide leather tack specially commissioned and made by the Royal Horse Artillery saddlers.  In addition, two of King John’s Royal standards have been embroidered on the gold-edged saddlecloth. The tack is removable to allow the beautiful grain of the walnut to be fully appreciated.  The Magna Carta seal has been recreated in silver, gold plated, and fitted on the front of the martingale. As you see above, her majesty, the Queen of England was indeed impressed during a recent visit to the Windsor Horse Trials.

Mounted on a Victorian safety stand, designed in 1878 by PJ Marqua of Cincinnati, Ohio, the horse comes complete with a real horse hair mane and tail and hallmarked gold plaque bearing the makers name, date and unique number.  Only one (1) Magna Carta horse remains available.  This heirloom quality rocking horse is an investment in authentic English craftsmanship from the most highly regarded makers in the field.  Beautiful in any setting, this truly timeless piece of equine sculpture is rideable by children of all ages.


Green Policy
Working with hardwoods brings with it an environmental responsibility, which the brothers honor: whenever possible, timbers are bought from suppliers supporting the code of conduct of the International Tropical Timber Organizations.  The timber used by Stevenson Brothers comes from plantations with a sound replanting policy.  As a double guarantee that the wood of your rocking horse is being replaced, we will send you a tree which you can plant and care for in your own garden.

As with all of Stevenson Brothers’ rocking horses, you also have the ability to custom build your very own horse: chose one (1) of three (3) horse sizes, the type of wood carved, the type of stand your horse is mounted on, the fittings, whether or not and/or how you want your horse painted, and the colors of the leather saddle and suede saddle blanket.  In addition, you can choose to include a secret locking compartment and inscribe your very own message on the included plaque.  To discuss all of your options, please contact us directly at 484-466-2067.


About the Magna Carta
Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter", literally "Great Paper") is an English charter originally issued in 1215, and the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today.  It has influenced many common law and other documents, such as the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights and is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.

King John's unsuccessful attempts to defend his dominions in Normandy and much of western France led to oppressive demands on his subjects. Taxes were extortionate; reprisals against defaulters were ruthless, and John's administration of justice was considered capricious. In January of 1215, a group of barons demanded a charter of liberties as a safeguard against the King's arbitrary behavior. The barons took up arms against John and captured London in May of 1215.

By June 10th both parties met and held negotiations at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames. The concessions made by King John were outlined in a document known as the 'Articles of the Barons', to which the King's great seal was attached, and on June 19th, the barons renewed their oaths of allegiance to the King. Meanwhile the royal chancery produced a formal royal grant, based on the agreements reached at Runnymede, which became known as Magna Carta.

Carving rocking horses has been a Stevenson family tradition for over 60 years. The quality of their workmanship is unquestionable, from the selection of the best kiln-dried timber (to prevent warping) and the standard of the joinery to the hand-stitched leather tack, the real horse hair for mane and tail, and realistic eyes. The insistence on perfection is clear, as each horse comes with a lifetime guarantee. Having made over 6,000 rocking horses to date, they are collected the world over.

Though small clay horses on wheels have been discovered in graves from as early as 1200 B.C. (perhaps for budding knights to practice their jousting skills), the first toy horse that could be ridden was the hobby, or stick, horse that dates to Greek and Roman times. One story has it that Socrates himself, frolicking with his young sons, was spotted cantering about on a pole adorned by a horse head.


The craftsman who first placed a wooden horse on rockers—a likely outgrowth of the cradle—is unknown, but by the end of the 18th century, rocking horses had evolved into ornately crafted, fiery chargers at full gallop, heads outstretched, horsehair manes and tails flowing, glass eyes gleaming. Queen Victoria’s nine children insisted on bringing a dapple-gray on family vacations. Napoléon’s young son, Joseph-Charles-François, treasured his painted pony. Sweden’s King Karl XV and King Prajadhipok of Thailand rode rocking horses in their youth (as did the current heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, on a model carefully selected for him by Queen Elizabeth II).


For a long time, rocking horses were the purview of the rich. Then, with the increasing prosperity brought on by the Industrial Revolution, they became nursery fixtures of children born to an emerging middle class. There have been many permutations. In Germany, wooden and papier-mâché horse frames were often covered with calfskin. In bicycle-crazed France, velocipede rockers—wooden horses mounted on tricycles—were all the rage. Inventive Victorian manufacturers made horses with multiple seats to accommodate up to three children at a time, a model the Stevenson brothers have revived. In the United States, toymakers fashioned complicated if failure-prone spring-loaded horses that approximated a trotting motion.


Americans also produced some of the more flamboyant designs, adopting the style of carousel horses popular at fairgrounds and carnivals. An American also scored a safety breakthrough: in 1878, to guard against horse and rider going head over heels, not to mention scratching floors, bumping into furniture or squashing small fingers and toes, Philip Marqua of Cincinnati patented a safety stand to which the horse’s legs are attached. (Purists, of course, disdain the stands.)


As immigrants poured into this country throughout the 19th century, craftsmen arriving from every corner of Europe applied their talents to America’s rocking horses. Dozens of workshops, many of which employed Old World artisans, sprang up between the 1850s and the turn of the century. (The young Dwight Eisenhower earned pocket money sanding rocking horses at a now-defunct shop in Abilene, Kansas.) Few of these studios endured, in part because skilled wood-carvers flocked to the more lucrative market in carousel horses. One rocking horse manufacturer from that era, the Whitney Reed Corporation of Leominster, Massachusetts, survived for nearly 100 years, only to succumb in the 1950s to postwar parents’ preference for such trendy playthings as hula hoops and Betsy Wetsy dolls.