The Lines family made rocking horses for almost a century. They are very important makers who produced first class rocking horses and many novel designs. George and Joseph Lines worked together from about 1876 to develop their company G & J Lines to be one of the largest toy makers in Britain. The family business split and reformed over the years and traded with the names G & J Lines, G & J Lines Ltd, Lines Brothers Ltd, Triangtois and Tri-ang.
Many of their horses have a typical shape making them identifiable, particularly those made in the 20th century. Older horses are harder to recognize and some other makers worked to very similar patterns when supplying the large retailers which can be confusing. The good news is that quite a lot of Lines horses had some identifying marks. Many of their Sportiboy brand horses have their clamp brackets stamped, eg L B L SP2, which stands for Lines Brothers Ltd Sportiboy size 2 ( or other numbers). Older brackets may have G&J L Ld L for G & J Lines Ltd London, often also with a number. There are variations of the exact lettering made over the years and some older brackets are labelled on the under side rather than the top. Other horses may have a metal badge on the chest with a name and a thistle, or the Triangtois or Tri-ang metal badges or transfers on their stands.
CARE ! A company who used to be called Duplay seem to have acquired the Tri-ang name. What looks like imported horses are now being sold under the Tri-ang label. They are not like the old Lines Bros and Tri-ang horses and should not be confused with them. The horses are clearly new now and they are very different to the old Lines horses in appearance. I expect as they get a bit worn with use, the labelling will cause some people to assume they are old Lines horses. As with all new horses, they could become sought after antiques in a hundred years or so.
Some pictures of old Lines horses follow: