Taking apart a "junker"

[bruce johnson]

I bought this saddle a while back in an antique store. It had a pretty good old example of a fishcord cinch on it. The stirrups were brassbounds, with an iron strapping over that. Had about half the leather left. The metal horn is a repair horn, the broken stump is evident. No identifiable maker's mark on the leather. The guy wouldn't sell me the stirrups or cinch separately. In the past I have cut the forks off some old junkers and screwed them down to a board with the horn facing up to make hat or coat hooks. That was plan "B" for this one.

Yesterday I got around to scrapping this one. A few items of interest as I took it apart. First off the swells are pretty narrowed and concave front and back of the swells. There is very little bar below the fork attachment. The front riggings were made up of two straps going down to the dee. The straps laid into those concave areas and were screwed and nailed into the fork. Kind of a Samstag rigging effect with it buried and not going around the horn. I thought that was sort of neat. On the back rigging, another WTH? The back rigging was one piece and also part of the groundseat. A slit was cut for the cantle, and it was laid over that. The rigging bridged the back of the bars, dropped down on each side with a tab to hold the rear dee, and then was the top layer of groundwork in front of the cantle. All one piece. It was set in grain side up. I thought both of these were pretty cool.

I could feel the cantle was broken and was just going to lop off the fork. The rawhide was missing in spots (worn through, this was a user), lacing had let go, and the tree is pretty mushy. Rundi wanted to see what it would look like in the wood, she was thinking bookrack. I stripped the rawhide, and got a little surprise. In the front of the cantle under the rawhide was this little piece of paper that read "S & R Celler". I have seen other old trees identified like this, but am coming up empty on finding out anything on the name Celler as saddle or treemakers. Any insight is appreciated.

I think it is kind of fun to take some of these oldies apart. It is a history lesson sometimes, and gives a guy an appreciation for where we've come from. Tip of the glass to the unkown makers......

[jonwatsabaugh]

Bruce,

I've got remnants of some of those old saddles myself. Had a couple given to me and a couple I traded some other junk for. They always tell a great story don't they? When I was a kid we used to play in barns alot and every one of them had old saddles and harness hanging that had been long forgotten. Some of the old farmers would have given them away just to get rid of them, others held great sentimental value toward them and wouldn't think of parting with their treasures. We always got a colorfull story of their ancestors frontier exploits though. My dad would never let me drag this stuff home, or I would have had a barn full of it myself.

Never seen that makers mark on a tree but there were some books published several years ago and the authors compiled a huge list of saddle makers, tree makers, and bit and spur makers from past to present. Mine came up missing some time back or I would look it up for ya. I'm sure somebody else reading this will have one of those books. Saw an old tree a few years back that actually had little hardwood pegs nailing the rawhide down. It still had the makers stamp on a piece of paper sandwiched between the wood and rawhide and traced in the book to a maker in San Francisco back in the 1880's.

Happy hunt'n!

Jon

[bruce johnson]

Thanks Jon,

I have an edition of that book, I think from about 5 years ago. I couldn't find anything in there on "Celler". Google searches came up with the name (not related to saddle), but mostly misspellings of the word - cellar. There is a makers mark maybe on the seat front. A circular design with a 4 petal flower possibly, but that is as close as it gets, and I can't even be sure of that. You and I must have played in the same barns. Usually a section of that fringey looking strap stuff to keep the flies off the mules hanging there too. An old banty with a nest in the manger in one of the tie stalls. Knob and tube wiring that still worked, chewing pilfered Copenahgen and finding an old stashed bottle of Cabin Still. I restored my great grandfather's last saddle a while back. Sound as a dollar and lacing is still tight to the tree. It still has the original latigo carrier with the tree style number stamped on it. One of my treasured possessions.

[Hidemechanic]

Bruce,

Thought I'd revive this thread. I have a tree that looks like the cousin to your Celler. I can't help you with your Celler search but wanted to show you this one.

I also have an old saddle that had no marks on it. Turn of the century swells, high cantle, full square skirts and 8 button loop seat, leather outside fenders.

The thing that got me curious was in the location where a flank billit might be installed was a mark like someone started to punch a long ovel punch but just left the mark. Same on both sides.

Later I decided to clean the saddle before pulling it appart. While I was brushing around the those marks letters appeared.

"Gopher Brand"

Ever heard of that one?

I'll have to dig it out one day and get some pix of it. Fun old stuff. GH