old time saddle questions - age? maker? value?

[Traveller]

Hi everybody,

I went to check out this old time saddle for sale near me and while it looks to be too narrow for my horse, it's a very nice old saddle I thought you might all like to see, plus it would be great if some of you could help fill in its history.

The man who owns it (and is selling it) bought it used back in the early 60s. He had the tree checked when he bought it and had some repairs done (the cantle work wasn't the finest repair job in the world!) and has taken very good care of it over the years. The leather, though worn and obviously old, isn't dried out and the felt lining is in good condition.

The maker's stamp is quite worn but you can see the shape of its circle plus the word "warranted" or "warrantied."

Does anyone have any idea how old it is, who might have made it, and how much it might be worth today?

Thanks!

Joanne

side view

stamp

cantle (it looks like the skirts might be uneven; I hadn't noticed that before)

front of saddle

cantle

[Lollappaloosa]

I can't help at all, I just wanted to say it's a very nice older saddle.

[bruce johnson]

Joanne,

I have seen "warranted" before and it is just escaping me. Don'tchajusthatethat?!

They sure haven't increased any value on it with the cantle job and looks like the stitching holding the felt on is not very whippy either. Those might be fixable. The biggest detraction is the illegible makers mark. Most of the time a lesser condition with a good mark will beat out a better saddle with an illegible mark. If there is some provenance that always changes things, but I am pretty sure this saddle had some age in the 60s when he bought it. Too bad, it is a cutie.

[Traveller]

Thanks, Bruce. I agree it looks like it was made long, long before the early 60s when Jim bought it. I think the way the seat is scalloped up by the horn (I'm sure there are proper words to describe what I'm talking about...) is really interesting. Does that tell you anything about where it might have been made?

I did a google search for "warranted" but of course came up with far, far too many sites. So if your memory ever kicks in, let me know!

[bruce johnson]

Joanne,

I want to say that "warranted" was on one of the production type saddles like Jumbo, one of the Miles City shops, or someplace like that. I just can't place which one. The tree style covers a bit of a time range. I think the seat front scalloped like that is very cool also. I don't know that it is peculiar to one maker though. The pattern looks to be wheeled on, so that tells me production too. One thing to consider is that back in the day this one was made, the production shops still competed with each other mainly on quality.

[Echo4V]

That cantle stitching looks ok from the seat side but it looks like the saddler didn't even glance at the back side while stitching.

Given that I'm no expert I'll hazard a guess at the age of the saddle. Given the scalloping and the fact that the front of the seat runs pretty much straight across the gullet ( instead of being cut round like modern hand holes) while still having a sort of hand hole there, along with the way the rope strap is made. I'm guessing sometime between 1900-1930.

I have done a lot of internet research on older style saddles and I only saw this combination between that time period. That style rope strap was pretty well gone by the start of the depression and I never saw hand holes on saddles till about the turn of the century. I'm not saying that my reasoning is 100% accurate that's just what I've found in own personal research.

David

[bruce johnson]

David,

I think your time frame is pretty close. I redid one that has a very similar tree that dates to the 1920s. Some of the Pueblo CO saddles had that scalloped seat front too and that is a possibility it came out of Colorado.

[greg gomersall]

Gilham's of San Francisco had a patented pinked edge on some of thier saddles. I have seen specimans of thiers where pretty much every edge on the saddle was scalloped. If memory serves me correct they were bought out by L.D. Stone who later merged with Main & Winchester in 1905. Greg

[Traveller]

Thanks for all the info, everyone! I found a similar saddle for sale on the local craigslist at http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/grd/1056086335.html. There's no price attached.

Anyone have any idea what a saddle like this might be worth? I'm not considering buying either of them but since I originally went to see the first saddle as a potential riding saddle (I didn't buy it), I'm kind of curious as to what it might go for.

Thanks again!