Zach76

Thank you for finding this information. This sounds very much like what I have. A couple of things that seem odd though are the patent date and a spring adjustment. The stamped patent date appears to be from the 1880's, and Mr. Jones did his business in the 1850's. The article also mentions something about a spring mechanism that does not appear on the saddle I have. I am going to try researching the Jones saddle a little more. Thanks again! -Zach

...Months later... Sorry, I thought I was set up to receive notifications, but I wasn't. Thanks for the input. I agree that the wingnuts may have been a problem in real-world use. It seems to me that the saddle could have been used for taking measurements. Maybe it could have been adjusted to a particular horse, then measurements taken to build a tree. I'm still not entirely certain. Over a hundred and thirty years after the patent date, I'm not sure I'll ever find out any more details. I guess it's a keeper.

Do you know what model this saddle is? The patent stamp is either 1885, or 1886. It's difficult to make out. I've seen many saddles from this era, but none with the wingnut adjustments. Would this add to the value, or possibly make it a rare enough item to not let go of? Has anyone seen another like? Where did you find it? Any info helps. Thanks.