Date: Fri 23-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

Saddle

Full Text:

Western Saddle Sets $55,000 Record

with 5 cuts

By William Manns

MESA, ARIZ. -- For the ninth consecutive year the Mesa Wild West Auction and

Show took place on January 23 and 24. This event is one of the two premier

Cowboy and Western antique shows held. The show's promoters are Linda Kohn and

Joseph Sherwood, who do business as High Noon out of Los Angeles. This is

their single largest project of the year and they pour every ounce of their

energy into it.

The show attracts approximately 200 of the premier dealers in western antiques

from throughout the nation. Many traveled from as far away as New York and

Massachusetts to exhibit. Dealers save their finest quality and rarest cowboy

relics for this weekend event. The show is filled with rows of tables and

booths brimmed to overflowing with frontier leather goods such as holsters,

studded cuffs, wooly chaps and saddles made by famous western makers such as

F.A. Meanea of Cheyenne, Wyo.; R.T. Frazier of Pueblo, Colo.; H.H. Heiser of

Denver, Colo., and S.D. Myres of El Paso, Tex. The vintage gear typically

dates from 1870-1920. Collectors are particularly drawn to the items used by

the common cowboy during the Texas cattle drives of the late 1800s.

Some collectors specialize in a single category, such as saddles. They may

want examples spanning decades of evolution of ones made by a variety of

makers covering a specific time frame. As with all antiques, the name of the

game is condition and maker. For a top quality 1880s trail saddle made by a

frontier saddlery, prices ranged from $1/5,000 on the floor. Unmarked saddles

from catalog companies fetch about half of that amount.

Many collectors are seeking out only antiques depicting or used by cowgirls.

This is the single hottest new category. A book on this subject is due out in

the fall by Elizabeth Clair Floor titled Cowgirls, Women of the Wild West with

an inspiring forward by Dale Evans, "Queen of the Cowgirls" ($45, Zon

International Publishing 800/266-5767). This book will have over 400 photos of

rare cowgirl antiques. It will also fuel the fire for cowgirl collectibles.

Vintage cowboy photography and advertising art is also popular. Expect to pay

$200/500 for a pre-turn-of-the-century photo of a cowboy decked out in chaps,

six shooter and Stetson. The more goodies in the picture, the more it's worth.

Other great cowboy collectibles include Stetson hats, vintage cowboy boots and

most importantly spurs. The big name makers are McChesney, Crockett, Garcia,

Morales, Kelly Bros. Hulbert and Buermann, among others. Spurs come in a lot

of shapes and sizes. Buermann alone has over 300 patterns in his catalogue in

1900. A simple pair of iron spurs may sell for $150 and a custom made pair of

silver mounted ones by a premier maker can easily fetch over $3,000.

Almost 3,000 collectors and guests from more than 30 states turned out for

this magnificent show. None went away disappointed. The highlight of the

weekend was a Saturday night auction of over 400 cowboy relics. Promoters Kohn

& Sherwood had published a spectacular full color catalogue.

The evening show stopper was a circa 1870s saddle by San Francisco maker Main

& Winchester. The saddle was a half seat design with tapaderos and raised

floral carving. This rare mint condition saddle fetched $55,000. Prices quoted

include ten percent buyers premium. This was a new world record for a leather

western saddle without silver ornamentation. This surpassed a record set last

year in Cody for another Main & Winchester saddle by almost ten percent. The

record setting saddle turned up last spring at a New England yard sale. It

languished for three days when no one would pay $100 for it. The saddle was

put in a local auction with a reserve of less than $300. It then fetched

$4,500. Three New England collectors had by then gotten wind of it, which

drove the price to the $4,500 level.

At a time when most of us assume that anything worth finding has already been

found, this is an encouraging tidbit. Surprisingly, many of the record setting

western antiques sold at auction during the past few years have come out of

New England. Eastern dudes and investors would make western pilgrimages to

early dude ranches and to oversee investments in the Rocky Mountain states

during the late 1800s and early 1900s. These well-heeled Yankees could afford

the best rigs that saddlers could produce and usually took their chaps, hats,

boots, spurs and saddles back home with plans to revisit and use their western

finery. Usually these cowboy goodies were packed away in the attic, never to

be used again. They still turn up from time to time at flea markets like

Brimfield or in local estate sales and auctions, usually selling for a mere

fraction of their value to collectors.

A miniature stagecoach, 30 inches long, which was estimated in the catalog to

sell from $2/3,000, ultimately fetched $6,710. A horsehair bridle made in the

prison in Rawlins, Wyo., circa 1910, sold for $5,280. Four cabinet cards

depicting western saddles made by J.A. Donnel of Rawlins, Wyo., sold for

$1,760. An impressive Mother Hubbard style saddle, circa 1880, went to a

staggering $41,080, almost four times the high pre-auction estimate.

This was the "year of the saddle". A fine silver mounted, circa 1914, saddle

by G.S. Garcia of Elko, Nev., brought $19,800. A pair of G., S. Garcia spurs,

known as the dandy pattern, went for $17,600, almost twice the pre-auction

high estimate. A pair of chaps by Al Furstnow of Miles City, Mont., circa

1914, brought $8,250. A dress worn by Barbara Stanwyck in the 1935 movie Annie

Oakley sold for $6,600. A pair of Mexican spurs decorated with wildlife, circa

1870, fetched $16,500. This was an exciting auction from beginning to end.

Every year you think the promoters will not be able to outdo themselves, and

low and behold, they always do.

The year is filled with great antique cowboy shows. Events take place in

Colorado Springs, Santa Fe, Denver, Amarillo, and sixty other locations. The

most notable show and auction will be held June 24-26 in Cody, Wyo. For a

color catalogue of that auction call 307/587-9014. For a free list of upcoming

cowboy antique shows and auctions, send a self-addressed, stamped, business

size envelope to Cowboy Calendar, PO Box 6459, Santa Fe, N.M. 87502.

What is it? And What's It Worth? If you have a cowboy or western antique send

a clear photo and description and Cowboy Bill will identify the item and give

you an idea as to what its current value is. Send a business size,

self-addressed, stamped, business size envelope to Cowboy, ID, PO Box 6459,

Santa Fe, N.M. 87502.

About the writer: William Manns is the co-author of Cowboys & the Trappings of

the Old West. He is a recognized authority on western antiques. He writes for

the nations leading antique newspapers and is a frequent contributor to this

publication.