Old Duhamel

[TLM]

Hello all! I'm a new member on the forum but have been a reader for years....LOVE the site and all the great information!!

I recently purchased an old Duhamel saddle and would like to learn more about it....Searched Google and can find very little information that would help me date the saddle or determine a value...

I would like to use this saddle and need to have it checked out....What would be a fair price for a shop to check it for soundness?

Here are a few pictures and any information would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance!

TLM

Magnolia TX.

[bruce johnson]

OK, here's a little of what I know. I have my great grandfather's Duhamel saddle in the living room. His came on a saddled horse with a trainload of steers from Miles City in the early to mid 30s. The Duhamel business started with the elder Duhamel freighting into Rapid City. Some kind of interesting stories there. Eventually the had a store and later generations got into having a tourist attraction cave, broadcasting concerns, and other enterprises arounf Rapid City. There is a book about the Duhamels. I don't have it in front of me and am going offf memory.

As far as the store, they pretty well seemed to have everything. They traded in Native American artifacts and were a general merchandise store. It was kind of necessary visit to got to Duhamel's when my grandparents and great grandparents went to the Black Hills. I don't know for usre what year they started building saddles I want to say early part of the 1900s. I had heard they closed the saddle shop in the early 60s maybe?? They used trees from Newton Bros in Vernal UT. Intersting tidbit was one or both of the Newtons were someowhat or totally blind. They used leather from Hawaii - called them pineapple hides or something. They never serial numbered the saddles and according to the book, not even a real close estimate of how many they ever made. They were kind of known for a low priced cowboying model in the 30s called "The Mortgage Lifter". One thing when I was reading the book was the head saddlemaker they interviewed said one of their more popular saddles was an acorn border on an Ellensburg tree. It was model number 106 and they stopped building them in the early 30s. They marked the model number on the latigo carrier. SOB! The carrier on my great grandfathers saddle had torn out on one side and was tied up with baling wire. There was the number 106. I am grateful he never had it replaced. What they called the acorn border is what a lot of shopos call a shell border stamped with scalloped veiners and sunbursts.

I see yours has Al Ray stirrup buckles. Not sure when they came out, but that might help to date it some also. Mine has laced leathers and word has it that Al Rays worked in the spacing of some laced leathers. The rest of the style of yours is pretty much like mine.

[TLM]

Thanks for the info Bruce!! If you have time one day find the book and give me the name please....I love the story about how your grandfather came to own your Duhamel

[bruce johnson]

The book is called Duhamel - From Oxcart to Television and written by Dale Lewis. Abebooks. com has a few copies under $10. I recall seeing one Duhamel saddle catalog. It is behind glass in the Don King Museum. There have to be more out there, but haven't run across any.

A little more about my great grandfather. He fed cattle in southeast South Dakota. They'd put them on the train and sell them in Chicago - ate a big steak, stayed at the Palmer House, saw a show and took the train home. He fed a pen of big older steers once in while for a long time as a novelty. They were apparently huge. They called them "steamers". The steaks were huge with a big rind of fat and spilled over the plate. They were destined for the upscale dining rooms on the steamships.

The horse that came with the saddle was supposed to be pretty juicy. My great grandfrather rode him to my grandpa's. Grandpa offered togive him a ride and lead the horse home out the truck window. My great grandfather figured he got him there, he'd make it home. Sold him to a guy who put on Sunday afternoon jackpot bronc ridings. That guy ended up and got Bob Barnes started with bucking horses when Bob was starting out in the rodeo contracting business. I think Barnes is still one of very few contractors to have buckers at every NFR since the beginning.

[TLM]

Thanks for the information on the book Bruce!!

What a great story you have about your great grandfather!! Wish I could have been born a 100 years ago!

I looked at the pictures of your saddle again and the tooling is very different...look at the seat on my saddle.....and I think mine is a 8 string and yours is a 6 but then again what do I know :o/

[bruce johnson]

That's what I get for typing faster than I think in a hurry. I meant to type that yours is pretty different than mine. Mine is a 6 button. I'd rather ride yours. LOL. Looks like yours has a little scoop to the seat. Mine is like a ridge pole from fork to cantle. Little more swell on mine maybe too. Does yours have a ring rigging? Looks like it from the pictures. Thanks for the additional picture too. I like that spiral basket stamped ring pattern on the seat jockeys. Cool effect. I haven't seen a lot of the Duhamels around. There are a few in Don King's Museum as I recall and a couple in the High Plains at Spearfish SD.

[TLM]

Yes Bruce it has ring rigging...Single rigged....I really like it and hope it checks out sound so I can ride it....You think I should get the wool replaced or let it be?

[Ken Nelson]

Duhamel closed their store after 1976 as I was in it in 1976. I don't know when they quit building saddles. At one time they were the number 1 volume builder in the US. They built a lot of freaks (outlandish swells and super high cantles). After WW2, it seems their saddles got a little better seats in them but a lot of them were pretty hard on a cowboy. I worked on a number of them when I was in Rapid City and the ones that had any care ussually seemed to hold up well. Funny thing about them, I worked on some that dated back into the early 1900's and up into the late 30's that looked pretty much the same.

By the way Bruce, GREAT story. Ken

[TLM]

Thanks for the input Ken!

[bruce johnson]

A little more from the book here now. They started building saddles in 1905 and then under their own name in 1909. The built them up until the 50s.

TLM - you need to get the book. Yours is pictured and is "The Duhamel Mortgage Lifter" I mentioned above. Oregon Special tree, 8 button seat, ring rigged, and stamped in that exact pattern. They wrote they came out with it after the war and cattle took a drop. Customers were looking for something strong and durable neat looking, and at a price to compare with the prices they were getting for their cattle and stock. Since proven to be the biggest selling number they ever manufactured.