ART OF THE WESTERN SADDLE

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A Celebration of Design, Style and Grace January 22, 2010 – July 31, 2010

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Photo courtesy Bill Reynolds

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A good saddle is something never to be sold. It is the merge point between human and horse and one that fits both is something to be used, treated well and treasured. —Joe De Yong, 1949

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A Celebration of Design, Style and Grace January 22, 2010 – July 31, 2010

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The image of a silver saddle can not help but to make you rather nostalgic. That saddle brings to mind childhood cowboy heroes, flying across the screen in pursuit of a bad guy or to the rescue of the heroine; or a cold winter day watching the grandest of all parades, the Rose Parade, with all of the flashy palomino horses outfitted with magnificent silver saddles and often ridden by movie stars.

It is not by coincidence that the good guys usually wore white hats and rode a silver mounted saddle; Hollywood immortalized that lasting image. The white of the silver on black and white film made sure the hero and his horse were easy to recognize, and everyone wants to be a hero. Man has always sought to adorn his possessions whether modest or grand in order to set himself apart from the crowd. That is the essence of the silver saddle, expressing the owner or maker’s desire to stand apart.

This exhibit brings together some of the finest examples of this genre of saddlery ever assembled, some which have never been exhibited publicly. The Bohlin, Keyston and Visalias are magnificently adorned, but it is the rare and very elegant Loomis, not covered with silver, that is the height of saddle elegance and craftsmanship.

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear…

Ross Middleton Director American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame& Museum

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ultimately become the Santa Fe saddle. Still a basic piece of equipment, it had a rawhidecovered tree and simple stirrup set-ups looped through a wooden frame. Carved wooden stirrups were generally present, although eastern-style steam-bent stirrups began appearing out west as early as 1790.

Saddling an Evolving West It would be safe to say that no region other than the wide open stretches of the American West would be as conducive for the undertaking of open-range cattle work. That activity created a clean canvas for the evolution of the type of saddlery used in that endeavor, and like the young nation of its birth, the western saddle’s use and importance expanded and evolved through the years. Born of necessity, the western saddle represented the intermingling of cultures at the border of Mexico and the new nation to its north, and through evolution, met the needs of horsemen from both countries. With the end of the Civil War, the dreams of an adventurous generation led many to explore the unknown country west of the Mississippi to the faraway land of California and the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Fe saddles became quite the rage at trading stops in high-traffic areas, selling for as much as $15 at posts along the Missouri River. This style of saddle became the norm until the California Mission culture began asserting itself in the early 1800s. The vaqueros, or Californios, seemed blessed from the start. The naturally mild climates of California created an almost complete lack of heavy brush and horse-eating cactus, famous for tearing up rigs and rides on ranches in the east. This perfect climate created an environment where style and technique were emphasized, and the embellishment of one’s saddle was not only accepted, but expected.

Since the landing of the Pilgrim families, “getting there,” meant getting there on horseback. Saddles at that time could be best described as basic.

During the early 1800s, simple wooden tree designs prevailed, with rigging draped over or attached to the tree. With the appearance of the Santa Fe Trail – a rural thoroughfare regularly traveled by traders, trappers, and hearty travelers eager to experience the new west – these simple saddles underwent changes and improvements to

Saddles became much more ornamental – especially those of the Spanish dons and landowners who made sure their rigs were appropriately decorated. This often included ornate silver trim, complex stitching, and elaborately carved leatherwork. The need for more area to decorate caused the saddle to evolve

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these makers banded together to create unique enterprises for the manufacture and marketing of regional saddlery and harness products. It was the beginning of marketing “named” or branded gear as makers began to realize the benefits of building and selling goods through resellers, and their work soon found its way across America.

once again, to include such additions as rump housings, mochillas (decoratively tooled leather tree coverings), tapaderos (long stirrup covers to protect the feet of the rider from razor sharp scrub and brush) as well as elegant silver conchos – all introduced on the rancheros of the Pacific Slope.

These handsome and expensively decorated pieces of horse equipment raised the bar in western saddlery through the region and beyond.

The work of these early large-scale saddlers – names such as Main and Winchester, Hermann H. Heiser, The Visalia Stock Saddle Company, Frank Meanea, and The Hamley Company, among others – started a quiet revolution in the branding of certain looks and styles. The ride was on.

It was at about this time that adventuring easterners, arriving in the west, began seeing this elaborate and elegant approach to not only saddlery, but everyday life as well. The mild climate and easy pace were quite attractive to them. They were rightly impressed with the efficiency and grace of the vaqueros as they quietly handled their stock, and it became apparent that these methods and gear were unlike anything brought from the east. Even fine saddlery and tack from the capitals of Europe could not match the efficiency and simple logic of the gear from Mexico.

More and more names would be added as makers realized the benefits of uniquely marketing their brands. Styles, patterns, and embellishments such as added silver were secretly planned and well guarded. The dilemma for the large-scale manufacturer was the mobility of the silversmiths and saddlers who worked for them. In many cases, and with varying degrees of success, these talented saddlers picked up stakes, dragging other skilled workers with them and headed off to start their own businesses.

The quiet world of the vaquero was soon shattered as the rush for gold brought increasing numbers of men and animals west. The need for saddlery and harness goods was never in greater demand, and men trained in the production of saddlery were highly sought after. Later, many of

Many of these companies are still around, many are gone, and many are gone, but their work is seriously collected. They all shared a time when

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Saddlery and dress that celebrated a romantic past became all the rage in the late 1920s and 30s.

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push by then silent screen star Tom Mix, Bohlin led a group of talented saddlers who pushed the bar until the start of World War II. The silver saddles Bohlin and other makers of the period produced would be almost impossible to produce today because of contemporary labor costs. Bohlin’s own personal saddle, on exhibit at the Autry National Center in Los Angeles, took over thirteen years to fabricate.

horseback travel was not only important but necessary, and a time when individual taste and expression was allowed to be built into saddlery.

Silver is the chrome of saddle making and properly used can add significant style.

Embellishment has always – be it on a saddle or an automobile – been the aspect that followed after the basic concept of transportation was achieved. Style did matter. One not only needed to get there, one needed to look good doing it.

In the 1920s and 30s, Bohlin, as well as other period craftsmen-based shops such as the Visalia Stock Saddle Company, Keyston Bros, and Olsen/Nolte, operated when the romance of the west was at its height.

This exhibit celebrates the old and the new, along with a presentation of the grace of embellishment added to the basic saddle form.

Many of the saddles shown are from long established makers whose reputations were built by making elaborate additions to what is a product with a most basic purpose: that of allowing a human to comfortably ride a horse. A number of the saddles in the exhibit come from saddler Edward H. Bohlin. Bohlin, a Swedish immigrant, came to America at the turn of the 20th century to be a cowboy after seeing the traveling Wild West shows of Buffalo Bill. His skill was the unique ability to market his wares through the emerging world of the motion picture cowboy. Like they say, “timing is everything,” and Bohlin came along during the growth of the movie western hero – a figure who needed to stand out on the screen. After a helpful

Along with movie cowboys, many horsemen of the period rode in parades and competed in horse shows. Communities often tried to hold on to the sentimental cowboy memories of the past as the nation ran headlong into an era of modernization and non horse-based personal mobility.

The 1950s saw a return of the cowboy to the new small screen of television, and the cowboy past found a new home and a new sentimental audience. It is no wonder that the late 1940s and 1950s saw a growth of western-genre based museums – places where we as a nation could remember a simpler, more heroic time as we

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The movie cowboy hero became the symbol of good in the early days of cinema. Here Tex Ritter stands with his trusty sidekick, White Flash, one of several he had during his career.

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even as our world races headlong from an analog to a digital world, where speed seemingly matters more than studied competency.

considered a future that was, as many thought, being threatened by the atomic bomb. This new romance of the west on television lasted until the early 1960s when an entirely new cultural revolution raised its head.

For some, even in 2010, saddle making is a singular event where the entire process – from tree making to leatherwork to silversmithing – is designed and completed by a single craftsman. It is this singular process that we celebrate with this exhibit. Here is living proof that we can still manufacture unique, hand-made items in the United States with many used every day in that ultimate dance between man and animal.

Today we see renewed interest in custom saddle making, and for many, an interest in the authentic ways of the old vaquero and his style of horsemanship. Much of this can be traced back over the past thirty some years to a style of horsemanship promoted quietly by a number talented horseman. The brothers Tom and Bill Dorrance, and Tom Dorrance’s student, Ray Hunt, along with others, created an approach to horsemanship that set time aside and allowed a more solid, earned relationship to be created between horse and rider. Today, horsemen who have followed that approach have also taken on a broader appreciation of the gear and saddlery of the vaquero era.

The Grace of Embellishment The western saddle, like all others, evolved logically, and its origins aim directly to Northern and Central Mexico. By the sixteenth century, saddle making in Mexico had become a highly prized and sought after skill. The field was dominated by professional harness and saddle makers working in shops creating singular, recognizable items. This was the beginning of a true atelier or “shop marked” system. Saddles that came from specific shops in Mexico at that time bore the shop stamp or maker’s mark – not the individual employee’s name. This method ultimately spread to the United States and continues today. Maker’s or shop marks are

Many of the saddles in this exhibit represent a moment in time when the horse played an equal role in the commerce of one’s life, and the merge point – the place where man and horse met – carried more importance than that of form simply following function. Many contemporary makers, like those in this exhibit, continue the timeearned traditions of the great saddlers of the past

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Silver saddles and fancy dress were all part of the glamour of parades that helped lift spirits during the post depression era of the 1930s right up to the start of the WWII.

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romance – as well as utility – to a historically plain device.

highly prized and sought after by collectors of specific makers and styles. It is not only a sign of origin, but also of the craft’s evolutionary lineage.

After 1860, when California became part of the United States, many vaqueros stayed on and continued to work the ranches where they grew up. Grass was plentiful, the weather was grand, and the vaquero became quite adept at creating, decorating and individualizing his gear. Wealthy ranchers of the time often had very ornate silver-covered saddles, and they encouraged the establishment of the vaquero-based, homeland-traditional skills. The vaqueros’ creations traveled throughout the west and influenced regional styles – something that still exists today as many shops’ styles have become synonymous with an entire region. One example is the Sheridan style of carving, influenced heavily by Don King of Sheridan, Wyoming.

This unique style of carving features a highly concentrated floral pattern known for its coverage and delicacy.

Early saddlery was designed for transportation and stock work. It traveled and evolved quickly as the hacienda system flourished into Northern Mexico and early California. Wealthy ranch owners employed many vaqueros whose style of saddlery came mostly from the provinces in the north of Mexico. The saddle was organized and lightweight. It was not much more than a rawhide-covered tree with stirrups hung over the saddle behind the horn. It was either kept uncovered exposing the tree, or had a large leather envelope, called a mochilla, placed over it. While quite plain to start, the Spanish influence spawned a number of floral patterns that exhibit Persian and Moorish influence and adorned later saddles. The natural elements of the patterns – flowers, stems and leaves – representative of working out-of-doors, created a pleasing, natural surface and became regional in representation. Because of the brushy terrain, foot protection devices called tapaderos were added to cover the stirrups. Large or small, “taps,” as they were called, added a certain

The embellishment of a saddle is, quite simply, an add-on. A rough out (smooth side down) saddle performs just as well as a fully carved saddle, and the bottom line is…the horse doesn’t

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with function, California vaqueros added grace, balance, and beauty to their gear. With their iron bits and spurs, they overlaid and inlaid silver, and in decorating a saddle used complementary, engraved silver.

These customs spread throughout the West and into Texas, where the addition of overlay work in brass, silver, and copper became stylized and often took the form of Texas Lone Stars, longhorn heads, hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs from decks of cards.

care. It’s all for the human who is paying the money. The pleasing lines and curves of the saddle’s carved floral or geometric patterns can be accentuated with an appropriate amount of silver in the form of conchos, horn caps, corner plates and buckle sets. Subtle is best in this case unless one really wants to be seen. The branding pen or the stockyard is not the place one would expect to find a fully rigged silver saddle. How much is too much? Here is a simple rule of thumb: If it stands out, it’s too much.

Saddles are, by their nature, symmetrical. There’s a right side and a left side. It goes then that both sides reflect each other be it a full flower pattern or a basket stamp. The saddler needs to lay down his pattern on the wet leather – usually a substantial, oak tanned variety – and do his or her tooling magic prior to the saddle being assembled. Silver and gold work is then added and the saddler’s – and owner’s – imagination can know no bounds.

Throughout the 20th century, saddle silver became more and more prominent on custom saddles. In many cases this was a direct result of the motion-picture cowboy and the highprofile gear used in movies and later on television.

To distinguish the cowboy star from other riders on-screen, these saddles were often dripping with silver. A similar strategy was used in the 1950s and 60s when show saddles and performance saddles began featuring more intricate designs along with silver and gold adornments so that a competitor might better stand out in the show ring.

Unlike their cow-culture counterparts in other parts of the West, who were primarily concerned

Classic engraving styles, forming methods, and shapes have been studied with heightened interest.

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Ultimately, saddle silver involves individual expression, and silversmiths and engravers today continue to create unique and contemporary pieces, which include conchos, corner plates, and cantle ribbons in sterling silver, different colors of gold, and a combination of metal overlays.

A Nod to the Horse Ultimately, the saddle is but a tool of the cowboy.

With it he gets the job done via horseback – moving cattle, covering ground, checking fence.

And while most things evolve and adjust as saddles have over the years, the task they are used for continues as a function of human and horse interaction. Stock handling is the ultimate team sport - horse and human working together in a seamless fashion doing a job well.

Style and fashion tend to travel in circles, and saddle-silver style tends to do the same. In the last 30 years, saddle silver seems to have loped full circle, with an increased interest in a simpler, more graceful approach to saddle adornment like that of the vaquero of days gone by.

Between the horse and rider, the saddle is the merge point, and while the human may love the silver and carving he rides – the horse doesn’t care.

He is simply responding to the age-old relationship between man and horse – a timeless task interrupted only by the spontaneous response of the stock being worked, defined by the task at hand.

It still all comes down to getting a job done on horseback. Here saddler Chas Weldon sets out at sunrise. Photo by Joe Beeler.

Past and present and into the future. Saddle up.

Bill Reynolds Santa Ynez, CA 2010

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The “Don Marco” Saddle by Edward H. Bohlin

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This silver mounted saddle made by Edward H. Bohlin, and called “The Don Marco” model features superb acorn filigree designs on the corner plates along with filigreed silver swell caps. Fabricated silver horn and silver gullet plates are accented with

small acorn studded edging on the rear jockey, skirts and fenders along with exquisite filigree patterns and laced edging throughout. A 10kt “JYL” on back of the cantle signifies the saddle once belonged to the owner of the Juan y Lolita Ranch, John J. Mitchell, one of the founders of Los Rancheros Visitadores. The saddle was ridden many times by Mitchell’s associate and flamboyant friend, Elmer Awls. Owned by the Los Adobes de Los Rancheros, this saddle is on permanent exhibition at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum.

Courtesy of Los Adobes de Los Rancheros, L2009.12.2

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The “Mission Saddle” by Edward H. Bohlin

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silver. The saddle was a gift to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming by the Kriendler family, long time supporters and collectors of western art. Jack Kriendler and his brother were customers of Bohlin who crafted many things for the family including for the their establishment in New York City, the 21 Club, c. 1930.

The saddle features handmade silver medallions portraying the missions built by the Spanish in early California. Each of the forms, showing specific missions from different areas of California, are exquisitely hand chased – pushed out from the back to show realistic detail. This saddle is one of the genre’s finest examples of representational chasing ever created. The saddle was featured in the Bohlin 1937 catalog for $2237.00. The saddle is brown leather, with floral cutout, overlay cantle and horn

Courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, L2009.3.1 – 18 –

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Marjorie Murphy Reeves Bacon Visalia Saddle

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This silver parade saddle was made for Marjorie Murphy Reeves Bacon (1912-2006), only daughter of Dwight and Grace Murphy, of Santa Barbara, Calif. A recent book written about Dwight Murphy, “California’s Knight on a Golden Horse” by Edward Hartfeld, revealed to her the vast amount of important works her father accomplished during his lifetime. The city of Santa Barbara owes a great deal of its current

beauty, style and vaquero-themed events to the foresighted Dwight Murphy.

His superb organizational skills, aided by his great wealth, helped create much that is the essence of the lovely coastal city. His works created the harbor and breakwater, Spanish style buildings, and many parks, including the horse and rodeo facilities such as the yearly Santa Barbara Fiesta.

Started in 1925, the horse parade and vaquero – 20 –

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stock show and rodeo continues to this day. This saddle, made for Marjorie, was part of a matching set of three that the family rode in parades. The silver work on the saddle was done for Visalia by Robert Schaezlein of San Francisco and is a tasteful and classic example of a Visalia parade saddle, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Museum of the Cowboy, L2009.5.1

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Olsen/Nolte Saddle

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This saddle, from Oslen/Nolte Saddlery, has had silver added at later a time, but is a well-built silver mounted saddle with nice color. Olsen/Nolte Saddlery brought together the saddler capability of Al Nolte and the business acumen of John Olsen. The saddlery functioned under these two until Nolte’s death in 1942 and Olsen brought in Walter Goldsmith –superb saddletree maker. His extremely popular Quarter Horse Saddle was designed and built with the fuller-withered Quarter Horse in mind, and it put Goldsmith, and the Olsen/Nolte Saddlery on the map, c. 1940.

Courtesy of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, L2009.6.1

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Half-Size Vaquero Saddle by Don Butler

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many grizzly bears that were quite prevalent in early California. The use of grizzly bear fur was also used and was the sign of success for many of the time – as shown in this depiction of a proud vaquero by artist and historian, Joe DeYong, titled simply, “The Scarf,” c. 1999.

This mini Vaquero saddle, crafted by Don Butler of Sheridan, Wyoming, is ½ scale, full flower stamped and features angora covers over the saddle pockets. It was not uncommon for saddle makers to create ½ size “salesman sample” saddles that were easily transportable, highly decorated and showed all available options. Early vaqueros who were adept with their sixty-foot rawhide reatas would, for sport, hunt and rope the

Courtesy of Don Butler, L2009.7.1

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Custom “San Gabriel” Model Saddle by Edward H. Bohlin

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This unusual “San Gabriel” model silvermounted saddle was designed by leather tooler Frank Paul of Arcadia, California for Hollywood’s Edward H. Bohlin Company, featuring hand-chased silver and gold embellishments depicting the oil industry. The saddle is adorned with three-dimensional oil derricks in 10K and 14K gold commemorating the history of the oil industry in various parts of the United States. Frankie Paul owned a saddle shop in Arcadia, California in the 1930s and 40s and was renowned for his leather carving and

precise tooling ability. Texan Max Williams purchased the saddle from the Bohlin Company in 1982; it is in his private collection, and the saddle has never been exhibited in public. Like the Mission saddle, it features unique and highly detailed hand-chased, “de-bossed” images of the oil industry. The saddle is a true one-of-a kind in its depiction of historical moments of an industry.

Courtesy of the Max and Carolyn Williams Family Trust, L2009.8.1

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Sherman Loomis Saddle

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Sherman Loomis (1821-1886) arrived in Santa Barbara in the 1850s from Pennsylvania.

By 1875, he employed seven saddlers and harness makers, including Jose Alvino Mesa, master saddler and stamper.

Though Loomis never lacked competition in Santa Barbara, his firm was the earliest, largest, and longestlived. At the time of his death in 1886, Sherman Loomis’ shop was a family affair with four of his sons listed as employees, so the shop survived run by

sons Seth and Al until the shop closed in 1898. This is a very rare saddle, as only a few S. Loomis saddles are known to still exist - partly as Loomis saddles were highly sought after as “using” saddles for their strength and comfort and were, in most cases, used up, c. 1890.

Courtesy of the Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara, L2009.10.1 – 33 –

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Doug Cox Silver Mounted Saddle

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Ron Mewes of Nevada City, California, c. 2008.

A contemporary, silver mounted saddle, designed and made by Doug Cox of Gardnerville, Nevada, this saddle is a great example of a current day interpretation of a “using / parade” saddle designed to celebrate the merging of saddlery and silverwork. Doug attributes his inspiration and construction skill in saddle making to many early masters he was privileged to meet. Cox’s training with Bob Kelly and Ray Holes launched his career.

Ray Holes was a well-respected saddle maker, who in 1936 began crafting the Visalia style saddles so well known to Californians. All silverwork was crafted by silversmith and custom stirrup maker

Courtesy of Doug Cox, L2009.9.1

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Jack Mitchell Visalia Sunburst Saddle

Sunbursts. A unique Visalia saddle, it was used on special occasions, such as the yearly rides of Los Rancheros Visitadores which Mitchell helped found with artist Edward Borein in the spring of 1929. The saddle is owned by the Los Adobes de Los Rancheros and is on permanent exhibition at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum.

This brown leather, tooled saddle by the Visalia Stock Saddle Company was made for Chicago industrialist, John J. (Jack) Mitchell, founder of the gentlemen’s riding group, Los Rancheros Visitadores. The saddle features a unique Sunburst design on the corner plates, along silver swell caps with Visalia’s signature Bulls Head by Robert Schaezlein. The cantle board features a full sunburst pattern, and the saddle shows sterling rounds and diamond studs lining the edging. The fenders and tapaderos have tooled

Courtesy of Los Adobes de Los Rancheros, L2009.12.1 – 37 –

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Ute Chieftain Saddle

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increasingly larger shops in San Francisco. In 1905, a visit to the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon inspired the Keyston Brothers to enter the field of harness and saddle making, which was accomplished by buying out several competitors – J.C. Johnson Company and Main, Winchester and Stone – making Keyston Brothers the largest manufacturers of harness and saddlery on the West Coast of the era.

This silver saddle, depicting a Ute Chieftain was made by Keyston Bros. Saddlery of San Francisco, California. The silver work was made for Keyston Bros. by Acorn manufacturing of San Francisco, today known as Comstock Heritage Silversmiths of Reno, Nevada. Twentyone year old James Keyston started a small whip-making concern in San Francisco in 1868.

Joined by his brother William in 1887, the Keyston Whip Company expanded as Keyston Brothers, and the two opened the first of several

Courtesy of West of Santa Fe, L2009.11.1 – 42 –

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Maddox Western Leather Saddle

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This was the personal saddle of Dr. William Allen Maddox, made by Maddox Western Leather, an Amarillo saddle shop he co-owned with his brother. He and his wife, Francis, ran the saddlery together until his death in 1982. Dr. Maddox was well known in Texas for his artwork in leather, and several of his six-foot wide murals were displayed at the Texas Centennial Exposition of 1936. Dr. Maddox wrote Historical Carvings in Leather, published by Naylor Co. of San Antonio, Texas in 1940. This saddle was leased to a production company for the 1963 film, Hud. It appears in a scene displayed in the window of a saddle shop, and Paul Newman comments about winning the saddle at the rodeo, c. 1955.

Courtesy of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, L2009.6.2

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Tecalote Ranch Visalia Saddle

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This Visalia Stock Saddle was made for Silsby Spalding owner of the Tecalote Ranch, Santa Barbara, California. The saddle features the typical tooling style of a Visalia using saddle along with a silver owl or “tecolote” on the horn. Spalding, an oil tycoon and the first mayor of Beverly Hills, was made famous during WWII, as it was on his ranch on the Santa Barbara coast where in 1942, an Imperial Japanese submarine fired the only known rounds on native US soil.

Three shells struck near an oil refinery, the apparent target of the shelling. Rigging and pumping equipment and a well about 1,000 yards inland were destroyed, but otherwise no damage was caused. One shell overshot the target by three miles and landed on the Tecolote ranch, where it exploded. Another landed on the nearby Staniff ranch, dug a hole five feet deep, but failed to explode.

Eleven other shells fell short and dropped into the sea, c. 1930.

Courtesy of the Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara, L2009.10.3 – 47 –

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John Olsen Visalia Saddle

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This saddle, from the Visalia Stock Saddle Company, was made for John Olsen of Olsen/Nolte Saddlery. It is unknown why a saddler of John Olsen’s stature would have another saddle company build a saddle for him, unless it was due to the popularity of the Visalia A-Fork tree. In 1870, David E. Walker and Henry G. Shuham arrived in Visalia to open shop as the Visalia Stock Saddle Company, hiring Mattle and Martarel as lead saddle makers.

Wishing to cash in on the regional

popularity of Visalia tree saddles, Walker and Shuham encouraged Mattle to continue adapting the Visalia tree to produce superior quality saddles with complex carved design work. Employing inventive advertising techniques for the time, Walker and Shuham spread their name, and that of the Visalia tree saddle, from Mexico to Canada, using direct mail, handbills, and catalog’s to reach a vast audience.

Walker’s far-sighted marketing genius brought great success to a saddle company that survives today, after numerous ownership and location changes, as a premier saddlery, and tack and bit maker highly sought after by collectors.

Courtesy of the Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara, L2009.10.2 – 50 –

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The “Palm Springs” Model by Edward H. Bohlin

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in the western “Destry Rides Again,” this saddle has turquoise and turquoise colored glass inset on the back of the cantle above her name and in larger circular conchos throughout. This saddle features some of Bohlin’s finest examples of nonrepresentational floral chasing, a task often assigned to journeymen goldsmiths that Bohlin had in his employ, many of whom were from the Middle East and created hand made chains for the company, c. 1930.

This full silver saddle outfit, made by Edward H. Bohlin (1895-1980) and called the “Palm Springs” model, features tooled black leather with silver mountings. Tooled with a floral design, this saddle is profusely decorated with silver California Poppy conchos, many with turquoise accents, around the fenders, skirts and tapaderos. Hand engraved and chased, floral decorated silver is featured on the fork, cantle and gullet. Silver on the back of the cantle is embossed with the name “Una.” Part of a parade outfit owned by actress and equestriane Una Merkel, who played opposite Marlene Dietrich

Courtesy of the Autry National Center of the American West, L2009.2.1 – 53 –

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Cluster Special by Edward H. Bohlin

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During the early 1950s, the Bohlin shop designed a “new” type of concho with a square, faceted pattern. The concho was divided into four sections that made for unique light reflecting effects that were perfect for the show ring and parades. Los Angeles television newscaster, commentator and equestrian, George Putnam – a regular in the Tournament of Roses Parades in Pasadena - had a number of “Bohlinmade” saddles. This Bohlin saddle was built for Putnam’s daughter Jil. It is a variation of the Cluster series Bohlin made during the period that were featured in his 1954 catalog. Even in the early 1950s, when silver was under $5.00 an ounce, a Bohlin Cluster-style saddle would start at just under $2,000. The Cluster’s uniqueness was the die struck concho sections, which Bohlin made in a variety of sizes. This enabled him to create a variety of patterns on saddles - covering more leather with less silver. Many “Cluster” saddles of this design had silver added later, as square patterns could easily be added to, like puzzle pieces, whenever a customer wished, c. 1950.

Courtesy of Sandy Figge, L2010.1.1

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Ted Flowers Parade Saddle

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nickel and sometimes zinc. It gets its name from the country where it was first created during the late 18th century. Flowers used a number of metals, including German silver, Monel (a mixture of copper, nickel and iron), brass and even stainless steel. He did make a number of parade saddles with sterling silver and gold plating but seems to have leaned heavily on German silver due to its popularity of the period for affordability and durability over sterling silver, c. 1950.

Unlike the many Hollywood-based makers, Ted Flowers saddle shop was located in the center of the American heartland - Indiana. He was quite prolific at building parade saddles and seemed to build most of his best during the 1950s and 60s – not surprisingly, corresponding with the popularity of westerns on television of the period and the many horse shows and parades throughout the country that featured silver saddle competitions. The saddle features facing German silver horse heads – a feature that appeared on many of Flowers’ saddles. “German silver” is really not silver but rather a mixture of copper,

Courtesy of Peter J. Cofrancesco III, L2010.2.1 – 59 –

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Acknowledgements

The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum wishes to extend its thanks to the following for their support of the Art of the Western Saddle exhibit: The Autry Center of the American West, Andi Alameda The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Elizabeth Holmes Don Butler The Carriage and Western Art Museum of Santa Barbara, Tom Peterson Peter J. Cofrancesco III Doug Cox Sandy Figge Los Adobes de Rancheros John Crockett and Chris Bashforth The Museum of the Cowboy, Jim and Linda Grimm The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Melissa Owens Shannon Richardson Photography West of Santa Fe, Al Vendegna The Max and Carolyn Williams Family Trust, Max Williams, Bruce Sciba and Curtis Leggett We wish to thank Bill Reynolds and the Lyons Press for the use of imagery and information from “The Art of the Western Saddle” - American Horse Publications, 2004 Equine Book of the Year

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Art of the Western Saddle Curator, William C. Reynolds Longtime western jouranlist and historian, William Reynolds wrote the award winning book, “The Art of the Western Saddle,” which was released in 2004. It was named the American Horse Publication's 2004 Equine Book of the Year and was nominated for a Ben Franklin Award. Reynolds has written for many western journals including Western Horseman, Horse & Rider, Southwest Art and was Associate Publisher for Cowboys & Indians magazine from 2000 to 2007. During the mid-1990s, Reynolds along with his late father, former CBS Television president, John T. Reynolds, owned the Edward H. Bohlin Company.

Reynolds is currently editor of The Cowboy Way magazine and is working on a film version of the book, “The Faraway Horses,” which he co-wrote with Wyoming horseman and friend, Buck Brannaman.

Reynolds lives with his family in Santa Ynez, California.

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2601 East I-40 Amarillo, Texas 79104 www.aqhhalloffame.com (806) 376-5181 Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.