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.
Some pictures follow; I don't have many good quality photos of old Lines horses in original paint so if anyone would like to put up a good example here, do email. I will be very happy to acknowledge the source.